The Final Push

With less than 15 hours before voting officially begins, we’re at the final push for each of the candidates. Last night, I attended meetings where both Trevor and Jordan made appearances, which means that I’ve seen all three tickets speak at a student organization. In all 3 meetings, the presidential tickets were quite strong. Each commanded the attention of the room and spoke with authority. These are good qualities and signs that no matter who wins, UNI students will be lucky enough to have a representative that truly cares about the position.

All three tickets have now sponsored Facebook Events to vote for them. Let’s take a look at the overall count for these groups and for the pages they all created on the first day of campaigning.

Kyle & Brendan Page Likes: 261 Event: 81

Jordan & KaLeigh Page Likes: 189  Event: 159    

Trevor & Beth Page Likes: 131  Event:  92

Keep in mind the difference between these two types of Facebook counts. With a Facebook Page, it’s harder to get a massive amount of likes because users can’t invite people to like it. Or at least, they won’t be notified regarding their invitation. Facebook Events, however, are much different. When someone is invited to an event they are immediately notified that someone invited them and can easily give their RSVP. Page likes typically come from students that are actively following the campaign. The casual student that isn’t following this blog or the campaign most likely isn’t going to click a like button, or even be aware of it’s existence. Usually, the students that like the pages and follow the campaign are the ones that persuade the casual students into voting for a particular candidate.

That being said, I’m really confused with the numbers above. Kyle & Brendan are handsomely winning the “like” race. Typically, that’s a good indication of the number of supporters they have that are passionate about their ticket. However, they’re struggling in the event count. Although their event went up days after Trevor & Beth’s and hours after Jordan & KaLeigh’s, I expected a much bigger count given their Page success.

It’s possible that this event count is just a fluke. Maybe it’s because they invited nearly half as much as the other tickets, or that their supporters simply haven’t checked Facebook since 10:45 last night. However, if I’m Kyle & Brendan, I’m not going to rely on the above two reasons. It’s possible that this marks a turning of the tide. Joel’s endorsement and the vigorous campaigning that we’ve seen out of Jordan & KaLeigh’s camp might be catching up to them. Kyle & Brendan need to address this, and try reaching more students before voting starts tomorrow.

With the Facebook tallies unclear at the moment, one thing is clear. All three candidates are on a full out sprint to the finish line. Trevor & Beth are giving out Scratch cupcakes tonight, all 3 candidates have a presence in the Union, and I’d expect that none will get too much sleep over the next 72 hours.

Stay tuned to the NISGelections.com blog for more analysis and announcements. Soon, we’ll post information to access our LIVE video blog of election night.