To the Editor:The elections commissioners have said that the secretary of the Union is empowered to resolve any and all election disputes, which is what the constitution says (news article, Oct. 12). Danny Silverman, the Union Secretary, as well as Albert Cahn, an Elections Commissioner, acted in good faith in their agreement that was overturned by this Union Judiciary case. They decertified someone who was certified as senator for Grad Quad by Silverman after questions about the way that mandates were used in the elections were questioned. They didn't try to create an agreement that was beyond their power.

If you take the point of view that the elections commissioners presented to the UJ, the secretary can do anything to solve disputes, so this would be well within his power.

I have talked to Aaron Braver, senator for East Quad, and he believes that a student isn't a senator until he is sworn in by the president of the Union and that, until then, the Secretary has the ability to decertify people's positions. That's reasonable, but as Mark Samburg, Associate Justice of the UJ, pointed out, the swearing in is simply a formality. This is highly debatable and I'm not going to try to argue it because I don't feel that there are strong arguments on either side.

Some people think that the UJ has overstepped its power with this decision. It hasn't. They made a decision as to when someone became a senator and unless you think that the secretary is allowed to do anything to resolve election disputes, it is within the UJ's jurisdiction to make that decision.

There are limits to what the secretary can do to solve elections disputes and nowhere in the constitution does it give him or her limitless power when resolving elections disputes.

-Sean Patrick Hogan '07
Clerk of the Union Judiciary