The results of the 1996 elections are by now old news, but one local issue has remained: Just who stuffed the ballot box in last month’s Iowa Sate Daily/Government of the Student Body mock election?

Some campus leaders say it’s no longer a mystery.

“One person was responsible for stuffing the ballot box. That person was a member of the Lightfoot campaign. His name is Eric Hower,” said Adam Gold, GSB president.

Republican Jim Ross Lightfoot was defeated by Democrat Tom Harkin in Iowa’s U.S. Senate race. Ballot counters became suspiscious when a handful of about 30 ballots was pulled neatly folded together from the only ballot box. All of the 30 ballots were votes for Lightfoot and other Republican candidates. They had similar voting circles made in the same color of ink.

Questions about about those ballots and soliciting votes at the polling place throughout the day led Daily Editor Chris Miller to throw out the results of the mock election.

Hower, who has reportedly left the state, was Lightfoot’s college campus campaign organizer. He could not be reached for comment, nor could any members of the disbanded Lightfoot campaign.

“[The individual] has been reprimanded by the Lightfoot campaign and the state College Republicans,” Gold said. “I’m disgusted this happened, though I am glad no Iowa State students are involved. The most unfortunate thing is I lost a cabinet member because he acted hastily and made some assumptions he shouldn’t have.”

Todd Henderson, former GSB director of academic affairs, resigned last week.

Miller said he hopes the truth can soon be uncovered. “I now find it incredibly ironic that a member of the Lightfoot campaign spent more than 20 minutes on the telephone with me shortly after I decided not to stand by the results. I was told that I was making a mistake by declaring the election results invalid.”

Miller, who said he voted for Lightfoot in the general election Nov. 5, added that he won’t soon forget the botched mock election. “If it’s indeed true that this aide deliberately tried to rig what was supposed to be a simple mock election, I’m afraid Mr. Lightfoot’s name will never again be checked on my ballot.”

A member of Iowa State’s College Republican chapter expressed relief that ISU students apparently were not involved in the incident.

Steve Baumgarten, ISU College Republicans chairman, said he spoke with officials on the State Board of College Republicans who said they were looking into reprimanding the individual and the Lightfoot campaign.

State officials confirmed that ISU students were not involved in the inpropriety.

“I have done an investigation into this. I wanted to look into it. We found that no member of the ISU Republicans was involved in this,” said Brenna Findley, chair of the State College Republicans, a federation formed by College Republican members from 18 schools.

Findley said officials are looking for an explanation from Hower.

Former Student Body President Dan Mangan worked with the Lightfoot campaign this year.

He was on campus the day of the mock election.

“I can’t speak for the campaign, but as far as I know it is not anything that could be condoned or encouraged,” said Mangan, who worked on fund-raising for Lightfoot.

He said if Hower did stuff the ballot box it was most likely on his own accord, not on orders from Lightfoot’s campaign or any Republican organization.

“The Republican Party does not have anything to do with this,” Mangan said. [Hower’s] job, as far as I know, was basically to organize the student end of things across the state, which meant doing protests, winning mock elections, doing rallies on campuses, anything that had to do with students.”

Mangan said he was not sure how long Hower was on campus the day of the mock election.