A candidate for the Undergraduate Students Association Council internal vice president cannot campaign for the rest of the election period, the USA Judicial Board confirmed Monday evening.
The judicial board rejected the petition of Gabrielle Trujillo – one of four IVP candidates in the 2026 USAC election – who alleged that the USA Elections Board unfairly sanctioned her from campaigning and violated the Election Code by not punishing individuals who she alleged filed malicious complaints against her. The elections board found Trujillo guilty of violating social media and technology policies outlined by the elections board six times out of the eight complaints filed against her.
The judicial board heard the case Monday afternoon through Google Meet – which Judicial Board Chief Justice Eli Sepulveda said was due to the case’s urgent nature – and released its decision the same evening on social media.
Trujillo, a second-year history and public affairs student, was originally barred from campaigning for 12 hours from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on April 20 after she was found to have a profile picture that violated the social media guidelines, since it was unapproved by the elections board and was missing its logo, according to an April 17 Elections Board notice of finding. Trujillo also had a Linktree in her Instagram bio that did not state a required Elections Board disclaimer, a second offense, according to a second April 17 notice of finding.
The elections board sanctions candidates’ campaigns after their second violations, according to the Elections Board 2026 Outline of Possible Infractions and Sanctions Document. The elections board mistakenly did not apply this sanction in its April 17 notice of finding detailing the Linktree incident, according to the April 19 notice of finding, which implemented the sanction.
Trujillo was later barred from campaigning for another 12 hours from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on April 23 because the elections-board-approved logo was not visible in a photo stating “Gabi for IVP” in her Linktree, according to an April 23 notice of finding.
She was sanctioned again after posting a screenshot of a Daily Bruin story about the internal vice president debate, without the necessary Elections Board logo or approval from the board, according to a May 3 notice of finding. Trujillo was barred from campaigning for 36 hours for the offense, beginning May 3 at 11:45 a.m.
Trujillo’s largest sanction came after the elections board found that Trujillo had posted three stories with the Elections Board logo and disclaimer, which were never approved by the board, according to a May 8 notice of finding. The elections board barred Trujillo from campaigning for the rest of the election period due to the infraction, citing the severity of the offense and her four previous violations as reasoning.
Trujillo alleged that similar social media violations by other USAC candidates were not punished because they were considered rectified once their story posts had expired, but that hers were not. Trujillo also alleged that other candidates – like those for transfer student representative – violated social media guidelines more than once but were barred from campaigning for a shorter period or not at all.
Trujillo said her punishments were in violation of Article Eight, Section 8.2.8.a of the Election Code, which states that candidates who violate the Election Code should be reprimanded in an equitable manner.
The board heard arguments from Elections Board Vice Chair Carl Maier in response to Trujillo’s petition. Maier said the severity of sanctions against Trujillo were not discriminatory but instead matched the severity of her campaign’s social media violations.
Trujillo’s use of the Elections Board logo without explicit permission from the board warranted a severe penalty and was an offense that could not be rectified by the candidate, as outlined in the Election Code, Maier said. Maier added that Trujillo’s examples of forgiven violations from other candidates do not prove that she was unfairly punished, since those candidates received sanctions that matched the severity of their violation.
Trujillo also alleged that the elections board failed to properly investigate the possibility of malicious intent behind reports filed against her campaign, adding that she is the most reported candidate in the current election cycle. Trujillo alleged that the elections board violated Article Eight, Section 8.2.8.c.viii of the Election Code because the board took frivolous allegations against her seriously and did not hold the filers responsible.
She alleged that the current Election Code creates a system that rewards candidates who file the most reports against their opponent, taking them out one by one, she alleged at the hearing.
Maier said the number of reports against a candidate has no bearing on the severity of punishment for violations, but that sanctions are determined entirely by the actions of candidates throughout their campaigns. He added that while the elections board investigates all reports equitably, every candidate has the opportunity to challenge the reports made against them and sanctions imposed on their campaigns, and that Trujillo decided not to until her fifth violation.
The elections board declined to comment on the ruling, citing their respect for the integrity and independence of the judicial board and trust in the democratic process. Trujillo did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Board’s decision.
The elections board did not violate the Election code or fail to respond equitably to violations of the Election Code, the judicial board said in its decision.
“We believe that we are running a fair and equal election, and we are confident in that,” Maier said at the hearing.
