Facebook rules irk campaigns

The Board of Elections has decided that candidate Facebook groups are permissible provided that they are secret.

This decision which seemingly contradicts the Student Code has frustrated several campaigns and raised questions of how the board is handling the election.

In December" at least eight candidates were discovered to have created ""secret"" Facebook groups" meaning they cannot be viewed unless a person is invited by one of the group's administrators.

Title VI of the Student Code which deals with election law states" ""No campaign-related material" including web pages instant message profile links or icons and social network groups" shall be allowed on the web until a candidate's declaration of candidacy is filed with the BOE.""

No candidates can declare candidacy until a meeting Tuesday.

While these groups violate the wording of the Student Code" Board of Elections Chairman Ryan Morgan said these groups are no different from speaking privately with campaign workers which is legal any time of the year.

But unlike private meetings these groups contain more than campaign staff. Several groups rotate through administrators so members can invite their friends. As a result" some groups have more than 500 members and invitations have reached thousands of students.

Morgan said the board has created regulations in addition to those in the Student Code to balance out the way Facebook has impacted the election process.

""We're changing some other things to balance it out"" Morgan said. We're being a little stricter on petition gathering this year.""

The decision about private Facebook groups has bothered some campaigners"" and multiple campaigns have expressed frustration with the ambiguity of election laws the board is enforcing.

""Collectively" multiple people on multiple campaigns have been disappointed with the way the board has performed said a campaign staff member who requested anonymity to avoid violating election rules. Specifically" the arbitrary application and interpretation of the rules.

""It's clear that they have given very little thought into the impact of their decisions.""

Last semester" the board fined two potential campaigns $40 each for holding meetings on campus and speaking with The Daily Tar Heel.

The two fined campaigns filed suit against the board arguing that the board overstepped its authority and wrongly interpreted the code.

In November the board warned one potential student body president candidate for creating a public Facebook group but issued no fine.



Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.