Forget Gallup polls. If Facebook is any measure of success, then presidential candidate Scott Donnell should win the election tomorrow by a landslide. Donnell has 208 members for his group "I'm voting for Scott Donnell."
Presidential candidate Kyle Pflug only has 76 members for his group "Kyle Pflug for ASWU President."
Facebook has been used this election as a campaign tool in a way never seen before. Candidates are posting flyers, notes and creating groups to win votes. While candidates have used Facebook in the past to campaign, this has reached a different level.
The most shocking feature is the relatively nonexistent mud slinging. The campaign is very nuetral. Some candidates seem very similar. Both presidential candidates are resident assistants in Duvall.
Executive vice presidential (EVP) candidate Vi Nguyen currently has 94 members. Executive vice presidential candidate Katie Zerkel also has 94 members. Facebook predicts this will be a close race.
Conversations with students on the Whitworth campus have confirmed this. Most students said they were unsure who to vote for on EVP.
A group for candidate Holly Ridings could not be found. A recent conversation with former presidential candidate Amy Newton revealed Ridings has been sick and her cell phone broken, which accounts for her absense from the debates on Tuesday night.
Luis Lopez has 125 members for his group "Luis Lopez for ASWU Financial Vice-President." Ridings' absence from Facebook makes this race impossible to call. However, her absence from Facebook and the debates could also mean a loss.
The validity of using Facebook as a measure for winning elections will be seen tomorrow.
Facebook was used in the demise of the ASWC constitution proposal two months ago. Several Mac men created an event to encourage students to vote against the proposal, which ultimately failed.
Some of the groups I found on Facebook:
WRITE-IN Kit Roberts for EVP
Write-in Josef Bookert for Off-Campus Senator!
Luis Lopez for ASWU Financial Vice-President
Kyle Pflug for ASWU President
I'm voting for Scott Donnell
Vote Katie Zerkel for ASWU Executive Vice President
Vi Nguyen for ASWU Executive Vice-President
VOTE NONE OF THE ABOVE FOR ASWU PRESIDENT!
Write-In COREY NEWMAN for Stewart Senator
Richie Ressel for Stewart Senator
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1 comment:
Davis, Facebook is an interesting element to the elections. It is a powerful advertising tool that seems to get the word out better than any other media that candidates are using. One important factor to remember though, is that people will generally only join a group that they are already aligned with. For example, if I am a die-hard Yankees fan (which I am not), I would not join a pro Red Sox group. Therefore, it is difficult to determine if facebook groups have any swaying power unless people are researching both groups before they vote. If people are using the groups to do research I applaud them, but if they are just joining a group because they are friends with the candidate, the best that can be surmised is that at least X amount of voters will vote for that candidate.
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