Student sues CSU claiming he earned most votes and should have won election

HAYWARD, Calif. - A Cal State East Bay student who ran for student body president has sued the university, saying he won the most votes and should not have had to subject himself in a run-off.

Mahdi Fugfugosh, a senior, filed the lawsuit Wednesday with the Alameda County Superior Court. He is being represented by a conservative attorney, Harmeet Dhillon, the former chair of the California Republican Party as well as the NAACP.

 "I'm not looking for a get rich case," he said in a virtual news conference on Wednesday. "I'm not looking for a million dollars off Cal State East Bay. I'm literally, I want the presidency that I won, I want to make a difference at CSU East Bay. And I want to take that and further my education and then eventually better my community and California as a whole."

According to the claim, Fugfugosh ran for student body president of the California State University, East Bay Associated Students Incorporated and was one of three candidates.

He was the highest vote-getter in March with 43.28% of the vote. But the Election Committee called a run-off because he did not win a majority of the votes.

Dhillon, in a virtual press conference Wednesday, said the Election Code states there should be a run-off only if there is a tie. Since that didn't happen, she said the winner with the most votes must win. 

But the counterargument is that because Fugfugosh did not get 50% plus 1 of the vote, they have to hold a run-off.

University officials denied that the election was rigged or improper. But they said they can't say anything further because of the lawsuit.

Fugfuggosh is a senior, who plans to graduate this year, so he can't run for the presidency again