The hard campaigning period for Student Government elections began Tuesday night after the executive candidate debate, and as of Wednesday, 14 more campaign violations have been filed.
The Forward campaign — made up of Patrick Ellis, Kamryn Phlegar, Adger Drummond, Davis Latham, and over a dozen Student Senate candidates — received violation accusations after using the Gamecock logo on their posters during Greene Street tabling on Wednesday.
Candidates are typically not permitted to use the Gamecock logo on their campaign's promotional materials. However, the Forward campaign received no violation points because of a precedent set during the last Student Government election in regards to using the Gamecock logo in campaign materials.
Two more violations were filed against Phelgar and Latham after they spoke to USC's chapter of Delta Delta Delta. The candidates used a slideshow that promised a free t-shirt to anyone who texted a phone number. Because the t-shirts were not offered directly in exchange for votes, Phlegar and Latham received no points.
Speaker of the senate candidate Nick Hooks had nine violations filed against him on Wednesday after allegedly contacting people he did not know about voting for him. Candidates are not allowed to contact people through phone calls, texting or other forms of messaging in regards to their campaign without having a prior relationship with the person. All nine violations were for texting and messaging students over social media.
The Hooks campaign currently has nine violation points and is attempting to appeal 2.5 points from earlier in the campaigning period.