Student elections at Western deemed invalid

This invalidation includes all USC elections as well as elections for undergraduate student positions to Western’s Board of Governors and Senate.  It also includes two referendum questions.

"A decision to declare the election invalid was made in consultation with the USC after Western’s ITS department had determined that the USC elections portal, located on the Western server, was compromised,” said Irene Birrell, Western’s University Secretary.

“While we do not know that the vote in fact was tampered with, we felt that it was only prudent to halt the election so we could ensure that none of the candidates were disadvantaged. There was also concern that the Board of Governors would not be able to consider fee proposals arising from the results of the referenda included in the ballot.”

USC President Andrew Forgione noted that “this was a difficult decision to make, having personally gone through the elections process before.  However, considering the circumstances and the fact that the results were deemed invalid, it was prudent for us to ensure that our democratic principles were fair. This means that we will be holding a re-vote after Western ITS has tested their new security measures.”

It is anticipated that a new vote will be held the week of February 27^th (the week after Reading Week).  More details will be forthcoming once new voting dates and times are set.  The University has taken measures to resolve the computer disruption that led to this compromise. Campus police are investigating the incident. 

Media Contacts:

Keith Marnoch
Western Media Relations
kmarnoch@uwo.ca
519 661 2111 ext. 85468

Eliot Hong
University Students' Council
Communications officer
usc.commun@uwo.ca
519-661-3574