Editor’s Note: This article was corrected on April 16, 2025 regarding the candidate’s coordinators being involved in the sanction.
ASUCI presidential candidate Austin Pierce was suspended from conducting any campaign-related activities, including talking with pedestrians, until Friday, April 18 at 5:00 p.m.
On Friday, April 11, the ASUCI Elections Commission received a complaint against Pierce that alleged a violation of articles under the ASUCI Code of Ethics and the Elections Code.
The petitioner claimed that he used words and ideas of an ASUCI committee and a previous ASUCI presidential candidate, passing them off as his own. They also claimed he misconstrued facts related to ASUCI voter turnout, discussed his intention to run in ASUCI elections before filing an official Declaration of Candidacy, breached university trademark with the use of “Peter the Anteater” and campaigned on behalf of ASUCI legislation without the initiative coordinator’s consent.
After hearings on April 12, as well as additional meetings with witnesses on April 13, the Elections Commission found Pierce in violation of the Code of Ethics and the Elections Code on four rulings.
- Pierce violated the Code of Ethics for “taking the words and ideas of the Ad Hoc Constitutional Review Committee and passing them off as his own.”
- Pierce violated the Code of Ethics by “taking the words and ideas of a previous candidate for ASUCI president and passing them off as his own.”
- Pierce violated the Code of Ethics by “campaigning on behalf of A New Deal: A Revised ASUCI Constitution for Better Funding, Better Engagement and Better Advocacy without the initiative coordinator’s consent.”
- Pierce violated the Elections Code by “discussing his intent to run in the ASUCI elections in an application for ASUCI appointed office prior to filing an official Declaration of Candidacy.”
The Elections Commission found that Pierce did not violate the Code of Ethics for “misconstruing facts related to voter turnout in the ASUCI elections and incorrectly identifying university administrators.” They also resolved an issue relating to Pierce’s use of “Peter the Anteater” in a campaign poster, breaching the university trademark. Pierce was placed under a level four sanction, not allowing him or his coordinators to conduct any campaign-related activities. A level five sanction would remove his candidacy from the ballot.
A full decision will be released by the Elections Commission by the end of the day on Tuesday, April 15. Emilie Takahashi is a 2024-25 Assistant Layout Editor. She can be reached at takahae1@uci.edu.