WTF is going on with the UC Election?

Shit's hitting the fan at the Undergraduate Council.  We'll keep you updated, both here and at TheCrimson.com, as developments emerge.

10:59 a.m.

Today, The Crimson's print edition features two front-page stories on the drama: one chronicling the events of the evening, and the other exploring the e-mail signed but disavowed by UC Vice-President Kia J. McLeod '10. McLeod said in a subsequent e-mail that she had not written that original message, which implied that Eric N. Hysen '11 could have tampered with the election results. But Tamar Holoshitz '10, a former UC official, told The Crimson at 4:30 a.m. that McLeod had in fact sent the e-mail.

This is the first step in sorting through the puzzle behind last night's events: the three Election Commission resignations, the UC's failure to certify what was supposed to be a straightforward election, and the mysterious e-mail signed but retracted by McLeod. As we put together the pieces, we'll share what we know with you on TheCrimson.com.

3:39 a.m.

Now the bigwig's entering the arena. Outgoing UC President Andrea R. Flores '10 has addressed the election controversy in yet another e-mail sent over the UC open list.

Flores wrote in the e-mail that she was "saddened" by tonight's events and that she supports the election of Johnny F. Bowman '11 and Eric N. Hysen '11 as the next president and vice-president of the Council. She also wrote that the voting software had not been compromised, since Election Commission ex-chair Brad A. Seiler '10 had taken away Hysen's access to the voting software last Sunday.

But Flores added that her official UC e-mail address, ucpres@fas.harvard.edu, had in fact been compromised. She asked that all messages from that account be disregarded until further investigation.

After the Election Commission, which faced three resignations today, voted to decertify the election results, the UC executive board decided to ask the entire UC to certify the results of the election. While the Council could ultimately reject the results, Flores wrote that the members should "respect every vote cast" and confirm Bowman and Hysen as leaders of the next UC.

We're working on our complete coverage of the UC election controversy to give you the definitive rundown and analysis of tonight's events.  Check back later for more updates.

1:05 a.m.

The Crimson is preparing a massive Web update that will be posted online soon. Crimson news reporters Melody Y. Hu '11 '12 and Eric P. Newcomer '12 have been interviewing everyone at every level of the drama: presidential candidate Johnny F. Bowman '11, vice-presidential candidate Eric N. Hysen '11, former UC vice-president Randall S. Sarafa '09, and former chair of the Election Commission Brad A. Seiler '10. Stay tuned for the scoop.

12:51 a.m.

UC Vice-President Kia J. McLeod '10 has announced over the UC open list that she "did not draft" the e-mail that was sent from the UC presidential account, with her signature, about 40 minutes ago.

That original e-mail insinuated that vice-presidential candidate Eric N. Hysen '11 could have had the ability to rig the election.

In this second e-mail, sent today at 12:27 a.m., McLeod wrote:

"Each candidate is honest and well deserving of the presidential or vice-presidential position. Eric Hysen is one of the hardest working members of the Undergraduate Council and I respect him greatly. The issue is not the people but the process and I assure you that this issue will be dealt with. Any email sent out from the UC-Presidential account must be authorized by both the President and Vice-President of the Undergraduate Council. I sincerely regret any email sent without this consent."

11:58 p.m.

UC Vice-President Kia J. McLeod '10 just sent an e-mail over the UC open list alleging that vice-presidential candidate Eric N. Hysen '11 had access to the voting software used to tabulate the results. She also wrote that Brad A. Seiler '10, ex-chair of the Election Commission, had promised to provide the rest of the Commission with access to the software but failed to do so.

11:37 p.m.

The results of the long-awaited and hotly-contested UC election are in doubt as the UC Election Commission, the body in charge of administering the election, is embroiled in an internal struggle over the votes.

At 6 p.m. today, the Election Commission voted unanimously to certify that the Bowman-Hysen ticket had won by 45 votes. But at 10:15 p.m., the Commission de-certified the results by a 4-3 vote. Twenty-five minutes later, the Commission voted against certifying the results.

Now, three members of the Election Commission, ex-chair Brad A. Seiler '10, Daniel P. Robinson '10 (who is also a Crimson editorial writer), and Emily E. Osborne '12 have resigned, according to e-mails sent over the UC open list. We'll keep you posted as developments emerge.

Correction: Feb. 15, 2010

An earlier version of this post stated incorrectly that decision to certify the election results was passed to the general UC because three members of the Election Commission resigned. In fact, after the Election Commission voted to decertify the results, the decision went to the UC Executive Board, which voted to open up the decision to the general UC.