The VOTE! FAQs

The annual process where new nominees are voted on and inducted as new members into the Mascot Hall of Fame.

This year The VOTE will begin on Sunday, May 12, 2024 at 12:01 AM CDT and last for two weeks solid, ending at midnight, Saturday, May 25, CDT.

1. A mascot must have been active as a performing character in one of the groups described below . . .
   • The major and minor league sports of baseball (MLB, MiLB, etc), basketball (NBA, WNBA, etc), football (NFL, CFL, etc), hockey (NHL, AHL, ECHL, etc.), and soccer (MLS, NWSL, USL, NASL, etc.) as recognized in the United States.
   • College Divisions of NCAA Divisions I, II, III, NAIA
   • Independently performing character
2. A mascot must have been active as a performing character for their team, school, or organization for the previous 10 years prior to the year being elected and be prepared to show documented proof.

The ballot was created by a combination of nominations from the Executive Committee and qualified mascot programs who nominated their programs and are able to attend the various events that make up the induction process.

Voting is done by three different voting groups and each has different weights in the final outcome.

1. The Executive Committee, which is made up of members of the Whiting Entertainment Center Board, experts in the Mascot Community with decades of mascot experience, and other members in the sporting industry.
2. Mascot Hall of Fame "Members" who have purchased memberships to the Mascot Hall of Fame.
3. The Public, members of the general public.

For a mascot to be considered for the ballot, first they must meet the requirements to be considered.

Once the Executive Committee creates their list of nominees for consideration, invitations are then extended to the top nominated programs. If those programs do not accept their invitation, we move to the next most nominated programs. We also consider programs who have nominated themselves and the Committee agrees are worthy of being on the ballot. If invitations are extended and accepted in a timely basis, and there is room on the ballot, those programs could find themselves on the ballot.

We allow for up to 40% of the ballot to be voted for on a single ballot. With 19 mascots on this year's ballot that means you can vote for up to 8 mascots on every ballot you submit.

Similar to other Halls of Fames we wanted to allow the public to participate in the process. As such we allow for people to vote once daily from a device. Name, email, and zip code are all that is needed along with your mascot selection(s).

You can vote again the following day after 24 hours since your last vote on the same device.

There are three voting groups . . .

1. The Mascot Hall of Fame Executive Committee.
2. Membership Holders at the Mascot Hall of Fame.
3. The general public.

Each group has different voting weights. This is not a "Most Popular Vote" process and the greatest voting weight is held within the members of the Mascot Hall of Fame Executive Committee. The Executive Committee has six times the weight of the general public, and the Membership holders have two times that of the general public. Weights are aggregated and totals of each group are then averaged across the groups for the final score using the groups weights.

For example: If a mascot were to be on 70% of the Executive Committee ballots, 25% of the Membership ballots, and 30% of the General public, their final score would be . . . ( (70 X 6) + (25 X 2) + 30 ) / 9 = 55.55%

Historically from between two and four mascots have been inducted each year. Any mascot receiving a score equal to or greater than sixty percent (60%) of the ballots cast shall be elected to membership in the Mascot Hall of Fame. If there are less than two mascots over the 60% threshold, the top two scoring mascots will be elected even if their aggregated score is under 60%. 

If a current Mascot Hall of Fame Executive Committee member is in any way affiliated with a mascot program on the ballot, that member is removed from their position on the Committee during the nomination and voting processes. They can vote as a member of the public or a MHOF Membership Owner if they like.

The mascots who receive enough support to be inducted into the Mascot Hall of Fame will be announced in June 2024.

If you still have a question about The VOTE feel free to submit it through the email address on our Contact Us page.