The University Board of Elections voted in a 2-1 decision to uphold the Spring 2026 Student Council Presidential election results Wednesday, affirming third-year Commerce student Michael Mitchell as the winner of the presidential race.
Micah Andrews, former Student Council presidential candidate and third-year College student, appealed the UBE’s Wednesday decision to the Judicial Review Board — a body housed within the Student Affairs Office with the jurisdiction to review appealed decisions of University bodies — Thursday.
The majority decision and minority dissent documents, according to Ella Gilmore, UBE chair and third-year College student, will not be disclosed due to the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act, 20 U.S.C. § 1232g, which protects the privacy of student education records.
“The University’s General Counsel advised [the UBE] that such decisions are protected from disclosure … because they are education records directly related to students and maintained by the UBE, which acts on behalf of the University,” Gilmore wrote in a statement to The Cavalier Daily. “While the FERPA statute lists some exceptions to this prohibition, the General Counsel’s office advised the UBE that the Hearing Panel’s decision does not fall under any of these exceptions.”
According to Gilmore, a rules report on all of the rules complaints from the spring election cycle will be published on the UBE website with more details within the next week. A Spring 2026 Rules Report was released March 20, outlining the UBE’s handling of several complaints during the semester’s student elections. It is unclear whether a new or revised report will be issued next week.
The UBE had already held a hearing panel for the case — in a March 12 decision, UBE upheld the results of the Student Council Presidential election. Andrews appealed the decision, and the JRB returned the appeal March 20. The JRB decision found that the UBE failed to adequately compose, examine and address the irregularities presented by Andrews surrounding the election. The JRB asked the UBE to reevaluate the matter de novo and gather more information regarding key allegations.
Key allegations that necessitated closer examination, according to the JRB decision, included a phone call between Benjamin Lawrence, former Student Council vice president for organizations candidate and third-year Engineering student, and Alex Peskin, Inter-Fraternity Council president and third-year Batten student. Andrews submitted the phone call as evidence to demonstrate a violation of Article III Section 3 of UBE Rules and Regulations. Additionally, according to the JRB’s March 20 decision, the IFC’s alleged bar tab incentive necessitated further review, as did Mitchell’s use of the “All [Contracted Independent Organizations] Listserv,” which allegedly allowed him to contact leaders of over 850 organizations at the University in his campaign.
Andrews, when contacted to confirm whether she appealed Wednesday’s decision to the JRB, expressed concern with the UBE’s decision to keep the decision documents from Wednesday's hearing private at this point in the case.
“I think it is concerning that, now that the case has drawn attention, they have privatized everything,” Andrews wrote in a statement to The Cavalier Daily. “This limits the ability of the student body to hold the UBE accountable and runs counter to the principles of representation it is meant to uphold.”
It is unclear whether the JRB will consider the case following Andrews’ newest appeal Thursday — Jill Rockwell, JRB chair and senior assistant dean of career advancement and alumni engagement in the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy, did not respond for comment by the time of publication.
For more information relevant to the ongoing Student Council presidential election appeals case, visit The Cavalier Daily’s recent coverage.
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