Mississippi State University’s Student Association passed three bills during its Senate business meeting at 6 p.m. on Jan. 21 that change student campaign rules for the fall and spring elections. These measures focus on shortening the campaign period, limiting the use of QR codes to guide students directly to the voting platform and redefining the Office of Provost seat.
A bill introduced by Speaker of the Senate Trace Howell will reduce the “active campaigning” period, the period when candidates can campaign on the Drill Field and engage directly with voters, from seven class days before elections to four.
With elections occurring on Tuesday, previous candidates were allowed to campaign Monday through Friday the week before elections, and Monday and Tuesday the week of, combining for a total of seven class days. The new bill means active campaigning the week before elections will be limited to Thursday and Friday.
According to the bill, this change aims to “ensure all candidates’ physical and mental well-being.” Howell, a senior political science major, said he hopes the new rule will make the campaign season easier on the candidates.
“The mental strain and the physical tear down during the weeks and weeks of campaigning makes people not want to run,” Howell said. “My intent with this bill was to make it, you know, desirable to be out on the Drill Field.”
Howell also mentioned that the shortened campaign season would provide an equal opportunity for candidates who cannot fund or provide resources for an extended campaign.
Rules regarding passive campaigning, which includes posting on social media and wearing stickers, remain unchanged.
Another bill passed, also introduced by Howell, prohibits campaigners from holding or distributing QR codes that link directly to the voting platform to fight against unnecessary pressure to vote for a certain candidate.
Supporters of this bill argued that the widespread use of QR codes linked with large campaign teams creates an uneven playing field.
“Say someone has a campaign team of one hundred, and they all have QR codes,” MBA student Rachel Carpenter said. “The vote is oftentimes won just by that person standing there with a QR code. And if you don’t have a big campaign team, it seems to turn to an unfair advantage.”
Carpenter also mentioned how the QR code bill can lead to a change in election culture. During past election cycles, MSU students often could pass large campaign teams near sidewalks, bus stops and academic buildings, where members would approach students and ask them to vote for their candidate.
“I think students get tired of that,” Carpenter said. “It leads to them not going to the Drill Field and interacting with the candidates and not choosing the one that actually reflects what they want to see embodied by Mississippi State, especially in homecoming.”
To combat the anticipated decrease in voter turnout due to the bill, Chief Justice Katelyn Rizzo, a senior political science major, suggested having SA-sponsored, impartial QR codes posted around academic buildings away from the campaign field that provide direct links to the voting platforms.
Both bills passed with significant support from the Senate, reaching the two-thirds majority needed to amend the SA’s bylaws. Howell said the ideas for these bills stemmed from the Homecoming Review Task Force, a group of students, alumni and members of the SA executive branch who met in the fall semester to explore ways to improve SA elections.
Another bill, authored by senior sociology major and Shackouls Honors College Senator Abby Reeves, changed the SA bylaws’ language to allow students in colleges not already represented by another Senate seat, such as students in the College of Professional and Continuing Studies, to run for the Office of Provost seat. The seat was previously reserved for undeclared majors. The bill passed unanimously.
However, during an open discussion about QR codes, Senator Easton Wamble, a senior supply chain logistics major, proposed an amendment to abolish the SA ticket system. In this electoral system, the presidential and vice presidential candidates run together. It was established two years ago under the Guest administration. After a lengthy 45-minute discussion, the amendment was rejected in a 0-43-4 vote.
During the discussion, Wamble pointed out that his ticket system amendment would decrease the advantage that Greek organizations, mainly sororities, would have during elections.
In his proposal, he repeatedly stated that a ticket consisting solely of two sorority members would be guaranteed 400-600 votes from their respective chapters. However, there was discussion about whether abolishing the ticket system, thereby splitting up the presidential and vice presidential candidates, would fix the problem.
Opponents of the amendment also noted that the changes were being discussed only a week before the letter of intent’s due date and could disrupt existing plans for those planning to run for SA.
Later, Wamble reflected on the amendment’s failure to pass.
“I’m glad it worked out the way it did, so it doesn’t hurt anybody that has already planned out their ticket,” Wamble said, “but I’m glad that this is going to be a bigger conversation on this for the next year.”
Overall, Howell said the election changes instilled during the Senate meeting could be very productive in fostering student enthusiasm for elections while ensuring their fairness.
“I want people to be excited about voting in elections,” Howell said. “Elections are very important and people need to realize that, but it’s very hard to be excited about it when you’ve seen it for multiple weeks.”
