With ballots opening today, students will have the chance to choose among a group of five student body presidents as part of an election that has continued to shift and shape into today’s ballot.

Due to the number of candidates running, the ballot may make one more change before a president is chosen.

With the winner having to grab a majority of the votes, candidates agree the student body president race will likely come down to a runoff.

“Because of the sheer number of people running, the odds of winning outright are a lot harder,” candidate Adam Compton said. “You always have to have that aspect of the election in the back of your mind.”

With money being spent by each of the candidates for campaigning, they said they realize they still have to save some for a possible runoff which will feature the top two vote getters of the first election.

“I’m prepared for a runoff, but I also know if you don’t get enough votes Monday and Tuesday then it won’t even matter,” candidate Bobby Mills said.

When the books for filing for SBP candidacy first opened, seven students were on the ballot. But due to violations of the Policies, Rules and Regulations, the list shrunk to five.

“[The high number of candidates] has really made publicity even more important in this election,” candidate Mitch Danforth said. “Voters have to figure out who’s who and what each of us think about issues. All five of us have some similar ideas, so it can make decisions difficult.”

Despite the natural competition between the candidates, they say this election has been surprisingly cordial and clean.

“We all have very distinctly different personalities, but none of us clash,” candidate Kate Luckadoo said. “We appeal to different groups and we all seem to respect each other.”

Candidate Josh Weeks said he agrees with Luckadoo that the campaign has been running smoothly.

“I’ve been very pleased with the interaction between all of the candidates,” Weeks said. “It has really been a fun and civil race.”