In the midst of today’s University of Mississippi homecoming elections, you may know for whom you’re voting, but do you know how much money your candidates spent to earn your vote?
“There’s a substantial financial obligation that you’re committing to when you run,” said Courtney Pearson, last year’s homecoming queen. “You want to spend the least amount of money but still have the most effective campaign that you can.”
Personality elections at Ole Miss come with a cost determined by the ASB. Attorney General Rob Pillow said the budget this year for Miss Ole Miss, Mr. Ole Miss (formerly “Colonel Reb”) and homecoming queen is $600. Homecoming maid candidates must run their campaigns solely by word of mouth.
Doug Odom, former Colonel Reb candidate, knows the importance of the budget and the democratic process of campus elections.
“Flyers, stickers, a sign in front of the Union all obviously cost money,” Odom said. “You definitely have to budget accordingly. The beauty of each election is that any student, regardless of race or ethnicity, Greek or independent, can run for a position as long as they meet the minimum requirements.”
But what if a student meets the minimum requirements and can’t afford to campaign?
“If you want to run and you can’t afford to run, it is a little heartbreaking,” she said. “You could have some very qualified and exceptional people that if they can’t afford to run, it does put them at a disadvantage.”
Both Pearson and Odom funded their campaigns personally, while other candidates such as ASB President Gregory Alston received additional funding from organizations such as fraternities, sororities and other private entities for his presidential campaign.
While Alston referred to his fraternity as “a huge help,” he encouraged students to run regardless of the source of their campaign funding.
“It definitely helps to have an organization backing you, but I don’t think that will make or break you,” he said. “If you’re not in an organization, so what? I think you should still run.”
According to Pearson, a candidate’s financial worries far exceed the initial, expected spending. Both Pearson and Alston said that the candidate is held responsible if any student places a candidate’s sticker in a noncampaigning zone such as the Union or on a stop sign, which violates ASB campaigning regulations. These violations result in budgetary fines that can ultimately cost a candidate money and even an election.
“It’s a disqualifying offense to go over budget,” Pearson said.
Candidates must turn in receipts for nearly every campaign expense, including donated items.
“If you’re using it in your campaign, you have to put it in your budget form,” Pearson said. “In the candidate’s expense voucher (for a campaign sign), they should have paint, they should have wood, they should have nails, they should have the sandbags that are holding the thing down. Anything that goes into the sign has to be accounted for.”
Despite rules and costs, Odom said the ASB did a great job guiding candidates in their campaigns last year.
With the weight of these campaign responsibilities in mind, Pearson said voters can now have a better idea of the work that the election process entails.
“That’s how much your candidate is putting into this,” she said. “It’s a tremendous skill in terms of being able to manage all of these people and organize a campaign. I think candidates would love for people to appreciate that and get out there and vote.”
