In a confounding case that painfully illustrates flaws in the Joint Elections Committee procedures, former GW student Edward Meinert was not a registered student when he ran for SA president last semester.

The JEC must change its charter to ensure that a similar incident never happens again.

No formal background check was done for potential candidates. Students who wanted to run for office needed only to confirm that they were enrolled at GW without submitting any proof.

Assistant Vice President for Student and Academic Support Services Mike Gargano said Meinert’s registration status would have been checked if he had won the election.

Try telling that to Alexis Rice, who missed winning the Student Association presidency outright by one vote in the initial election. Rice lost in a runoff against Phil Meisner. Meinert garnered 250 votes in the first election.

If the JEC had properly identified Meinert as not enrolled at GW, the outcome of the election might have been different. Considering the tremendous amount of time and effort put forth by many SA candidates, this situation is a travesty.

The JEC Charter must be amended to include a provision that will formally guarantee that SA candidates are enrolled as students at GW.