Days after students cast their votes for whom they wanted as their next Associated Students of New Mexico State University president and vice president, there seemed to be a hurdle for a pair of candidates. The recent disqualification of the unofficial winners of this year’s presidential and vice-presidential elections prompted a delay in the release of official results, as well as triggering an appeals process.
As The Round Up previously reported, Anisa Sanchez, Ala Alhalholy and Javan Hollins all entered their names into the pot seeking to become the next executive leader of ASNMSU.
Unofficial results released by the ASNMSU Elections Department on Friday, April 5 showed presidential candidate Ala Alhalholy and her running mate, Elida Miller as the unofficial winners.
Alhalholy received 906 votes and Miller received 784 votes. Anisa Sanchez received 526 votes and Javan Hollins received 332 votes. Sanchez’s running mate, Christopher Hamilton, received 579 votes. Hollins had no running mate.
However, an hour before unofficial results were released, the ASNMSU election board also released a statement, explaining that the board convened on Wednesday, April 3, to evaluate election violation claims, and that the board decided to table reviewing the claims until the following week.
The Round Up was made aware of the 11 alleged election violations involving Alhalholy several days after unofficial results were released. The majority of violations filed against her cited voter intimidation. Alhalholy has since repeatedly refuted the claims.
“I do hope the voters don’t see this as having lost faith in me, or saying that I deserve to be disqualified,” she said. “I think I ran a very clean campaign.”
Both Alhalholy and Miller presented their case to the ASNMSU elections board on Thursday, April 11. The presidential and vice-presidential candidates received word the next day that they were disqualified from the race.
Both candidates have appealed the election board’s decision to the ASNMSU supreme court.
The Round Up reached out to the ASNMSU Election Department for a statement. In her comment, Chief Elections Officer Tiffany Valenzuela Munguia stated that established procedures are moving the process forward.
“The proper procedures are in place and are still in progress to resolve any ongoing disputes. This being so, we are uncomfortable with making any statements regarding these unresolved issues at this time,” Munguia said. “The elections department will be making a public statement after official results are released on the 19th (if needed) to explain any discrepancies to the student body.”
Alhalholy’s and Miller’s cases will be heard in front of the ASNMSU supreme court on Tuesday, April 16 at 8:30 p.m. and 9:15 p.m., respectively.
This is a developing story. The Round Up will follow up as additional information becomes available.
