Two members and one recently resigned member of the Associated Students of Stanford University (ASSU) elections commission, along with ASSU President Diego Kagurabadza ’25, submitted a bill to expel Undergraduate Senate (UGS) co-chair Ivy Chen ’26 M.A. ’27 from the UGS on Wednesday.
The bill accuses Chen, who was running to serve as ASSU President, of seeking “to undermine the democratic process” in the 2025 ASSU election. It alleges that, in a meeting with former elections commissioner Christian Figueroa ’27, Chen “implored Figueroa to manipulate the votes in her favor” and “suggested that Figueroa would not be caught or penalized for such conduct.” Figueroa stepped down from his position as elections commissioner the following day.
Figueroa clarified that he “immediately reported the incident to the proper ASSU officials” and has “since assisted in the investigation” in an email to The Daily.
“It is my intention this evening to provide evidence to the components of the bill,” Figueroa wrote. “I stepped down to preserve the public trust in the electoral process… It was an honor and a privilege to serve as the ASSU Elections Commissioner.”
Chen did not respond to The Daily’s request for comment.
The day before Chen’s meeting with Figueroa, Chen’s running mate and UGS co-chair, Gordon Allen ’26, withdrew from the race, citing an “environment where [he] felt like the working dynamic was not going to be productive for the overall student body.” When Chen could not find a new running mate, her slate was left off the ballot.
The UGS will issue a “formal notice” of an expulsion vote at their weekly meeting on Wednesday, according to a statement issued by David Sengthay ’26 and Jadon Urogdy ’27 on behalf of the UGS. The statement clarifies that the final vote will take place at the following UGS meeting, scheduled for May 7, allowing Chen to “speak in her defense” and all UGS Senators to “weigh the facts before voting.”
“We want to be clear: this is not a personal attack. Instead, it is an effort to uphold the standards of integrity and fairness to which every elected official is accountable,” Urogdy and Sengthay wrote. “Our responsibility is to the student body, and our actions reflect a commitment to transparency, not personal judgment.”
Urogdy shared that the statement “demonstrates that every student deserves an association that upholds the values of integrity and transparency,” in a message to The Daily.
“While this is undoubtedly a tough time for the ASSU, I hope that it does not detract from our productivity this year and the promising future of the Association,” Urogdy wrote.
Sengthay told The Daily that he is “quite concerned about the allegations.” He shared that, in a working session last night, the UGS heard evidence from the authors of the bill, including Figueroa and Kagurabadza, as well as testimony from Chen.
“If they are true, it is a clear violation of the ASSU Constitution and the ethical standards expected of any senator,” he said. “The UGS is committed to the values of democracy and ethical standards that come with being an elected official on this campus.”
The elections commission, particularly this last year, has been no stranger to controversy. On April 17, third-year Ph.D. student in physics Sephora Ruppert filed a petition on behalf of several ASSU, UGS and Graduate Student Council (GSC) candidates accusing the elections commission of a enforcing a “public financing deadline that violates the Joint Bylaws of the ASSU and undermines the principles of a fair, transparent, and inclusive election.”
“As a result, multiple candidates across several races have been denied funding eligibility,” the petition stated. The council unanimously voted to deny the case on April 23.
Last year, former ASSU Senator Carmen Kang sued the elections commission — as well as Chen, Allen and four other senators — for alleged election fraud. Kang ultimately rescinded her petition the day the ASSU council convened. The UGS unanimously voted to expel Kang from the senate in the fall for seeking to “unconstitutionally suspend the selection of Undergraduate Senate officers.”
Unlike previous actions brought against or by the elections commission, the move against Chen comes in the form of a bill, which will require two-thirds of the UGS to approve and will not appear in front of the ASSU Constitutional Council.
“My hope for the next Undergraduate Senate meeting is that we get better information about specifically what happened between Ivy and the Elections Commissioner,” said Mandla Msipa ’26, a former UGS Senator. “I don’t think that Ivy is a bad person… [or was] acting maliciously. It’s entirely possible that she said things that she probably shouldn’t have, but we just need information.”
The UGS plans to debate the bill tonight.
Ananya Udaygiri ’26 contributed reporting.