William Cummings

USA TODAY

Energy Secretary Rick Perry condemned the results of the Texas A&M University election for student-body president, saying it was "stolen outright."

Perry shared his views on the election in a column titled "Did A&M favor diversity over right to due process?" that was published in the Thursday edition of the Houston Chronicle.

Initially, the former Texas governor said he was "proud" that the student body had elected an openly gay man president "because the election appeared to demonstrate a commitment to treating every student equally, judging on character rather than on personal characteristics."

But the former Dancing With the Stars contestant grew concerned when he learned the declared winner, Bobby Brooks, had actually received 750 fewer votes than Robert McIntosh.

McIntosh was disqualified over charges of voter intimidation and for not providing the receipts for glow sticks used in a campaign video, the Chronicle reported. The intimidation charges were dismissed on appeal, but the glow stick charges stuck.

Perry wrote that "at best" the disqualification "made a mockery of due process and transparency."

"The desire of the electorate is overturned, and thousands of student votes are disqualified because of free glow sticks that appeared for 11 seconds of a months-long campaign," wrote Perry, who himself served twice as an "Aggie Yell Leader" (they lead students in yelling at athletic events).

Perry said it is hard not to conclude that the election was overturned in the name of diversity.

"What if McIntosh had been a minority student instead of a white male?" Perry wondered. "Would the student body have allowed a black student body president to be disqualified on anonymous charges of voter intimidation?"

"The outcome would have been different if the victim was different," Perry concluded.

Texas A&M spokeswoman Amy Smith said in a statement that the school appreciated Perry’s "long-term commitment to his alma mater and to the state in general" but added, "we were surprised that he weighed in on the university student body election and respectfully disagree with his assessment."

"To suggest that the same decision of disqualification would not have been made if the roles were reversed is to deny the Texas A&M of today where accountability applies to all," Smith said.

The Chronicle ran a front-page story calling Perry's submission "extraordinary" and pointing out that Alison McIntosh, the mother of the losing candidate, is a longtime Republican fundraiser.

"It's strange" Rice University political science professor Mark Jones told the Chronicle. "Of all the things he could have an opinion on, this is probably not the smartest move for a Cabinet secretary. He must be really upset about it."