Despite posters, speeches and campaigning, most high school election votes are based on popularity.
Why vote for the better candidate when the alternative is voting for your best friend? This annual problem is one that every student silently acknowledges, and no one does anything about. As much as everyone likes to think that the most qualified candidate wins the election, the outcome frequently favors the candidate with the most friends.
Who cares what a candidate could do to improve the school? As long as he knows the Pokémon theme song, he is clearly the best choice. Many candidates work hard on their speeches; however, whether their hard work pays off is debatable. Funny speeches capture everyone’s attention, making the more serious candidate’s fundraising and school improvement ideas no longer relevant. Speeches are meant to affect the voter’s choice, but it seems that when everyone goes in knowing whom they are going to vote for, the speeches are merely a formality.
Unless, of course, they crack a good joke.
“The problem with elections is they don’t consider who would do the better job,” Colleen Bradley, who is running for 2016 class treasurer, said.
Another reoccurring problem is candidates who run as a joke and end up being the new school leaders. Some people run just to have the opportunity to make jokes in front of their entire class. Apparently the cool thing is to vote for the worst candidate, as a joke of course. But what happens when enough students with the mocking mindset get the jokester elected? Have a nice prom in the school gym.
Of course, it’s also true that the friend a student votes for may be, in fact, qualified for the position. Also, a candidate who loses an election may be popular or have many friends. The question is: are these people winning and losing for the right reasons? Students should vote for a candidate based on qualifications, goals and how hard he or she works rather than voting for the best friend or the most comical speech.
