Students look to swing 2008 election

The presidential election is less than three weeks away, and 2,517 Boston University students have the opportunity to vote absentee in swing states, where public opinion is so evenly divided that no clear candidate is favored.
School of Management junior Emily Kaeding said she intends to vote in Ohio, a swing state, because she supports Republican presidential candidate John McCain, and a Republican has never won without Ohio.
‘People always overlook Ohio, but it actually has a big voice and a big electoral vote,’ she said.
Swing states are determined as those that are polling a composite average of ‘five points or closer’ between the candidates, according to the electoral college tracking website 270toWin.com. Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin were polling as swing states for this election as of Tuesday.
.’ SMG junior Alex Aferiat said the impact of his vote will be more visible in Virginia, his home state than in Massachusetts.
‘As a whole, Virginia is much more leaning toward middle than one side of the other,’ Aferiat said. ‘It matters a lot more to me that my vote is going to hopefully swing it the way I want.’
Students who forgo their opportunity to vote in a swing state are not doing their candidate any favors, Aferiat said.
‘I don’t think people really understand that they can actually make a difference,’ he said. ‘It’s a fault of our generation.’
University of Rochester associate political science Chairman Richard Niemi said he and a colleague discovered that college students tend to register in battleground states when given the chance in a study completed during the 2004 presidential election.
‘If it’s a very close election, and if a small number of additional voters choose to vote there if they have the choice, it can make a difference,’ Niemi said. ‘They’re not called swing states for nothing.
‘Students are in tune to where there are situations where there is uncertainty, where votes are really thought to make a difference,’ he said.
Niemi said his findings are consistent with college students’ voting behavior during the 2008 presidential primaries, and he expects them to remain consistent.
Though candidates tend to pay more attention to swing states, 270toWin.com President Allan Keiter said that an individual vote within those states is not necessarily worth more than a vote in a red or blue state.
‘If everyone would vote in the states that are supposedly decided, then something would change, obviously,” Keiter said.
College of Arts and Sciences junior Markey Bakas said she would rather vote with the Massachusetts Democratic majority as a sign of solidarity.
‘I like the political atmosphere here better than at home,’ Bakas, a Florida native, said. ‘It’s very different to be in Miami and be a Democrat, it’s almost like going against your culture. If I were to vote at home, I would be outnumbered, whereas if I voted here, the Electoral College is more representing my vote.’