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| Sunday, December 10 Some 126 ballots not cast properly Associated Press | |||
| NEW YORK -- When the winner of the Heisman Trophy is
announced, rarely are questions asked about the voting process.
Maybe now there will be.
In the final results Sunday, which gave Florida State
quarterback Chris Weinke the Heisman Trophy over Oklahoma
quarterback Josh Heupel by 76 points, only 86.3 percent of eligible
voters cast ballots.
Of 922 ballots mailed out by the Downtown Athletic Club, which
presents the award, only 796 were counted in a tally that was the
seventh tightest in Heisman history.
If the remaining 126 voters responded, Weinke's margin of
victory could have been much greater, or Heupel might have gained
enough support to win.
So what happened to the other ballots?
DAC spokesman Sean Ingram explained Sunday that a 100-percent
response would be unusual. He said some voters fail to return their
ballots by the deadline (the day before the announcement), some
forget to vote, and others do not follow specific voting
instructions.
"It's a concern, sure," Ingram said. "We try to get all the
voters and would like to have 100 percent, but at an average of
more than 85 percent, that's a pretty good return."
While Weinke's victory was close, the six that were closer had even
lighter returns.
In the closest Heisman vote ever -- Bo Jackson's 45-point win
over Chuck Long in 1985 -- only 781 of the 1,050 eligible voters
(74.3 percent) cast ballots.
In 1961, 714 of 1,091 voters (65.4 percent) gave Ernie Davis a
53-point Heisman win over Bob Ferguson in the second closest
balloting.
Over the past 11 years, the average Heisman voter response has
been 86 percent -- with a low of 79.9 percent in 1990 (Ty Detmer won
over Rocket Ismail by 305 points), and a high of 94 percent in 1997
(Charles Woodson beat Peyton Manning by 272 points).
Currently, the accounting firm of Deloitte & Touche mails out
ballots in November after receiving names and addresses from the
DAC, which has sectional representatives responsible for updating
voting lists by early September.
This year, the voter breakdown was 870 media members, 51 Heisman
winners and one fan ballot. Voters are asked to list their top
three choices, with three points going for a first-place vote, two for
second and one for third.
Ballots were mailed Nov. 8, and reminders sent out over the next
two weeks, informing voters their ballots had been sent. Then, it
was up to voters to return the ballot.
For now, ballots can only be returned by mail, but the DAC is
looking into the possibility of accepting ballots by e-mail,
"which might make it a lot easier on some voters," Ingram said.
| ALSO SEE
FSU's Weinke wins Heisman in closest vote since '89Different year, same Heisman story for Brees Weinke struggled in baseball before finding football success 2000 Heisman Trophy Voting | ||
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