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temple-news.com THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2012
VOL. 91 ISS. 10
THE TIME IS NOW THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION IS NOV. 6 SEE NEWS, OPINION AND VISIT TEMPLE-NEWS.COM/ELECTION.
Barack Obama •
ECONOMY: Obama has made private sector growth under his administration a sticking point and wants to cut out top-down policies.
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STUDENT LOANS: Student loan repayment has been capped at 10 percent of income under the president, who supports the American Opportunity Tax Credit, which doubled funding for Pell Grants.
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STUDENT VOTING POLL
HEALTH CARE: President Obama is adamant about his support of the Affordable Care Act and its role in holding health insurance companies accountable and strengthening the effectiveness of Medicare.
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DIVIDED DECISIONS
TAXES: The president supports cutting taxes for middle classes and small businesses, but not for the rich. He doesn’t want a tax break for millionaires and has accused Republicans of supporting millionaire tax breaks. NATIONAL DEBT: Obama blames most of the debt and deficit issues on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Much of his plan to lower the deficit revolves around the ending of those two wars. LGBT RIGHTS: During the president’s first term, he signed a law making it a federal crime to assault based on sexual orientation, gender or gender identity and spearheaded the end of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” In May, he also said he supports same-sex marriage. Sources: ontheissues.org and barackobama.com
(5%)
(11%)
(19%)
A majority of Temple students will vote to re-elect President Obama, a poll finds. JOEY CRANNEY The Temple News
(65%)
OBAMA 204 VOTES ROMNEY 59 VOTES OTHER 16 VOTES UNDECIDED 36 VOTES TOTAL : 315 STUDENTS OF 405 POLLED, AGES 18-29 ILLUSTRATION JOEY PASKO TTN
W
hile the most recent Gallup poll has former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney up five points among likely voters in the 2012 presidential election, a majority of Temple students plan to vote to re-elect President Barack Obama, according to a Temple News poll of 405 students between the ages of 18 to 29. The findings of The Temple News poll are consistent with Gallup polls of young voters. Among likely voters aged 18 to 29, Obama is expected to carry 58 percent of the vote nationally, according to the most recent Gallup poll. Among Temple
students, Obama will carry 65 percent of the vote, according to The Temple News poll. Obama is particularly favorable among young women at Temple. Of 207 female Temple students who will likely vote in the upcoming election, 77 percent said they’d vote for Obama, 13 percent said they’d vote for Romney and 8 percent are undecided, according to The Temple News poll. Sophomore criminal justice major Amber Martin said she’s voting for Obama because she believes he has earned the chance to continue the work he’s been doing since he took office in 2009. “I think [Obama] is trying his best. It takes time to fix things,” Martin said. “He’s doing it slowly but surely. I believe he came into a big mess and he’s just trying to fix it. I think Romney will make even a bigger mess than President [George]
Of 207 female Temple students who will likely vote in the upcoming election, 77 percent said they’d vote for Obama.
POLL PAGE 2
Mitt Romney •
HEALTH CARE: Gov. Romney has stated that a main factor of his health care plan revolves around working with Congress to repeal the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.
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ECONOMY: To tackle unemployment and a slow economy, Romney has a five-point plan to economic success and has said he wants to balance budget through cutting waste and spending.
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STUDENT LOANS: Romney wants to cap Pell Grants to increase only at the rate of inflation, but also lauds a plan he implemented in Massachusetts that gave a scholarship to high school graduates in the top quarter of their class.
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TAXES: The governor has said he wants to cut taxes and reduce regulations for businesses, but limit the number of deductions and exemptions, though he hasn’t been clear with the specifics of his plan.
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NATIONAL DEBT: To solve the issue of the rising national debt, Romney said he will consolidate agencies and measure federal wages compared to private sector counterparts. He also wants to reduce non-security nondiscretionary spending by 5 percent immediately and cap federal spending below 20 percent of the economy.
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LGBT RIGHTS: Romney has said he defines marriage as between one man and one woman.
No ID needed for Political groups next week’s vote center of Q&A Recent injunction leaves officials scrambling to clear up confusion. LAURA ORDONEZ The Temple News On Nov. 6, registered voters throughout Pennsylvania will cast their ballots amid the confusion spawned by recent court decisions on the state’s voter identification law, which requires state-approved picture identification to vote. In August, Commonwealth Court Judge Robert Simpson upheld the law after it was challenged by civil right groups on the grounds that it
would disenfranchise voters in the presidential election. Two months later, on Oct. 2, Simpson placed the law on hold after the Pennsylvania Supreme Court asked him to evaluate the state’s ability to ensure access to proper documentation before Nov. 6. “It is not mandatory to have a picture identification in order to vote,” said law professor David Adamany, a university chancellor and former president. “Although poll workers have been told to ask people for picture identification, they can’t require it.” “The injunction placed on the voter ID law will ensure the integrity of the the electoral process. No one will be denied
LAW PAGE 2
A recent discussion focused on college Democrats and Republicans. MARY KATE ALLISON The Temple News With Nov. 6 days away, Election Day became the subject of the most recent Dissent in America teach-in. Roughly forty people were in attendance at Anderson Hall on Oct. 26, at the teach-in, which was set up in a question and answer format, rather than a debate, so audience members would be able to ask questions about issues that they were interested in.
Temple University College Republicans Chairman Erik Jacobs and Temple College Democrats President Dylan Morpurgo began the teach-in by opening the floor for questions from the audience. The audience, based on questions, was mostly interested in the issues of women’s rights, college funding, global warming and illegal immigration. In response to a question on Republican candidate Gov. Mitt Romney’s stance on women’s rights regarding health care, Jacobs answered, “He is pro-life, but is open to exceptions including pregnancies resulting from rape, incest and pregnancies that put the
TEACH-IN PAGE 2
Sources: ontheissues.org and mittromney.com
VOTING REQUIREMENTS FOR THE NOV. 6 ELECTION: • • •
Voters will be asked, but not required, to show a state-approved photo ID. Voters without an acceptable photo ID are still allowed to vote. All first-time voters are required to show a proof of identification. A state-approved photo ID (including a PA driver’s license, a non-driver’s ID, a PennDOT ID, a U.S. passport, a U.S. armed forces ID, or a student or employee ID) or a non-photo identification such as a current utility bill are acceptable. A college or university ID is an acceptable photo identification for voting if it has an expiration date.
VOTING REQUIREMENTS FOR FUTURE ELECTIONS: •
If the enjoined voter ID law is upheld, all voters will be required to show a state-approved ID to vote. Source: votespa.com
NEWS DESK 215-204-7419
The heads of two political organizations present issues surrounding this year’s election. | CINDY STANSBURY TTN
NEWS@TEMPLE-NEWS.COM