The Presidential campaigns are nearing the end, and the race is closer than ever-therefore, each vote will be incredibly crucial. The election that some people say may be the closest ever is becoming more unpredictable every day. As of Sunday, Oct. 24, the Rumussen Presidential poll reports that President George W. Bush is estimated to have 47.6 percent of the vote and Senator Kerry has 47.2 percent, with 3.6 percent of voters still undecided.
As of right now, it is estimated that President Bush will get 222 Electoral votes and Senator Kerry will get 190 Electoral votes. Of course, this could very easily change in the upcoming days.
Since the race is so close, some may wonder why any person wouldn’t cast their vote, especially college students, since we are incredibly dependent on whoever will be the next to hold the office of President. When asked if she will vote, junior Kathleen Costello said, “Yes…why not?” This may be the way some college students think, but unfortunately, the numbers of young people between the ages of 18-29 that voted in the last election is not too promising.
Everyone is now aware that the young vote is incredibly important. According to Dr. Hedtke, Chair of History and Political Science, as of now the young vote seems to be in favor of Senator Kerry. This can even be seen on this campus, with the majority of campaign signs being that of the Kerry-Edwards campaign.
Hedtke stated that the four main issues that will determine the fate of the election are terrorism, Iraq, education and social issues. The main question many people are asking is “Who’s going to protect you here at home?,” Hedtke said. The campaign strategy as of now includes the candidates putting “scary labels on each other.” They are not so much saying how they will specifically give benefit to the country, but how their opponent would hurt the country.
There are a handful of states that each candidate is desperate to win. These states are given the nickname of “swing states.” These include Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Florida. So far, it looks as if Kerry will take Michigan. The first polls out of the state of Florida showed that Kerry had a three point lead with the margin of error.
The biggest question mark, Ohio, is an incredibly vital state, especially for President Bush. “No Republican candidate who has lost the state of Ohio has ever won.” Hedtke said. Hedtke predicts that Kerry would have to win three out of the four swing states and Bush would have to win two of the four. Since Pennsylvania is one of these states, each vote here is incredibly important.
Posted to the web by Jenna Nash
