Nick Saban finishes sixth in presidential election
April 15, 2019
It’s been more than a month since ballots were cast, counted and new Student Government Association (SGA) officers were announced. Since then, the newly elected officials have gotten acclimated to their positions and started serving those on campus.
Similar to years past, some students took a humorous approach toward voting in elections. While actual candidates on the ballot came away with all of the positions in the end, the write-in votes were of a comical nature.
Like in years past, students who logged into myBama to vote made it clear that they did not approve of The Machine and that they did not want alleged Machine representatives to be in power. Anti-Machine write-ins included, “The Machine is a disease,” “I don’t support the Machine” and the most popular, “The Machine is low down, they dirty, they some snitches.”
While anti-Machine comments were popular among the write-in population, they weren’t the only ones that were sent. Nick Pizzuto, a sophomore majoring in aerospace engineering, said he thinks the comic write-ins are a result of people’s apathy toward campus politics.
“I feel like it’s due to people feeling like their vote isn’t going to mean anything,” Pizzuto said. “When they feel that way, they don’t bother putting their full effort into it and we end up with [these election results].”
Alabama athletes also made their bid for office again this year. Kira Lewis Jr., freshman point guard for the men’s basketball team, received votes, along with former UA men’s basketball player and current player for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Collin Sexton. Other athletes who received votes included quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and former quarterback Jalen Hurts, who had already announced his transfer to the University of Oklahoma when votes were cast.
Alabama figures like Big Al and Nick Saban, who finished sixth in the presidential election, also received votes in the SGA election.
Noteworthy write-ins also included “SaInTsGoTsCreWed,” “John F. Kennedy” and “NFL Refs,” which showed just how serious some students take the SGA elections as a whole.
“I think they’re hilarious,” said Aidan Mitchell, a sophomore studying metallurgical engineering.
While some of the write-in votes may be entertaining to read, and some showed creativity, the number of students who submitted ballots with comedic write-in votes came in at almost 2% of the votes in each category. Though the write-in votes may have put a smile on the faces of those who counted them or anyone who was able to see the election results, not everyone appreciated the comedy.
“I think that all the joke write-ins are disrespectful to the candidates and those who did decide to seriously vote,” said Carington Gaskin, a freshman majoring in advertising and anthropology.
Noteworthy write-ins:
- Alex Trebek
- Jesus
- Avery Johnson Jr.
- Tevin Mack
- Jerry Jeudy
- “I’m too old to vote for senate”
- “Gucci C. Freedom”
- Harambe
- John Cena