Daily Toreador 110724

THURSDAY, NOV.7, 2024 VOLUME 99 ISSUE 4

Back in the SWING of things

Swing states secure 47th presidency for Trump

PA NV WI AZ GA

MI NC

THURSDAY, OCT. 17, 2024 VOLUME 99 ISSUE 3

Back in the SWING of

PA NV WI AZ GA

MI NC

Page 2 Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024

@DailyToreador www.dailytoreador.com

2024 ELECTION

NATIONAL

Swing states decide 2024 election

DAWN FRANKLIN/The Daily Toreador

By MARIANNA SOURIALL Editor-in-Chief

President-elect Donald Trump fought the results of the 2020 election through all four years

of President Joe Biden’s term, but perhaps it was the last few swings that regained his seat back in the Oval Office.

Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris en-

tered the 2024 presidential race competing for seven swing states — Pennsylvania, Georgia, North Carolina, Michigan, Wisconsin, Nevada and Arizona — that ultimately

sealed the victory for Trump once they turned red.

Trump, according to the Associated Press, successfully won over Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Georgia — all three states he lost to President Joe Biden in the 2020 election.

These also are the same three states that assisted in securing Trump’s first presidential term in 2016.

“In places like Georgia or North Carolina, you’ve had kind of major pendulum swings from kind of a centrist kind of view in politics, to a little bit to the left, and now back to the hard right,” said Erik Bucy, a strategic communications professor at Texas Tech and political researcher.

The swing states account for 93 votes in the Electoral College.

Since breaking the Blue Wall, Trump also is leading in Arizona and Nevada as of Wednesday; Bucy said the swing-state landslide can be attributed to local government rather than presidential campaigning.

“The Republicans are generally more organized than the Democrats in terms of winning consistently at the local level, state level and pushing their policies, state by state, through the courts, up to the Supreme Court,” Bucy said. “You know, they have a lot of discipline.”

Republicans in locallevel politics assist in moving the pendulum Bucy mentioned before.

“You’ve seen this in Michigan with militias,” Bucy said. “You’ve seen it in Wisconsin with the Scott Walker administra-

tion and government, seen it in places like Georgia, goes back and forth in North Carolina.

And when that happens, the side that sees a little bit of opportunity or momentum, they’re going to get the voters out.”

Historically, Pennsylvania, which carries the most electoral votes out of the swing states with 19, has voted predominantly blue since 1992, with the exception of the 2016 election when Trump first entered office. In 2016, Trump also won over the Blue Wall.

Many voters’ minds were made up before the election even started, Bucy said, however both candidates made deliberate efforts to campaign in all the swing states. @MariannaS_DT

SURVEY

When asked about how stud are students on vote in the 2024 HowHowdid Texasvoting Tech election?

planned to vote for Texas Se

Texas Tech campus?

While the national presidential election ended within hours of polls closing, data from voters on Texas Tech campus showed a much more narrow race. The Daily Toreador surveyed 566 voters on Election Day from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. More results can be found at The DT’s Instagram @dailytoreador.

37.8%

45.1% Donald Trump

41.5% Kamala Harris

of students said Economy/Inflation was their most important policy or political issue

10.8% Did Not Vote 2.3% Independent

40.8% Ted Cruz 38.6% Colin Allred 10.5% Did Not Vote 10.1% Other

LOCAL

When an Ordinary Look Simply Won’t Do...

Lubbock County results favor Republican candidates

By NOAH DAVILA Staff Writer

Polls closed in Lubbock County at 7 p.m. Tuesday with a total of 121,722 Election Day votes cast, bringing voter turnout to 61 percent. These numbers surpassed voter turnout in 2020 by 11,514 voters.

Of the 198,548 registered voters in Lubbock County, 99,108 voted in the early-voting period.

R e s u l t s w i l l b e c e r t ified Nov. 18 for the final count.

Republican Jodey Arrington won the U.S.

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House District 19 seat with 81 percent of the vote. Arrington will be sent to Washington to represent West Texas in the lower chamber of Congress.

Lubbock-based House District 84 is going to Republican Carl H. Tepper with 63 percent over Democrat Noah Lopez’s 36 percent. Temper will represent Lubbock’s district in Austin to the state legislator.

The Proposition A road bill passed with 53 percent of the vote, securing the use of a $103,000,000 bond for improving select

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areas of Lubbock’s public roads.

Republican Cary Shaw won the seat for Precinct 3 County Commissioner, beating Gilbert Flores by 910 votes. Shaw will act as commissioner for the North East precinct of Lubbock County, representing the district in Commissioners Court which oversees the budgetary and policy-making functions of the county government.

Shaw is the first Republican to hold the seat since 1980.

All three Frenship ISD propositions passed, winning 56, 52 and 52 percent of the vote, respectively.

The three bonds aim to prepare the school district for a projected 1,000 new students in the next five years.

The first will alter tax rates, lowering some taxpayer rates while raising others up to 11 percent in some cases. Bonds two and three approve the construction of two more elementary schools, acquisition of updated classroom technologies and the hiring of new faculty to maintain the district’s 1:1 student/ staff ratio.

Roosevelt ISD’s proposition failed by 122 votes, proposing a similar bond package for tax adjustments and investment in school infrastructure. @NoahDavDT

@DailyToreador www.dailytoreador.com

Page 3 Thursday, November 7, 2024

NEWS

PACEMAKER FINALIST The Daily Toreador Pacemaker Finalist Print Copy Graphic by Alessandra Rios

Makayla Perez First place sports photo

Marianna Souriall Eighth place feature story

Jacob Lujan Third place news/feature photo

Division I Pinnacle Awards

Jacob Lujan First place feature photo

Jacob Lujan Third place sports news photo

Page 4 Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024

@DailyToreador www.dailytoreador.com

2024 ELECTION

CAMPAIGN

Harris concedes election, shares parting message

DAWN FRANKLIN/The Daily Toreador

Vice President Kamala Harris lost the presidential election to President-elect Donald Trump at 4:35 a.m. Nov. 6, 2024.

By TY KAPLAN Sports Editor

Vice President Kamala Harris delivered her concession speech Wednesday afternoon at Howard University in Washington D.C. after President-elect Donald Trump surpassed the needed 270 electoral votes earlier in the morning.

While Harris did not make history as the first female president of the United States, she is the first woman of color to lead a major party ticket, according to the Associated Press.

“My heart is full today, full of gratitude for the trust you have placed in me, full of love for our country, and full of resolve,” Harris said during her concession speech on Wednesday. “The outcome of this election is not what we wanted, not what we fought for, not what we

voted for. But hear me when I say, hear me when I say, the light of America’s promise will always burn bright as long as we never give up and as long as we keep fighting.”

Harris served as President Joe Biden’s secondin-command throughout his presidential campaign and would have continued had he remained the Democratic candidate.

However, on July 21, Harris and the Democratic Party announced a shift in running parties, and Harris became the official Democratic nominee on Aug. 5, according to the Associated Press.

Unlike Trump, who announced he would run in the 2024 Presidential election in November 2022, according to CNN, Harris scraped together a campaign trail in fewer than four months — one that earned her 226 electoral votes.

“I am so proud of the race we ran and the way we ran it,” Harris said in her concession speech.

“Over the 107 days of this campaign, we have been intentional about building community and building coalitions, bringing people together from every walk of life and background, united by love of country with enthusiasm and joy in our fight for America’s future.”

Following Biden’s withdrawal, Harris and the Democratic Party raised $81 million for her campaign in the first 24 hours of the announcement. The first-day sum was the largest in U.S. history, according to Harris’ team in an article by the Associated Press on July 22.

Her policies regarding human rights, specifically within the LGBTQ+ community, and for abortion rights were a driving force in the new voter

population she drew in.

She appealed to a younger generation that prioritized these causes, with 50 percent of Gen Z votes opting for Harris, according to a survey conducted

by NBC News on Sept. 4.

Despite Harris losing the popular vote, she said she remains hopeful the ideologies of her campaign will outlive her presidential candidacy.

More than that, she left her voters with one message: to shine, even in moments of dissapointment or despair.

“Only when it is dark enough can you see the stars,” Harris said. “I know many people feel like we are entering a dark time, but for the benefit of us all, I hope that is not the case. But here’s the thing, America, if it is, let us fill the sky with the light of a brilliant, brilliant billion of stars.” @TyKaplanDT

PUZZLE

The DT Crossword: ‘Face Value’

NATHAN KENISON, EVIN THOMAS AND WALTER BOYD/The Daily Toreador

ACROSS 1. Country with a recent election 4. Ruckus 8. Infinitesimal bit 12. Sch. where Will Hunting worked 13. Fighting rings 16. One who exercises their right to remain silent 17. 1 or 16?

19. Proper partner 20. Makes a change 21. Wander aimlessly 23. Organic chemistry suffix 24. ___-ish (jokey word on a St. Patrick’s Day T-shirt) 25. 5 or 3?

27. Spotted safari animal 29. Stop listening

30. Granola bar bit 31. Way to get home from the airport 33. “In that case...”

34. Choose randomly... or have 50/50 odds of seeing 17-, 25-, 51- or 59-across 38. Grain-storage building 41. Person, place or thing 42. Crusty dessert 45. Hulu show about a sandwich shop-turnedhigh-end restaurant 49. “Frasier” and “The Office” 51. 10 or 32?

53. Pair up in a rush 54. iOS download 55. Swoosh, for Nike 56. Wryly amusing 57. The Joker’s response to “You think you can just steal from us and

walk away?”

59. 25 or 1?

62. Org. that assigns E, T or M to games 63. Place for hiding an ace 64. Percy B. Shelley’s ___to “ the West Wind” 65. Old bird?

66. Unfortunate thing to be left on 67. Until now DOWN 1. Actress Thurman on the poster of “Pulp Fiction” 2. Chilly region of Russia 3. Took a hard fall 4. Loyal 5. Ash holders 6. Collegiate sports grp. with Georgia and Texas

A&M 7. [Honk-mimi] 8. Instrument speaker, abbr.

9. Gets bored with 10. Like a lurking figure 11. Item with a history 14. Up in the air 15. Messy situation 18. Blackpink member with “Money” single 22. Guys 24. “Where did ___ wrong” (The Fray lyrics) 25. Wrangler or Renegade 26. Festive deer prefix 28. Clarice Starling’s agcy.

32. Competed in an election 34. Car openers 35. Toll 36. Response to “Parlez-vous Français?”

37. Worked at, while still a student 38. Walked away 39. “Fingers crossed!”

40. Spotted safari animal 42. Noodle, for example 43. Act like a dying star 44. Language suffix 46. Snakelike fish 47. Swears 48. Kingly 50. Wooden-soled shoe 52. lowa State in last week’s Tech football game 56. Self-important type 58. Broadcaster of “The Penguin” 60. Michael Jackson’s signature reduplicative sound 61. Cast a wide ___ A playable online version of this crossword and its solution are available at dailytoreador.com/puzzles.

VOTING

Following the Ballots

By MARIANNA SOURIALL Editor-in-Chief

Thousands of people head to the polls each election season to take part in their civil duty.

Leaving with blue and red “I Voted” stickers, citizens across America take pride in showcasing their little symbols of democracy, waiting to see the impact of their vote.

H o w e v e r, i n r e c e n t years, the integrity of elections has fallen under scrutiny, a matter the Lubbock county elections office said they take seriously.

In efforts to safeguard the Hub City’s election, Roxzine Stinson said the election office follows a strict chain of command with multiple checkpoints to hold officials accountable throughout the process.

“We verify the seals when they come in the door, and they are under camera from the time they come in until they leave,” Stinson said. “Until the election is over, they’re under cameras.”

The cameras follow the votes from the voting room all the way to where the votes are counted, in the Lubbock County Elections Office.

A livestream is also publicly available on the county’s website for anyone interested in watching the process, a practice that took place for the first time this year, according to Once the vote is cast, Stinson said the ballot is scanned into the electronic database, and the paper is turned into a sealed box.

“Those ballots are sealed with two locks and a seal,” Stinson said.

“Those judges bring those ballots to our office for a central count. When they pull up here, we know which seals should be on that bag coming back on that night, so we verify those seals.”

Previously, Stinson said she’s only ever seen the outside seal broken, most likely due to movement of the boxes.

Everyone who touches the boxes, Stinson said, has to document their information as part of the chain of command in the elections office.

The votes are then tabulated for the county.

Then what?

-The county election results are sent to the state.

-Electors overview the votes before passing to congress -Congress performs final count @MariannaS_DT

@DailyToreador www.dailytoreador.com

Page 5 Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024

2024 ELECTION

DEMOCRACY

First-time voters participate in election the choices made today will impact people’s lives.

“You’re young, and in Tuesday’s election site the next five-to-seven at the Texas Tech Student years, you’re probably Union Building hosted going to be at that stage many first-time voters where certain political casting their ballots for choices are going to start the 2024 Presidential affecting you more and more the older you get,” Election.

Cindy Meyers, a sopho- Meyers said. “So it’s best more psychology major to make the decision that from Dallas, said her pro- benefits you and affects cess as a first-time voter you positively now.”

Kevin Loftus, a freshwas smooth, and she was able to register as a Lub- man business major from bock resident. Meyers Dallas, said the reason said she faced no difficul- he wanted to vote for the ties trying to register in first time was because he the county and thought was passionate about this the election line went by election.

“I think it’s important quickly.

“It was super easy — to preserve freedom and easier than I thought,” democracy and ensure rights for all Americans,” Meyers said.

Loftus said.

“I was kinCharizda anxious, ma Hepler, thinking, a freshman ‘ O h , d i d I I feel like everyone animal sciforget any- has different ence mat h i n g , o r opinions, and am I doing everyone’s should be jor from El Paso, said i t w r o n g ? ’ heard. the reason I had to CHARIZMA HEPLER she wanted check over FRESHMAN ANIMAL to vote beand over SCIENCE MAJOR FROM c a u s e s h e again beEL PASO f e l t t h i s cause it felt election surreal to me, but it was really cool.” was important to her fuFor first-time voters, ture.

“I feel like everyone Meyers said it’s important to vote because it can af- has different opinions, fect a person’s future and and everyone’s should

By ELIJAH FARIAS Staff Writer

JACOB LUJAN/The Daily Toreador

On Tuesday, students were able to vote in the 2024 election at the Texas Tech Student Union Building. Wednesday morning, President -elect Donald Trump secured a victory over Vice President Kamala Harris and will serve as the next president of the United States.

be heard,” Hepler said.

“Even that one vote could change the whole thing, so if you have an opinion, talk about it.”

Hepler said she was expecting to have trouble voting in this election because she is not from Lubbock but thought the process was simple over-

all.

“They actually handed me a paper to check something off, and then they just switched it for me on their iPad. It took like five minutes,” Hepler said.

Alexandra Lopez, a sophomore finance major from Dallas, said being

a first-time voter and first-generation student heavily influenced her to vote in this election.

She said voting was important to her because it gave a voice to people who cannot cast ballots.

“Everyone should vote because it’s going to affect everyone sooner or

later. More people need to realize how important it is to vote,” Lopez said.

“As young and naive as we are, we might not think it’s very important, but in reality, we are the ones that are setting up our future generations.” @ElijahFariasDT

VOICES

Students share voting motivations for 2024 election

AVERY BARNES Sophomore creative media industries major from Sachse

ALEX EINU Sohomore medical laboratory science major from Dallas

By GRACE HAWKINS Staff Writer

Texas Tech students lined up to vote Tuesday afternoon at the Student Union Building, snapping photos with their “I Voted” stickers. For many student voters, some moments in their lives made voting more a necessity than an option.

Alex Einu, a sophomore medical laboratory science major from Dallas, said she feels like it’s her responsibility to vote. She

KYLIE PHILLIPS Senior journalism and political science major from San Diego, California

finds comfort in knowing that her vote is counting towards advocacy.

“I’ve always wanted to vote,” Einu said. “I’m really big on climate change and women’s rights, and that is something that I feel like, since COVID, hasn’t really been pushed for advocacy.”

Some students shared that after seeing their peers choose not to vote, they felt an even stronger responsibility to cast their ballots.

“I’ve been more moti-

ETHAN HODDINGER Senior sports management major from Colleyville

vated to vote since noticing that a lot of people my age aren’t as interested in voting as I think they should be,” said Avery Barnes, a sophomore creative media industries major from Sachse.

Kylie Phillips, a senior journalism and political science major from San Diego, California, has been interested in politics since she was 12 years old and gained experience as an intern in Washington, D.C., over the summer.

“What pushed me to

ARELY HERNANDEZ TREJO Sophomore architecture major from Dallas

vote in this election was all the drama over the summer,” Phillips said.

“There was so much controversy and confusion surrounding this election, and there are some big topics on the ballot, like IVF and reproductive rights and the border, which I think is a big thing, especially since I lived 10 minutes from it (the border) at home.”

Family pressures influenced Ethan Hoddinger, a senior sports management major from Colleyville, to

RHEA JACKSON Electrical engineering major from Austin

vote in this year’s election.

“I voted in 2020, and I just felt like my voice was heard. So that’s why I voted this year,” Hoddinger said.

Arely Hernandez Trejo, a sophomore architecture major from Dallas, said she initially wasn’t going to vote until her friend, an immigrant from Mexico, encouraged her to do so on their behalf.

“I realized that I’m going to live in this world, too, so I feel like I need to

TATE KEYSER Junior personal finance major from Dallas

actually make a choice,” said Rhea Jackson, an electrical engineering major from Austin.

For some voters, this is their first time casting a ballot.

“Everything has been more expensive for me, personally,” said Tate Keyser, a personal finance junior from Dallas. “I wasn’t able to vote previously.

This is my first time. So it was a big deal to me just to vote.” @GraceHawkinsDT

PREPARATION

Poll volunteers train for, manage Election Day voting stations

SAVANNAH DELEON/The Daily Toreador

Students had the chance to vote at the Texas Tech Student Union Building election site Nov. 5, 2024. Election volunteers managed the voting polls, helping voters cast ballots and check in.

By ELIJAH FARIAS Staff Writer

The Lubbock County Elections Office calls for volunteers every election season to help with polling and voters.

Roxzine Stinson, elec-

tions administrator at the Lubbock County Elections Office, said those who wanted to volunteer for the process contacted the office and expressed interest in working. Once accepted through one of the three agencies that

work with the elections office, volunteers undergo training.

“This year, we had 12 hours of training. We had it broken down into two different days,” Stinson said.

Training usually happens 30 days before election season to give volunteers the right amount of time to know what to do.

Volunteers-in-training will learn what to do at the polls, what voters can wear, how equipment works and how to look at different types of voter registrations. Stinson said training primarily focuses on how volunteers can assist voters in ensuring their votes count.

“We try to explain to them they’re representing the county and both parties as a whole, but

mainly they are repre- was a good-run operation, senting those voters to kind of see it and live it.”

Every day at voting give them the right, the access and what they polls, volunteers have difneed to vote,” Stinson ferent stations to manage and opersaid. a t e . Vo l M i k a unteers Wa i t e , a e i t h e r volunteer ... but mainly they work poll lead clerk (poll volunteers) are pads, confor early representing those trollers or voting and voters to give them scanners Election the right, the access at election Day, said and what they need sites. he has “ A l l helped at to vote. the ElecROXZINE STINSON those potions OfLUBBOCK COUNTY s i t i o n s f i c e f o r ELECTIONS ADMINISTRATOR have to be manned one year after learning of the op- and taken care of,” Waite said. “You have several portunity from a friend.

“I just reached out and things that you gotta made contact and got into know about the laws, polit,” Waite said. “I wanted icies and rules of Texas, to kind of prove to myself so they put us through that the role at that Lub- some pretty good trainbock County Elections ing.”

Natalia Castillo, originally from Colombia and now a U.S. citizen, has lived in Lubbock for 25 years and said the reason she wanted to volunteer in the first place was to help the community during a time as significant as election season.

Castillo said the training process can be intense at times due to the amount of information, but she said she feels it is important to help people exercise their rights as voters.

“The reason why I am doing this is because I always wondered what this is about, how the process is and the significance of it. Now, I have an idea of what is entailed for people,” Castillo said. @ElijahFariasDT

Page 6 Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024

2024 ELECTION

@DailyToreador www.dailytoreador.com

PROJECTIONS

Elections prone to unpredictable result times

By NOAH DAVILA Staff Writer

Tuesday evening marked the end of both the 2024 election cycle and the highly contentious battle between presidential nominees Donald Trump and Kamala Harris.

The Associated Press called the election in Trump’s favor at 4:35 a.m.

CST Wednesday, making this election the quickest call since Trump’s 2 0 1 6 v i c t o r y, l a r g e l y due to his domination of swing states in both races and an expedited mail-in counting process in 2024’s election.

Election results in more recent memory have not been quite so prompt.

Notably, the 2020 race between Trump and President Joe Biden lasted four days before a winner was called, and formal voting by the Electoral College did not take place until over a month later.

This discrepancy raises the question of what factors contribute to the delay, or lack thereof, in announcing election results both local and national.

Historically, most media outlets do not bring actual day-of results, but instead estimate based on statistics and probability.

“The results are not official for the county until after the commissioners canvass the results Nov. 18,” said Lubbock County Election Administrator Roxzine Stinson.

Once canvassed or approved by the Lubbock County Commissioner’s Court, county election results will then be sent to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott for final approval, along with all other counties, to be certified by the state.

This is a long process, with every county having different estimated wait times for votes, affected by the size of voter turnout, number of precincts within a county, number of mail-in ballots and how many voters used early voting or voting drop boxes. “ E v e r y c o u n t y, e v ery state doesn’t have the same system,” said Texas Tech professor of innovation, journalism and information Lyombe Eko. “They don’t have the same machines, and

so the efficiency of vote are in a situation where counting is not uniform. people are always suspiThey call the Postal Ser- cious, always looking for vice ‘Snail Mail,’ so when a conspiracy. No county mail-in voting puts this wants to be thought of onus on the postage sys- as corrupt, so they will tem, the chances of get- double- and triple-check ting the result day-of is their numbers. This puts diminished.” a lot of pressure on our Past the county lev- poll workers, volunteers el, every who are state has just trying its own to make unique sure the Elections must not v o t e democratjust be fair, they counting ic process must seem fair. We practices of voting is are in a situation and safecarried out where people are guards, smoothly.” many of Because always suspicious, w h i c h producing always looking for a have douofficial conspiracy. bled down election LYOMBE EKO t h e i r e fresults is TEXAS TECH PROFESSOR forts to tedious OF INNOVATION, ensure a JOURNALISM AND and timefair and INFORMATION c o n s u m trustworing, news thy election in the face of organizations have taken growing frustration with to determining their own the process. This was seen election results using a in attacks on poll work- ‘Decision Desk,’ a board ers, such as the elderly of editors, journalists and man who was assaulted statisticians who analyze in Bexar County for ask- polling data as it is made ing a voter to remove a available. partisan hat while voting.

“Media tries to get “Elections must not their info from the Secjust be fair, they must retary of State to be as seem fair,” Eko said. “We accurate as possible, but

they are still making predictions,” Eko said. “They are highly trained and usually right, but some can jump the gun. Statistics is not an exact science. It’s a study of probability. They deal in likelihood and margins of error.”

While generally reliable, this practice can be swayed by the desires of the media organization to break news and be the first to declare a winner for their eager viewership, or even by the political beliefs of members at the decision desk.

“A lot of the time, the rush to be first trumps the need to be fair and accurate,” Eko said. “They tend to look at polling with a jaundiced eye, so to speak — rose-colored glasses. They interpret polls, they look at something in the numbers that support their side.”

While this risk of skewing data is in line with the growing political divide in the United States, these kinds of errors in judgment are nothing new.

“One of the most fascinating stories of Ameri-

can elections was the Chicago Tribune declaring ‘Dewey Defeats Truman,’” Eko said. “The Tribune was a Republican paper so sure that their candidate Dewey would defeat the democrat Truman, their internal polling and decision desk had concluded that there was no way Truman would win. They printed their headline that night, and when they woke up in the morning they found it had been completely wrong.

The Chicago Tribune has never recovered from that blunder.”

While viewers are often anxious to see results and politicians and media are willing to provide, headlines are not official and are subject to the same distortion as all political coverage.

“My advice is to be patient,” Eko said. “If I see some polling information or prediction, I will go to the Secretary of State website and check how they came to this conclusion. We have the privilege to look things up and fact-check what we are told.” @NoahDavDT