The Daily Delegate

Over the years, Youth and Government campaigning has changed significantly from what it once was. In previous elections, delegates remember candidates having bold, highly recognizable campaigns aimed at making lasting impressions on their voters. To many, these campaigns dove into topics beyond policy discussions and civic engagement, and into territory that was much more personable. With these more distinctive conversations offering insight into candidates’ personalities and leadership styles alongside their plans for the future of Y&G. However, experienced delegate members have sensed a sudden shift towards a more reserved and minimalistic campaigning style that has led to fewer personal interactions between candidates and delegates.

Rhoda Eme, a third year delegate, described this development, saying, “Over the years, campaigning has changed so much. The previous years’ campaigning for candidates was so over the top. Like it used to actually represent the candidates and show a side of their personality through the way they campaign that would help people know who they wanted to vote for.”  According to her, it seems the campaigning styles would give more insight about their personality outside of Y&G while providing memorable experiences on what they stand for and plan to bring to the program.

In past years, campaign efforts frequently included strategies such as bold slogans, visual displays like elaborate posters and interactive events, accompanied by the required speeches to engage participants. These efforts worked to establish stronger connections between candidates and voters to facilitate a clearer understanding of each candidate’s platform.

More recently, some delegates have noticed campaign efforts becoming more restrained. Aubrey Williams from the CKY delegation shared her perspective, “I feel like our personal relationship with candidates isn’t as deep as it could be. Even at Camp Bob, people were campaigning more, but still, it was nothing compared to last year, ” referring to the 76th and 77th leadership campaigns, which many delegates seem to remember fondly. She continued, “ I feel like it’s harder to know who I want to vote for because I don’t know anyone’s actual personality.”

Clearly, the transition toward a more minimalistic approach has led to discussions about its impact on voter awareness. With fewer visible campaign efforts and fewer direct interactions at this conference, participants have called out challenges in pulling more information from candidates before casting their votes.

As the Youth and Government election process continues to change, questions about the future of campaign strategies arise. How will candidates balance efficiency with voter engagement? What approaches will emerge to ensure participants have access to the information they want to know? These factors may influence the direction of Y&G campaigning in future election cycles but it seems that the direction is up to the candidates themselves.