SRC Nomination Fee Remains Despite Appeal

By Jossie Warnant

The SRC election nomination fee will remain in place for the election of the 93rd Council, despite a motion being passed by the SRC to set the fee to zero. 

At the August 19 SRC meeting, President Liam Donohoe proposed a motion to remove the $15 nomination fee candidates pay to participate in the SRC election. 

The motion was passed, but the Returning Officer attempted to charge the fee. Grassroots appealed this decision. The appeal was rejected by the Electoral Legal Arbiter, Edward McMahon yesterday, who said in his ruling that it is “desirable that the election occur under the auspices of the Electoral Officer, free from interference from the Council” and that therefore the Council should not have the power to vary the nomination fee after the opening of nominations. 

He said that if the Council was able to change the nomination fee after nominations had opened, “it could use that power to either enfranchise or disenfranchise those to whom money was an obstacle.”

When proposing the motion to remove fees, Donohoe said that scrapping the nomination fee would reduce financial barriers associated with participating in the election and would avoid rewarding factions that could rely on significant resources or party contributions to finance involvement. He also said that affiliation fees are not financially necessary to the SRC and therefore could be removed with minimal impact on the Council’s bottom line. 

Lily Campbell (SAlt) was critical of the motion, saying that lowering the financial barrier could mean candidates don’t really know what they are running for and that this could result in stacking. 

McMahon also said that if the SRC proposed a motion to refund the nomination fee, this could allow refunds to be provided to candidates. 

Nominations for the 2020 SRC elections closed yesterday.