Each year, there are grumblings from every party about the work of the Student Government Association Election Commission showing unfairness to one party or the other. Rarely are their complaints anything but sour grapes.

But this time, there is legitimacy to their complaints about the Commission swinging the election.

Last Wednesday, the Election Commission decided to ban the ability for Students Unite to campaign in any form due to an infraction of the election rules.

They were told that they had to remove all of their campaign material and social media information, and could not campaign in any way possible.

The reason for such a harsh punishment? 

An endorsement at a bad time.

The Contemporary Arts Society was planning on endorsing Students Unite in the election, believing they would better promote the arts than SURV (Shockers Uniting Reality & Vision).

They timed their endorsement at the Project Run-A-Way event, an event that SGA had helped sponsor.

While the Election Commission’s decision to punish Students Unite is not wrong, as they had apparently been involved in the timing of the endorsement at the event, it is the extent of their punishment that is astounding.

In most cases, a public apology for the poor timing, a fine, and perhaps a limited ban of a few days would be the punishment for such an infraction of election rules.

Instead, the Election Commission forced what we have—a punishment with such a wide definition of campaigning that even being interviewed for the paper could have been a rule violation.

This does more than punish someone for breaking a rule; it effectively ends a campaign from even existing and makes it impossible for students to learn about the party.

The Election Commission’s job is to ensure a free and fair election. In their decision, they have tipped the scales too far for fairness. Ultimately, they’ve hurt the student body’s ability to choose.