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Broadside
Nov. 12, Sept. 10,2012 2012
News
Election Night Proves Importance of Northern Virginia The Fairfax campus was bustling on Nov. 6 as the country lined up to vote in the next president of the United States. Mason’s polling place, which was established last year, reported 1,598 voters and Student Government’s exit polls showed favor to incumbent Barack Obama over Mitt Romney. The Virginia Board of Elections later confirmed that the Mason precinct went to Obama. Each election cycle, the focus is on several key swing-states to set the standard and determine the outcome of the race. Virginia, especially Fairfax County, was under high scrutiny as the votes came in and the Electoral College votes were shifted to either side. The Mason voting precinct, which originally pulled in so few voters that its creation was questioned, had a surprising number of voters use the polling place in University Hall, after only approximately 400 were expected. “Having an on-campus voting precinct is a unique opportunity for Mason Students,” said Donald Garrett, an election officer for the Mason precinct and a junior. “It allows for us to show our feelings on a particular issue or candidate without having our opinion diluted by other nearby voters. Also, it adds to our designation as a residential campus. People who choose to live on-campus have a precinct that is an additional amenity to campus life.” Preliminary figures reported 1,187 votes for Obama and 354 for Romney. The amendments to the Virginia
Constitution and bonds for public safety, libraries, parks and storm drains all received a majority vote at the Mason precinct. On election night, the Office of Student Media put together a panel of student journalists to discuss electoral college results, interview other students and discuss major issues in the election. The panel included Shane Smith from Mason Votes, Reuben Jones from Connect2Mason, Colleen Wilson from Broadside, Storm Paglia from WGMU and John Hill from WGMU. From 8 – 11 p.m., the panel was broadcasted on Connect2Mason.com and Mason Cable Network’s channel 231. Interviews from students watching the results around campus were livestreamed onto the show and special guests were brought on for interviews. Student Government president Alex Williams was brought on to discuss the exit-poll student government conducted outside of the Mason polling precinct. The poll sampled every fifth voter, a total of 263. 116 voters refused participation in the survey, giving the project a complete total of 379. Of the voters surveyed: - Barack Obama: 207 - Mitt Romney: 45 - Other: 11 - Gary Johnson: 4 - Jill Stein: 1 - Unspecified: 6 The poll then further broke down the voter demographics into race, gender and student status. 225 of the 263
surveyed were on campus students and 18 were non-students. Women voters outnumbered men 149 to 103, the majority of the female voters going to Obama. The disparity between voter race was also high between the two candidates. Of Romney’s 45 votes, 42 were Caucasian, two were African American and one was Asian. Obama’s voters filled out every racial category: Caucasian, Latino, Middle Eastern, Indian, African American, Asian, Native American and other. The poll also asked voters who they selected to fill the Virginia Senate seat. Overall, 150 people voted for Democrat Tim Kaine and 39 for George Allen. 63 voters said other or did not specify their senate vote. The election night panel also brought on Janelle Germanos, a member of the Mason Vote Mob, who brought a tandem bicycle to campus to remind students to get out and vote. Mason Vote Mob spent weeks before the election spreading their enthusiasm and reminding students to register to vote and make it to the polls on election day. The group also produced a parody video of “Gangam Style” to encourage students to vote. Shortly after 11 p.m., major news networks began projecting that Obama had won reelection, which was met with raucous cheering from students watching the results in the Johnson Center. STORY BY COLLEEN WILSON
#MASONTWEETSTHEELECTION
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“Democracy is going strong in Fairfax. Long lines to vote and it’s not even 7 (there goes my workout).” - President Angel Cabrera 6:53 A.M.
“CNN just said that Fairfax County might be the determining factor in the election. SNAPS. #hometurf” - Becca Marshall, Mason Senior.
2:27 P.M.
“At the end of the day, I’m just glad to say I was able to take part in round two of Obama #4moreyears” - Jalen Sherald, Mason Sophomore 11:43 P.M.
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“In my class of 160, NO ONE thinks Romney is likely to win. Woah. #election2012” - Mason Professor Peter Mandaville 1:34 P.M.
“CBS News’ Wyatt Andrews reports live NOW from my alma mater @GeorgeMasonU which will be included in 2night’s election coverage Proud of #GMU.” - Mason Alumn Alex Romano 6:34 P.M. “Mitt Romney has still not conceded the race but all major networks have called the race saying @BarackObama has won re-election #GMUVotes” - Student Organization MasonVotes 12:18 A.M.
JENNY KRASHIN/BROADSIDE