University of California San Diego: Student Government Election Stolen Over Protected Speech

In early April 2026, University of California San Diego student government candidate Aydin Yelkovan was found guilty of three violations of the Associated Students Election Code’s ban on associating with other candidates and requirement that candidates be “civil” in their campaigning. Because of those verdicts, he received three formal warnings, which automatically disqualified him from the election despite his ballot-box victory. On May 6, FIRE wrote the Associated Students of UCSD and UCSD administrators, explaining that ASUCSD acts as an agent of the university and is therefore bound by the First Amendment, which prohibits it from maintaining — let alone enforcing — overbroad civility restrictions. FIRE’s letter demands that ASUCSD reinstate Yelkovan in the election and revise its policies to comply with the Constitution.