About 25 members of forUM and youMICH attended the Central Student Judiciary’s hearing on Saturday that upheld the University Elections Commission’s decision to disqualify the winners of the Central Student Government’s presidential election.

While the two groups of supporters were seated only a few feet apart, the CSJ’s polemic final ruling has only pushed the sides further apart and raised questions about the steps candidates and parties will take to win an election.

It initially appeared that LSA juniors Chris Osborn and Hayley Sakwa, forUM’s respective presidential and vice presidential candidates, would be the next executives of CSG after received nearly 500 votes more than their closest competitors — Business junior Michael Proppe and LSA sophomore Bobby Dishell, youMICH’s presidential and vice presidential candidates.

Members of youMICH filed a complaint claiming that Osborn was influencing students while they voted and provided photographic evidence of Osborn standing near voters while they were on the CSG voting site. The UEC issued eight demerits to Osborn and Sakwa, more than five necessary to disqualify a candidate from the election. Though Sakwa was not involved in the influence of voters, election rules mandate that both party candidates must be removed from the election.

Proppe and Dishell are now rising president and vice president of CSG, but Proppe, who didn’t attend the CSJ or initial UEC hearing, said this wasn’t how he wanted it to happen.

LSA sophomore Laurel Ruza, the chair of youMICH, said it was never the party’s goal to disqualify an opponent.

“It’s not our intent to kick people out — it’s that we see a violation, we’re filing it,” Ruza said. “We see the code broken, we’d like to address it.”

Osborn said he found it “ironic” that Ruza had previously said that youMICH did not think hearings were the appropriate avenue for electoral success.

“Yet here they are and have successfully done so,” Osborn said.

Public Policy senior Alexander Lane, the communications director of forUM, expressed concern that Osborn and Sakwa’s disqualification will incentivize parties to view hearings in the UEC as a means of electoral victory.

“In future years this will set a very ugly precedent,” Lane said. “If students were tired of politicking and everything that is uncouth and bad about politics, then at least at the moment I think that they are in for a lot more of it.”

Proppe couldn’t estimate exactly how much he thought Osborn’s influencing of voters affected the election.

“I think Chris and Hayley and forUM ran a great campaign, but I do think they were significantly more aggressive in the libraries and the Fishbowl than we were,” Proppe said.

While the two photographs used as evidence were taken of Osborn in multiple locations, Proppe said no members of youMICH were following Osborn. He did acknowledge, however, that there was “hearsay” that members of forUM had been approaching students around campus and not leaving them until the students had voted.

“On the first day we got wind that forUM was being pretty aggressive in the libraries,” Proppe said. “So there were (party members) that said, ‘OK, if you see somebody from forUM going through the fishbowl and they look like they’re playing dirty, make sure to document it.’ ”

Proppe pointed out that earlier in the election, youMICH had informed momentUM that members of that party had been placing flyers that contradicted election rules, but no complaints were filed.