Composed of three council members and three students not on the council, in addition to its chair, the Election Commission was established four years ago to enforce fair campaigning as dictated by the council bylaws.

Appointed by the council’s executive board and confirmed by a vote of the council, these seven students are endowed with the power to do anything from fining candidates to disqualifying them from the race. Their rulings cannot be appealed by the council.

The commission has absolute power, he says, for a reason: the job consists of “doing what others don’t want to do, but what has to be done.”

On the whole, he says he has enjoyed the experience.

“Its nice when everything goes smoothly,” he says. “The worst part is investigating.”

This year posters supporting Chopra appeared before the start of the campaign, and “Rohit” was scrawled in red pencil on signs throughout the Yard. Chopra’s campaign denied responsibility and no culprit has been found.

Though supporters of other campaigns agreed that Chopra was not to blame, some grumbled at what they saw as a relatively lax investigation.

Monteiro stands by the commission’s handling of the incidents.

He also defends his ban on contact with the media before the start of the campaign—a change from past years, when candidates informed The Crimson of their intention to run weeks before the election and began openly planning their bids.

Monteiro points to Section 41 of the council bylaws, which holds that “candidates may not begin campaigning until certified by the Election Commission” and also specifies a date for the certification.

“There was no other decision we could make without effectively contradicting the bylaws,” Monteiro says.

Hawkins, who chaired the commission for the past two presidential campaigns, disagrees. He says the bylaws should be interpreted to mean that candidates can say whether they are planning to run but cannot begin promulgating their platforms.

The Man Behind the Job

Reticent and humble by nature, Monteiro is a figure shrouded in some degree of mystery. As chair of the Election Commission—which he fastidiously explains is a misnomer, since his actual title is “administrative assistant” to the commission—Monteiro has earned himself a reputation for diligence and stringency.

“I can’t imagine anyone else as a chair,” says commission member Melissa A. Eccleston ’04. “Kyle Hawkins, who was a renowned former chair, had enormous shoes to fill. But David has filled them.”