Are elections nothing more than a simple popularity contest? It’s a question which has been asked for years. On the face of it, it seems like a pedantic question to ask, of course it’s a popularity contest. After all, the person who receives the most votes wins. But in Student Elections in particular, the issue lies with how candidates are gaining their popularity, and many feel it isn’t being done the right way.
Zoe is a member of the ‘SYC (Show Your Colours)’ team, and believes that votes are often being registered solely on what a person looks like, or because they were told to by a friend, rather than taking the time to listen to the message their campaign promotes.
Despite this, she maintains that some people genuinely are interested in what their vote can help to achieve “I think the majority of votes are cast because of what you look like or your personality, so in that respect it is a popularity contest, but there are some who don’t. I’ve had people come up to me today, and they want to know why we’re running, what we stand for.”
Alina McAuley, a member of ‘Team Progress’ (widely considered as the most ‘popular’ group) feels otherwise. Although not running herself, and acting as a self-proclaimed “award-winning smile to bring the voters in” she believes votes are being won in the correct manner "I think the best, and really the only way we can promote ourselves is through events like this, people wouldn’t vote if we weren’t here today talking to them, getting involved.”
Voting closes midday Thursday, and there are many ways in which people can vote, take a stroll near the Creative Arts building and you’ll no doubt be swarmed by people asking if you’ve voted, luring you to their laptops with the promise of coffee and snacks. Popular opinion on campus suggests that ‘Team Progress’ are running away with the elections, only time will tell if this is indeed the case. And one thing is for certain, if votes are being cast for all the wrong reasons, it will only be a matter of time until the weak foundations upon which the elections were swung, start crumbling.