About $5,800 has already been spent to convince Ohio University students to vote for either the FACE or RSVP ticket in the upcoming Student Senate elections.
RSVP has spent $3,800, including cash and in-kind donations after three weeks of campaigning, said treasurer candidate Chris Wimsatt. The majority of the money was spent on flyers, posters, T-shirts and banners, Wimsatt said.
The opposing party spent almost half that amount.
FACE has spent about $2,000 so far, said presidential candidate Matthew Wallace. Most of its funds went toward T-shirts and printing banners, including the large photo of Wallace’s face hanging on Court Street.
Senate election rules allow donors to give up to $150 for each candidate or up to $500 for an executive candidate.
“The finance rules are very ambiguous,” Wimsatt said. “My interpretation of that is that one candidate can give $300 if another candidate gives none.”
Neither party has reached the spending amount of last year’s winning ticket yet. SOUND spent more than $4,500 by the end of campaigning. SOUND’s opponent, P.E.A.R., spent only $2,300.
“One thing that’s relatively understood is that the side that spends the most money … is the side that wins,” Wimsatt said.
Last year, SOUND asked all of its candidates to donate the maximum amount, Wallace said.
“In a sense, they strong-armed their candidates,” he said, adding that FACE asked its candidates to only donate what they could afford.
Wallace said he hopes his party can win without having to outspend RSVP and that FACE can “buck the trend.”
Senate President Jesse Neader, who won his seat on the SOUND ticket, said candidates were encouraged — not forced — to donate the maximum to his ticket. However, the two previous winning parties, AAA and iOU, did ask for the maximum from their candidates, he said.
jf250409@ohiou.edu
@ThePostCampus
