The two major political parties on Penn's campus will once again be facing each other in debate -- except this time, the discussion will not involve the standard political issues like abortion or gay rights.
Seven members of the College Democrats, including Chairman Richard Eisenberg, have filed a charge with the Nominations and Elections Committee against College sophomore Eric Mordecai Rechtschaffen.
Rechtschaffen, who was running for a seat on the Undergraduate Assembly in last week's elections, has been accused of violating Section V of the NEC's Fair Practice Code, which regulates appropriate campaign procedures.
The charge that will be deliberated by the NEC at today's 6:30 p.m. hearing involves the College Democrats' endorsement of Rechtschaffen in an e-mail that was distributed to 1,187 people last Friday.
The College Democrats selected Rechtschaffen and 14 other candidates running for School of Arts and Sciences UA positions through an application process.
When Rechtschaffen filled out the group's screening questionnaire, College Democrats claim he listed his name as Eric Mordecai and failed to mention that he serves as the executive director of the College Republicans.
"The Executive Board of the Penn Democrats feels that our organization was misled and that we have a responsibility as representatives of our membership" to bring this charge, said Eisenberg, a College junior.
On the opposing side, Rechtschaffen seemed ready to defend himself at today's meeting, which will be held in Houston Hall's Bodek Lounge.
"I've seen the charges against me and look forward to being vindicated at the NEC meeting," Rechtschaffen said.
Both Eisenberg and Rechtschaffen said that they were prepared to let the NEC judge the situation for themselves.
"We're going to present our case to the NEC tomorrow, and it's in their hands to determine whether or not we have a good case," Eisenberg said.
Echoing Eisenberg's statement, Rechtschaffen expressed his confidence in the NEC.
"I think I'm just going to let the facts speak for themselves tomorrow," he said.
The NEC's decision will come after a structured hearing, which provides time for opening statements by both parties and questions from the NEC and any audience members present.
"The NEC takes all charges very seriously," NEC Vice Chairwoman Rochelle Behrens said. The College senior said that although there were two charges filed during elections in the fall, and one during last spring's elections, "this is the first violation over endorsements."
"There is no precedent in this realm -- this will be going on new territory," Behrens said.
The hearing is open to the public. Behrens encouraged students to attend but cautioned that "some people come for pure entertainment, but when it comes down to it, there are real emotions at stake."
The election results will be announced immediately following the hearing, which Behrens said could last from 10 minutes to three hours.
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