Posts – Page 30 – Mason Votes

Florida’s Voting Lines

Photo by: Alan Diaz/Associated Press

Four days after the US presidential election, Florida’s results have finally been called and Obama has won its 29 electoral votes. The extended amount of time it took the Sunshine State to determine the results, is indicative of their obviously flawed voting system.

Florida has received much criticism regarding the rules and regulations of their elections in recent years. The amount of early voting days was cut from 14 to 8, drastically limiting the time people had to cast their ballots and resulting in an increased amount of wait time; discouraging many from voting and forcing others to leave before they had a chance to, due to family or work obligations.

During early voting, people waited in line for hours to cast their ballot. One location in Miami-Dade County was temporarily shut down because they could not handle the large amount of people that have shown up. Some had their cars towed while they continued to stand in front of the polling location, refusing to leave until they had the chance to cast their ballot.

Even on Election Day, people waited for extended amounts of time. Not only were the lines long, but so was the ballot. In some counties it consisted of 10 pages, and was filled with ballot initiatives written in legalese that many found difficult to comprehend, increasing the amount of time it took to fill it out. The situation was also not helped by the fact that there were also fewer polling locations than in 2008 due to redistricting and financial constraints.

People continued to wait in line after the election has already been called; a testament to the American people’s determination to live in a free and democratic society. States hold the responsibility of implementing elections, causing inconsistencies and allowing state politicians to dictate regulations that aid their own personal or party’s agenda, as they are not held accountable to a nonpartisan, higher authority. This must change before the next election, as it threatens the democracy in which Americans are so rightly, proud of.

*The views and opinions expressed are solely those of the author.

Mason Votes 2012 Election Day Exit Polling Results

Live Election Results in J.C on Election Day

On Tuesday, November 6, Mason Votes in conjunction with the Office of Student Media hosted a live election night show. The program was broadcast live from the Johnson Center Atrium and available via webcast at Connect2Mason.com, MasonCableNetwork.Com, and Mason Cable Network campus TV channel 231. Many students and staff members joined together to make election night fun and exciting for students here at Mason. Although many reporters were in the J.C atrium there were also other reporters around campus interviewing students in places like Sub I getting their reactions and feedback from Election Day.

The panel on stage at last night’s event consisted of Shane Smith, Colleen Wilson, Reuben Jones, John Hill, and Storm Paglia. The panel had students representing different organizations come onstage to be interviewed throughout the broadcast. As a reporter, my job was to shade the Democratic states in as they were announced along with Lauren Waldron who shaded in the Republican States. Students were engaged and entertained throughout the entire event and the J.C atrium stayed packed until the announcement of President Barack Obama’s re-election. Judging by the turnout this is an event that will most likely take place in the next four years.

From Left to Right: John Hill, Shane Smith, Rueben Jones and Colleen Wilson.

From Left to Right: Jasmine Young (Reporter), Kevin Jackson (Student Government) and Lauren Waldron (Reporter).

Youth Votes Determines 80 Electoral Votes

According to a CIRCLE (The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement) at the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service at Tufts University, which conducts research on the civic and political engagement of young Americans, the youth vote influenced 80 electoral votes in the November 6, 2012 election, enough to sway the election results for either candidate. Their research shows that voting maters and even small numbers can and do make the difference. See the full post here on their website.

Nov7_YouthVoteDiff_4state_FINAL — CIRCLE exiting polling results of 2012 youth vote

According to CIRCLE, “EARLY EXIT POLLS: Youth Represent 19% of Voters, Up 1 Point from 2008“, in a survey published by CIRCLE. See full text here.

Student Gov’t 2012 Exit Polling Results

The GMU Student Government conducted exit polling on Election Day, November 6, 2012, at George Mason University’s University Hall polling place (precinct 134). 263 voters were surveyed with approximately 1 in 5 voters being asked to take part in the survey and 116 people refusing to answer. Here are the results:

For a copy of the survey as a pdf file click here. The actual result of the polling place as reported by the Virginia State Board of Elections were as follows.

Lessons from Election 2012

While my Electoral College prediction was just four states off, it was more than enough support to reelect Barack Obama. The President’s wider Electoral College win overshadowed a narrow popular vote margin, which was a little over two million votes out of almost 120 million cast.

There is no denying that America remains a bitterly divided country. This campaign did nothing to change that. The resulting structure of the American government is the same as it was prior to the election. Republicans control the House and Democrats have the Senate and the Presidency. A divided nation chose to keep a divided government.

As for what’s next for Obama the next four years, it’s a bit hazy. The President did not really have a clear second term agenda besides saying he’d be doing more of what we saw in his first term. The President’s signature accomplishment of healthcare reform is safe. It weathered a court battle and now an electoral one. So I suspect healthcare will not get rehashed as a policy matter. Obama’s signature second term policy will surely not be as sweeping as healthcare either. He has to get it passed in a GOP controlled House. The good news there is typically the most successful pieces of policy legislation are the bipartisan ones.

The unanswered questions that linger are many. The ‘fiscal cliff’ that’s going to be dealt with in December. Will the President put another jobs package on the table? Will said package cut spending in any significant way? How will the GOP and Obama work together and will their relationship be any better than the last two years?

In the end, Barack Obama has done something remarkable. Winning an election that produced almost complete change in 2008 and winning an election in 2012 that almost entirely maintained the status quo in Washington. Unless Obama himself changes his tact and the Republican House gives a bit too, the resulting dysfunction will look as if we never had an election at all.

*The views and opinions expressed are solely those of the author.

President Barack Obama: RE-ELECTED

Photo by | Dakota Cunningham C2M

Shortly into the eleven o’clock hour on November 6 all the major networks began to call the race. “President Barack Obama has been re-elected and will return to the White House for four more years” one news reporter said.

The President received 50 percent of the national vote to Governor Romney’s 48 percent. When it came to the Electoral College the President received well over the 270 needed to win. He scored 303 to Governor Romney’s 206. Important to note is the state of Florida has not yet been called. There is a possibility the President will ultimately win their as well.

As American’s wake up this morning it would appear as nothing is different. The President is still Barack Obama, the House of Representatives is still controlled by the Republicans, and the Senate is still in Democratic control. This reality raises one major question in which we will receive the answer to in the coming months. That question is where do we go from here?

With a divided government over the last two years congress has seen its approval rating slip to as low as 8 percent. The word and idea compromise has become dirty. What will make these next four years any different? Regardless of who won the White House this question would still have been asked. Maybe now after the dust has finally settled Congress, the Senate, and the President will make real strides to work in a bi-partisan manner, and restore the faith in a government that as Lincoln described as “of the people, for the people, by the people”.

Election Day at Mason 2012 Videos

[youtube]http://youtu.be/K3QxDn3iEno[/youtube]Filmed by Trevor DeSaussure, Connect2Mason.com, Nov. 6, 2012 at George Mason University.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lgAmdzAcc8&feature=plcp[/youtube]
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Filmed by students of Comm 399, Advanced Video, Performance and Writing.

Mason Votes Get Out The Vote Rally Video

Mitt Romney Makes Closing Arguments at Mason

On Monday, November 5, Republican Presidential Candidate made his first and only campaign stop at George Mason University’s Fairfax campus. His event was held at the Patriot Center, where he spoke to an estimated 8,000 supporters with many more who were turned away. Governor Romney spoke about the failures as he saw them from the Obama administration on a whole host of issues. He also shared with his supporters and those who may still be undecided what his vision for the next four years.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVRHazh-F2Q[/youtube]

See Mitt Romney’s full remarks here:

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnD8YkCR1P8[/youtube]