USG candidates start a fundraising campaign before official start date

Nick Roll, Sam Harris
Thu, 16 Feb 2017 05:15:44 +0000
Campus, featured, ohio state, osu, usg, usg elections

Stephen Post and Lauren Todd, two Ohio State students listed as presidential and vice presidential candidates on a ticket for Undergraduate Student Government, have started a fundraising campaign.

The official start date for USG campaigns is Feb. 22 at 8 p.m. A video posted to Facebook Wednesday night included a link to a website where donations could be made to Post and Todd to support their “mission,” although the post and video never explicitly mentions USG, the presidential campaign, or voting.

According to the USG bylaws, “Candidates, teams and slates may not overtly act to gain votes, or solicit for votes before the approved campaigning season begins.”

According to the bylaws, campaign materials, including a website, may be produced prior to the official start date. However, these materials are not to be distributed or publicly available before campaigning begins.

The Facebook post contains vague goals and language, such as the following:

“We have great strides to make in making a diploma more affordable, campus more inclusive, and providing more opportunities than we’ve been offered. We have a long way to go, but we’re only getting started.”

It goes on to direct those who want to “support our mission” to a donation page titled, “Help Stephen Post & Lauren Todd Make a Difference at OSU!”

Comments on the donation page do mention a campaign, although there is no mention of USG.

“Stephen, Best of luck with the campaign! Love, Auntie Beth,” reads a comment from a Mary Beth Vonder Meulen.

An $800 donation from a Karen Todd reads, “Good luck, Sweetie Boo.”

According to the donation page, that donation was given one week ago, indicating the page has been active since at least then.

As of Wednesday evening, $925 of the $2,000 goal had been raised. The cap for USG presidential campaign spending is $4,000.

Gerard Basalla, president of USG and fourth-year in political science and strategic communication, deferred comment to USG’s Judiciary Panel.

Neither Post nor Todd immediately returned a request for comment.