Texas FFA members have swarmed TikTok this week with allegations of an attempted rigged election at the business session 95th Texas FFA State Convention.
Thousands of members were in Dallas for the Wednesday business meeting regarding several items, including amendments to the State FFA constitution.
According to TikTok posts, the unrest erupted when allegations of a rigged election circulated among FFA members, causing the incident to go viral. The students’ videos suggest that a group of parents and advisors had planned a “secret” meeting to swing votes during the business session.
TheCliffnotesGal summarized several user videos alleging that adults wanted to remove the ability for members to vote for representatives, allowing votes to come from the board, composed of adults.
Students also claimed they received text messages and phone calls telling them how to vote during the session. Allegedly, the adults involved also instructed students on how they could prolong and disrupt the meeting.
The problem with this? FFA is a student-led organization where members vote on the direction and student leadership within the organization.
@zydeco._.prince Weve got an update‼️‼️ #texas #texasffa #texasffaconvention #texasffaconvention2023 ♬ original sound – TJJJJJ
To prevent this from happening, voting delegates passed a motion that everyone who was not attending as a delegate had to leave the floor.
Although some videos and users state that advisors and parents were required to leave the room, a Texas FFA advisor messaged AGDAILY to say that adults were required to leave only the delegate floor during the business session, not the room entirely.
See more in the video posted by Mikayla on TikTok.
@mikayla_gb Bye Bye Bye i guess #stateconvention #ffaconvention #ffa #texas #texasffastateconvention #issac #businesssession ♬ Bye Bye Bye – *NSYNC
Ultimately, the convention continued today, and Texas FFA members elected a new 2023-24 state officer team.
@stockshowdreamchasers #txffa #election #president #ffa #nationalffa #blueandgold #theffa #texasffaconvention #stockshowdreamchasers #chadwalkerlivestock #dallas ♬ original sound – Larrew
Texas FFA Association’s response to confusion surrounding the meeting
AGDAILY reached out to the Texas FFA Association at the time this article was first published. A few days later, Meagan Byrne, media contact for the 95th Convention from public relations agency The Power Group, responded:
“The Texas FFA Association is aware of the allegations regarding the business session of our 95th Convention.
“We acknowledge that there was unofficial and confusing information surrounding the proposed amendments. However, we want to assure parents, teachers, sponsors, and especially our students that the Texas FFA is committed to operating an agricultural science and leadership organization dedicated to transparency, rules, and ethics that are fundamental to the integrity of our 95-year-old organization. While there was healthy debate and, ultimately, some of the proposed amendments failed, our students experienced the democratic process and the significance of the parliamentary procedure. Our students are skilled, capable, and empowered.”
FFA is huge in Texas
Texas is one of the top five largest states by membership within the National FFA organization. It boasts one of the largest statewide member groups, and the state’s FFA association hands out over $1 million in scholarships annually.
Business meetings held yearly during the Texas FFA Convention’s business session allow members to amend the Constitution and plan the state’s upcoming FFA year.
Despite the excitement of Wednesday’s business meeting, FFA members said the convention was a success, with a kickoff concert by country musician Josh Ward and keynote speakers such as Dr. Temple Grandin and Dan Owolabi. Students’ talents, skills, and work were showcased throughout the week as members also had the opportunity to network, participate in team-building activities, and attend workshops.
Updated 7/17/23 at 8:30 a.m. ET: Details provided to AGDAILY about the business session during the Texas FFA Convention were added to this article.
Updated 7/19/23 at 3:00 p.m. ET: Details provided to AGDAILY by Meagan Byrne with The Power Group representing the Texas FFA Association were added to this article.
