Support or Confidence? Where Votes Go

Even when someone, individually, holds a different position about something, that position will most likely be swayed to that of the herd to which they belong. 

It is 10 am, I enter my classroom (from the library) to find my guys- seated in the back corner of the classroom- discussing what three of them have just done- submitted their application letters for consideration for various leadership roles in the student administration. 

Two of them (X & Y) have just submitted letters for the same post. Stunned, I look at them unhappy about that decision. This is not unfounded unhappiness. It is, rather, unhappiness resulting from a feeling of betrayal and deviation from the earlier plan.

 I ask what prompted the change of mind, and I am told the other contender (Z) for the senior-most post is well known among teachers and students alike. My friend (Y), who we had agreed would throw his hat in the ring for the senior-most post, is afraid of losing to Z. 

Given my loyalty to both, I tell them I will not campaign nor vote for any of them provided they are to compete with each other, just as loyal friends do. Reflecting on my disappointment in their decision, they ask me what to do about the situation. Without much thought, I request them to stick to the earlier plan, which was for one to vie for the senior-most post and the other the second. 

Still afraid of losing to Z, Y and the rest of the team, raise all manner of reasons to justify Y’s decision. Confident in our ability to mobilize, I hold my ground. Eventually the team agrees to give my proposal a benefit of the doubt. Y agrees to withdraw his application for the deputy post and submit one for the senior-most post. Quickly, I write the application letter for the senior-most post and hand it to Y, which he immediately submits to the responsible office and withdraws the letter he had submitted earlier. Fortunately, and against earlier fears, Y is shortlisted for the senior-most post and what remains is for us to convince voters- the students- that Y is an ideal candidate for the post, contrary to the already famous Z. 

Y agreed to vie for the senior-most post on the promise, from me, that I would do everything to make him succeed, meaning I became his de facto campaign strategist and all my guys’ eyes are on me. If Y fails, I am to blame. 

I swing into action to lay the foundation for Y’s success in the elections. This is going to be my first exercise on human psychology, and a really wonderful experience for a high school student! 

Awareness + Confidence, in that order.

 My first responsibility is to make Y known to the largest demographic, then sow seeds of confidence in him. 

The largest demographic, in any high school, is the Ordinary Level. This is the easiest to shape too. 

To raise awareness in this demographic, I choose two boys, one in S1- lower O' Level- (Ben) and the other in S3- upper O’ Level (T). The lower Level boy is very famous, and quite stubborn. The upper O’ Level boy is a very noble “man of the people.” To me, the two offer an opportunity to position my candidate in the said demographic. 

For the lower O’ Level section, fame is more important than credibility. So it matters that I work with someone very famous. 

Upper O’ Level is a “mature” section that holds itself (at least it thinks it does) in high regard. Here, someone more respected and loved is the deal, hence my choice of T- a noble man of the people. 

I ask Ben to find me thirty (30) colleagues who will move around carrying placards with Y’s name and photo, raising awareness about him and convincing their colleagues to vote for him in the forthcoming elections. 

My second task to Ben is to prepare the team of thirty (30) to, during the final campaign (in the main hall) shout- at the top most of their voices- when Y gets on stage, and boo, again at the top most of their voices, when Z gets on stage. Ben’s group is to sit in the front of the O’ Level sitting section of the hall during the final campaign. 

My task to T is to, like Ben, find thirty (30) of his colleagues and do awareness campaigns within the upper O’ Level section. 

My second task to T is, together with his group, shout in support of Y when he gets on stage and boo Z when he comes on stage. T’s group is to sit in the back of the O’ Level sitting section of the hall during the final campaign. 

You may wonder, why this shouting, booing and sitting arrangement? 

I believed that shouting in favor of Y would signal to those who didn’t know and support him that he had popular support and that he would win the election. 

Equally, booing was to signal to Z’s support base that he was infamous (among a given demographic, the largest in this case) and was likely to lose the election. 

The sitting arrangement is to ensure the energy is evenly distributed to disguise the plan but also weaken Z’s support base wherever it could be based. A strategy, yeah? 

My second responsibility is to solidify confidence in Y among the A’ Level, where he is already famous within the male demographic. 

To achieve this objective, I get all the males of senior five (5) and ask them to do the following during final campaign: 

1) Sit in silence when the opponent candidate, Z, arrives on stage. And do not join the O' Level groups’ booing. 

2) Stand up, cheer and clap hands when our candidate, Y, arrives on stage. 

3) Form two columns and raise hands in salute to our candidate, Y, when he walks through the two columns. A select number of boys were to escort Y in his inspection of the columns (some military stuff, ha-hah!) 

4) Y is to get down from the podium immediately after introducing himself, and walk through the aisle. 

When final campaign day arrives, I sit watching and wondering whether my plans will yield the success I promised to deliver. 

As if stars are aligning in my favor, the order of campaign speeches is such that the opponent candidate comes first on stage. As he arrives, he is met with a wave of boos from the O’ Level section, and a mute A Level male audience. He doesn’t seem to have a support base anywhere in the room. A few shouts in support here and there, but these are not concentrated anywhere to signal an established presence of support. 

When Y gets on the podium, the room gets filled with noise of support songs and utterances, and handclaps. The O’ Level groups have succeeded at swaying the masses from focusing their attention from the earlier-famous candidate, Z, to the new-famous, Y. 

The columns get formed fast, Y walks through them shaking hands with ‘his men,’ as the others look on while the O’ Level groups keep shouting on top. 

All students leave the main hall and go to their classrooms where the vote casting is to be done. 

We cast our votes, and the opponent candidate gets three (3) from my class while the rest go to Y. 

All votes get counted, and Y wins the election. 

The following year, I do something closely similar to this for another candidate, who is also my favorite and he wins the elections even when he isn't the famous contender. 

Though this is a high school experience, it holds something intrinsic to human psychology- we are herd-wired. 

Most people think and act as a herd. Even when someone, individually, holds a different position about something, that position will most likely be swayed to that of the herd to which they belong. 

This explains why populist movements are able to gather mass support. That support is derived from the need to belong to herds, and winning herds in this case. 

The decision of who to vote for, therefore, and unlike common belief, is influenced by the confidence of the majority than one's established support for a certain candidate.