Miss Homecoming Sadie Argo collected over 1,000 more votes than second-place candidate Tracy Moore.
The 2018 Miss Homecoming election saw 9,340 votes tallied — a 31percent turnout. Polls closed on Friday, Aug. 28, at 7 p.m.
Morgan Gaston was crowned Miss Homecoming 2017 after a voter turnout of 33 percent. The votes tallied in 2017 sat at almost 9,500.
In 2016, 6,158 votes were filed — a 22 percent turnout. In 2015, 4,585 votes were filed. In 2014, 5,249 votes were filed — a 20 percent turnout.
Turnout has improved over the past four years, but it is crucial to remember the general increase of students at the University.
Former 2018 Miss Homecoming candidate Maddy Hickman said campaigning in Auburn is difficult. Personally, she said she had trouble paying what was necessary to campaign and felt it was unnecessary.
"Auburn elections are hard because active students are already supporting someone, and others seem not to care about what you have to say," Hickman said. "My favorite part of campaign weeks is reaching that middle ground of aware publics."
Hickman said she noticed there were fewer students on campus during voting hours. She said she believes lower turnout is linked to new election laws prohibiting off-campus campaigning and the law prohibiting more than 10 people in one area.
Another reason Hickman sited as a reason for possible disinterest in voting was the timing of the election. Being that the vote is conducted the weekend before Homecoming weekend, she said many students leave town.
"I believe the goal with these laws is to ensure that students are making more informed decisions and equality among campaigns, which I think is great," Hickman said. "I honestly can't say if they are successfully doing this."
Here are the results of the election:
- Sadie Argo: 3,283 votes (*3,336 votes – 53 votes penalty from violation ruling)
- Tracy Moore: 2,218 votes
- Sarah Louise Boland: 1,568 votes
- Maddy Hickman: 1,566 votes
- Jennifer Eaton: 652 votes
According to Elections Board, out of the 9,340 votes, 57.5 percent were cast by female voters and 42.5 percent by male voters.
Freshmen cast 34.8 percent of the votes tallied, sophomores cast 23.7 percent, juniors cast 18.1 percent, seniors cast 18.5 percent and graduate students cast 4.9 percent of the votes.
"One thing I've learned in my time at Auburn is that you can't make people care, and that is OK as long as you care enough for everyone," Hickman said.
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