Update:
ASG's rules committee has overturned the second rule violation against Sky Patterson and Emily Ash's presidential campaign, the election commission reports. The rules committee overturned the violation after receiving more testimony.
"The committee believes that it is necessary to present and receive feedback on an agenda in order to fully develop a platform, which, after reviewing the new testimony, was determined to be the most likely scenario and consistent with lon-standing pre-campaigning practice," an emailed statement from the election commission said.
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Sky Patterson and Emily Ash's ASG presidential campaign violated election commission rules concerning pre-campaigning activities, ASG's election commission said Monday. The campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Election Commission Chair Dillon Saks said in an email that the Sky and Em campaign committed two violations, and a third would result in the candidates' removal from the ballot.
The first violation consisted of “engaging in pre-campaigning activities before the official start of the pre-campaign period” by recruiting campaign personnel. The Sky and Em campaign was penalized by a reduction of $15 for the amount of funds they could be reimbursed for, from $300 to $285.
Sky and Em incurred their second violation by including a list of personal accomplishments in an an email, which is considered a promotional activity under ASG rules. According to Saks, the pre-campaign period is to be used only for developing a platform.
"As a team, we think that it is problematic that press coverage has been focused on minor code violations rather than more in-depth comparisons of the candidates and their policies," said Jillian Gilburne, the campaign manager, in a statement. "We are tired of the petty political game, and we'd love to talk about our platform."
The ASG presidential ballot opens Thursday evening at 5 p.m. and will be open for 24 hours. Sky and Em are running against Justine Kim and Austin Gardner.
Editor's Note: This story was updated at 8:13 p.m. on April 9 to include comment from Sky and Em's campaign. This story was updated at 7:43 p.m. on April 11 to reflect an overturned violation.