The Making a Difference party and the United Students party spent approximately the same amount of money on their Student Government Association campaigns, but the misuse of campaign materials led to grievances filed against the M.A.D. party.
When the election results came out on March 29 with M.A.D. as the clear winner, Matt Ennis, a member of the U.S. party and one of the 18 senators-at-large elected, requested the M.A.D. budget because he believed they had overspent.
"According to the election bylaws, a party can spend up to $1,000, and an individual, anyone running without a party, can spend up to $500," said Victoria Busse, election commissioner for the 2013 SGA elections.
The M.A.D. party spent $945.32, while the U.S. party spent $930.25.
The money for campaigning is not provided by SGA, so candidates have to fundraise themselves.
Ricky Kirby, the recently elected SGA president and member of the M.A.D. party, took out a credit card to pay for the majority of his campaign.
"The only things I didn't pay for were fortune cookies donated by alumni and T-shirts donated by a parent," Kirby said.
Addison Piggott, the presidential candidate for the U.S. party, asked his fellow party members to contribute.
"My senator candidates and potential cabinet members each paid $20," Piggott said. "Mary, my family and I paid the rest."
Parties are required to submit a budget two weeks before campaigning begins, but candidates could turn in signed receipts to the Election Commission to keep track of.
The majority of each party's budget went toward posters and handbills. The U.S. party spent slightly more with $573.60 while the M.A.D. party spent $539.38.
While the M.A.D. party spent $163.75 on banners, the U.S. party reused banners from previous years.
The M.A.D. party hosted an event at the Senses nightclub near the beginning of the campaign, and although it was reported to the Election Commission as part of the party's budget, it was free because one of the party members is employed at the club.
In addition to questions about the M.A.D. budget, the U.S. party also filed eight grievances against the opposing party. Grievances can be filed if someone believes the other party has violated the election guidelines.
For example, publishable materials such as videos, posters, handbills, etc. must be pre-approved by the Election Commission. One grievance, filed by Ennis, stated that the Election Commission had not approved posters hanging in Mitchell and Clement Hall. The ruling was that the posters had to be removed.
Ennis filed at least three of the eight grievances because he wanted to make sure the election rules were being followed.
"The M.A.D. party was breaking election laws, and nothing was getting done," Ennis, a junior communications major, said. "They placed handbills on top of our poster, covering it up, and all the Election Commission did was to move them with no penalty."
Only two of the grievances filed resulted in penalties against the M.A.D. party.
Their campaign time was docked twice - once on March 25 from noon to 1 p.m. for failing to submit material to be approved before publishing and for defacing the Psychology department's bulletin board, and again on March 27, the last day for voting, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. for printing libelous material.
There were no grievances filed against the U.S. party.
"The reason there weren't any grievances filed against the U.S. party is because we ran a clean election," Ennis said. "We played a clean game, but ultimately most of our party lost."
Kirby, however, said he told his fellow party members not to file grievances based on advice from previous SGA candidates who told him it is a waste of time.
"We saw them tearing down our signs, but there was no way I could prove it," Kirby, a sophomore marketing major, said. "I respect the Election Commission's time, and I didn't want to waste their time filing a grievance I couldn't prove."
