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By Jessica Gerlach
and Liesa Tann
Harlaxton College Web Design Student
Friday, March 28, 2008
Sen. Barack Obama will be elected the first African-American president of the United States in November if the majority of voters
in this week's Harlaxton College mock election get their way.
The Illinois senator easily outdistanced former first lady Hillary Clinton, 69 votes to 27, in the Democratic Party primary portion
of the Harlaxton mock election, with another 23 voters saying they were "unsure" whom to choose between them. Then in the
"general election," Obama
outpolled Republican Sen. John McCain by an even wider margain, 88-25, with third party candidate Ralph Nader drawing six votes
and 24 voters marking "unsure."
Clinton, who is bidding to become the first female president of the United States, failed to garner any more support among
the women voting at Harlaxton than she got from the men. Obama carried 52 percent of the vote among women and men alike in the
runoff with Clinton, who had 16 percent from each sex, with the rest undecided.
The only Harlaxton faction that Clinton did well with were the British faculty and staff. Among those 11 voters, Clinton outpolled
Obama 6-2 with 3 "unsure," and she garnered eight votes against McCain to his two among the Brits.
Despite
being 6,000 miles away from home, many of the Harlaxton students are still taking an interest in the U.S. presidential race.
"I'm following the election by looking at information online and looking at the primaries," said Elizabeth Thornton,
a Harlaxton student from Nashville, Tenn. Similarly, Morgan Stankey of Redlands, Calif., follows the political race by reading
The New York Times online everyday, she said. "I'm a political science major, so I feel compelled to follow the race."
While some students are interested in the campaigns, others are not following the race closely. As she filled out her
mock ballot, Emily Johnson, from Lone Tree, Colo., stated that she'll "focus on it when I get back home."
Donny Kidd, a Harlaxton student from Las Vegas, abstained from the mock election. "I'm not a registered voter," he said, "so I have no
vested interest in it."
During the week leading up to the election, The Manor Mouse provided information about the 2008 presidential candidates,
as well as links to their campaign sites for students and faculty to read. The Political Parties and Elections class at
the college worked together with The Manor Mouse to create a ballot, poll the Harlaxton Manor residents and analyze
the results.
On the ballot, voters were asked to rank what issues were the most important to them in the election. The economy ranked first. "The economy is normally most important to voters," said Marissa Mitchell, a student of the Political Parties class and a native of Columbus, Ind. "People usually include gas prices in the economy, which is a big issue for most people."
The issue of war came in second, with education a close third. Rochelle Healy shared what topic was most important
to her. "What's happening with the war, that's the biggest issue," she said after placing her vote.
Harlaxton visiting political science professor Bruce Anderson, from Baker University, spoke about what issues he thought
the students would care about. "As with any other group, college students are concerned with issues that concern them. That would include federal aid for college loans, expenses associated with school, and the like," he said. "The war concerns them as well -- particularly if a draft is threatened."
Voters were also polled on what candidate characteristics were most important to them. Experience won by a large
majority, followed by personality, then age.
"I support Obama," said Cheyenne Koerth, from Austin, Texas. "I think he represents the change and fresh outlook that
we need in American politics."
Mitchell noted that while students chose experience as the most important cadidate characteristic, the majority of voters
picked Obama, who has the least experience among the candidates. "I wasn't surprised that Obama won; it was just
interesting," she said.
In the choice between Clinton, McCain and Nader, Clinton won, but only by a few votes. She had 62, McCain had 49, Nader
had nine, and 29 marked "unsure." Abbi Armstrong, a student of the University of Evansville, said that she supports
John McCain for several reasons: "His experience. I don't think we need so much change. He's more focused on the economy."
The polls have closed at Harlaxton College, but the real presidential race will occur in November. When
surveyed, 90 percent of the Harlaxton students and visiting faculty said they would be likely or certain to vote in the upcoming election.
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BLOG: Why is your candidate the most qualified to be president?
| Harlaxton Mock Election Results |
| Democratic | Primary | President |
Obama -
69 votes | Clinton -
27 votes | Unsure - 23 |
| General | Election | Totals |
Obama -
88 votes | McCain -
25 votes | Nader -
6 votes | Unsure -24 |
Katelyn Sandy (R) casts her ballot in the mock election while Jessica Gerlach (L) checks her name off the alpha list.
(Photo by Liesa Tann)
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