The Mississippi State University student body elected senior real estate and mortgage major Grant Ridgway Mr. MSU for 2007. However, based on allegations of voter fraud, a special session of the Student Association election court convened to make the decision official.Phillip Bass, election commissioner for the SA, said that there was a report that some illegal activity was occurring on voting day last week.
Ridgway was accused of participating in the activity. The allegation was then reported to Bass who saw it necessary to look into the Student Association Constitution concerning election procedures. “We did not people to say that he won by cheating,” Bass said.
Braxton Coombs, SA attorney general and constitutional adviser, said that after the report reached the SA, Ridgway was contacted in order to ensure that nothing illegal was happening.
“Whenever anything is brought into question, the constitution is followed,” he said.
After the constitution was looked over carefully, an elections court needed to be formed he said.
Bass said that he and Coombs removed themselves from making a decision because of close relationships with some of the Mr. MSU candidates.
Sigma Chi Vice President Glenn Clark said that the fraternity did not partake in any illegal activity.
“As far as my knowledge goes, this is strictly a rumor and did not happen,” he said.
The election court consisted of five representatives from seperate student organizations. It normally would be the duty of SA President Jeremy Johnson to select the court members, but since he was a Mr. MSU candidate, Vice President Caroline Adams assumed the role of authority, Coombs said.
The court met on Sept. 27 to hear both sides of the case and make a decision.
Court representatives ruled in favor of Ridgway and decided that he would be Mr. MSU, Bass said.
“Grant Ridgway is Mr. MSU and I think that the university and the students should support him because he represents the student body,” Coombs said.