University student elections overturned amid misconduct allegations
The University of Adelaide student election tribunal has taken the unprecedented step of reversing nearly the entire student election results.
The YouX Election Tribunal has overturned the results of the entire 2024 YouX (University of Adelaide student union) board elections, while the On Dit student magazine editor positions and a majority of student representative council positions have also been declared void.
The findings have been publically disclosed in two reports posted on the YouX website, titled “General Decision of the YouX Election Tribunal” and “Decision of the YouX Election Tribunal (On Dit Complaint)”.
The SRC president, disability officer, postgraduate officer, international student officer, social justice officer, ethno-cultural officer, Roseworthy campus officer and a general councillor position have all been annulled.
The reversal was decided after five separate allegations that members of the Progress faction – the international student ticket – took other students’ phones and voted on their behalf without their consent during the election.
As a result of the findings, Progress candidates have been banned from campaigning or having other people campaign on their behalf for the first two days of the replacement elections.
The tribunal found that at an Adelaide University Chinese Students’ Association event on August 26, 2024, which was advertised as a games night/roast lamb feast, at least one student was pressured into handing over their phone and a vote was cast for Progress without their consent.
“Upon arriving at the event, all participants were informed that in order to join in the activities, we were required to vote for YouX committee members. To make matters worse, our phones were taken, and the votes were cast on our behalf, leaving us unable to vote for the candidates of our choice,” an anonymous allegation in the tribunal’s report said.
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At least six other students claimed the same had happened to them in classrooms and workshops.
“They basically walked around and asked us to scan the QR code, then log in and they will do the rest, by clicking who they want to vote for. There was absolutely no way of rejecting as I didn’t even know what they were doing,” alleged a second complainant.
A third student also alleged a member of the Progress faction came into their workshop, interrupting the class and taking students’ phones to vote for them.
“She took my phone after sitting next to me during the workshop and urging me to log in to the YouX website, and she wouldn’t show me the voting page when I asked her to show it to me. And deleted the web access record directly after she finished voting, I don’t know what she did with my phone,” one student said.
The tribunal received denials from a number of Progress faction members that they had ‘engaged in behaviours of ‘coercion’ towards any students to vote during the 2024 YouX and SRC Elections’.
Ultimately, the Tribunal found that there was sufficient risk that the integrity of the election had been compromised in any election for a position in which Progress stood candidates, unless that person was the sole candidate and ran unopposed.
Having made that finding, the Tribunal recognised that ‘the Progress party had many candidates and it is as likely as not that not every candidate knew of let alone participated’ in the conduct which was the subject of the allegations.
In a separate set of findings, the tribunal deemed that the winning Progress-aligned On Dit ticket had breached election rules through unauthorised campaigning and using an unauthorised Mock Dit while campaigning.
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Mock Dit is a mock version of the On Dit magazine used by candidates during the University of Adelaide student media elections.
The tribunal has ruled that the disqualified editors will be banned from campaigning on the first day of the replacement election.
In April of this year, InDaily reported on the overturning of the 2023 SRC president results following allegations of candidates campaigning in shirts from a political party and paying for a candidate’s union membership, both of which are against student election rules.
Progress candidate Aiden Zeyang Wang was finally elected in March.
Progress did not respond to multiple requests for comment. The Adelaide University Chinese Students Association also did not respond to a request for comment.
When contacted for comment, the University of Adelaide directed InDaily to contact YouX, stating that the independent student union conducts and regulates student elections.
YouX said that the election results were voided by the election tribunal, which is independent of the university and YouX.
“The tribunal consists of prominent law academics and lawyers, and they have released a 30-page report which explains their reasoning and findings,” a YouX spokesperson said.
The YouX spokesperson said it is unlikely a replacement election will be held in 2024 given the academic year is nearly finished.
“If an election can’t be held this year, then section 22.5.3 dictates that the current YouX President and Board Directors will appoint three new Ordinary Members as incoming Directors, these Ordinary Members and the remaining Board Directors on the second year of their terms will form the Board which will hold office until the next annual general election,” the spokesperson said.
“Current office holder terms run until 30 November 2024, YouX Board Directors run on 2-year terms with half up for election each year, On Dit and the SRC are all 1-year terms. We will work through the YouX Constitution to follow the correct process to ensure vacancies are filled.”
