Updated as of Nov. 5 at 8:34 a.m.
Ahead of Nov. 5, students have been getting to the polls, voting absentee or making plans to vote on Election Day. This is also the first presidential election in which most Elon students are eligible to vote.
Freshman Sebastian Frank spoke about their Hispanic heritage and how their culture and background influence their vote on the ballot.
“I’m 50% Hispanic, and so immigration is super important to me,” Frank said. “I would like to see — not necessarily a resolution to that because I know it's not that simple — but improved policies on that, that just make it safe for people who live here and also the people in Mexico trying to get over.”
Frank also said the economy is an important item on the ballot, especially as an economics major.
“We're learning a lot about economics and just how important it is that America has a stable economy,” Frank said. “I hope that continues to be the case, whoever is president.”
Freshman Stephanie Diaz said she cares most about human rights issues this election, which have influenced a large part of her voting decision-making process.
“The things that are most important to me are the humanitarian rights, so my right as a woman and the right to abortion or to choose, and the rhetoric around people of color,” Diaz said. “Some candidates are more vocal about it and are trying to create a country of hate, which I don't really appreciate. I just want to have a country where we all love each other and respect each other.”
But Diaz also said she is anxious for this election cycle because of how partisan and extreme the issues have become.
“I'm pretty nervous. There's a lot of things that are high-stakes right now,” Diaz said. “I just want to ensure that the next four years, I'll have my rights and live comfortably as an American.”
Sophomore Jane Smith also said the division of this election has been at the front of her mind, and said she believes people should be able to have productive conversations when discussing voting.
“There's people on both sides that are like, ‘I'm literally going to move countries if the other person wins,’” Smith said. “There's a lot of people that are very firmly on one side or the other and that can make conversations that are productive pretty difficult.”
Political division has caused people to lose friends, according to Smith — who said she believes people should stay friends regardless of who they support.
“I just really want people to be able to separate politics from personality and just be able to move forward, because otherwise nothing's going to get done,” Smith said. “Just be willing to listen — whichever side you're on.”
Students looking to vote can access voting locations via shuttles sponsored by Elon Votes.
— Alexa Citrin
Updated as of Nov. 5 at 7:27 a.m.
Polls opened at 6:30 a.m. today for one of the most historic general elections in U.S. history.
If elected, former President Donald Trump would be the second president in history to win his bid after losing a first attempt at reelection — and will have done so after being the first former president to be convicted of a crime.
Republican support for Trump has also been mixed this election following the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection on the Capitol.
If Vice President Kamala Harris — the first Black and South Asian woman to be vice president — is elected, she will be the first woman to serve as U.S. president.
Her unconventional bid for president also came after President Joe Biden dropped out of the race in late July. Though he announced his reelection bid in April 2023 and won the Democratic primaries, Biden resigned and endorsed Harris after the Democratic Party raised concerns over his age.
Harris officially accepted the nomination in late August at the end of the Democratic National Convention.
Vice President Kamala Harris smiles as she accepts the Democratic Party's Presidential nomination on Aug. 22. In her remarks Harris took aim at former President Donald Trump and laid out her key policy proposals.
Two days before the Republican National Convention in July, Trump once again made recent history when someone took an attempt to take his life at one of his campaign rallies in Pennsylvania.
North Carolina plays a pivotal role in this election as one of seven crucial battleground states — hosting multiple appearances from Harris, Trump, Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz and Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance just days before Election Day.
The Tar Heel state is also home to some of the most heated races in the country — most prominently the gubernatorial race between Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson and Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein. The two have campaigned on contrasting platforms for nearly every issue on the ballot; Robinson is staunchly in the Trump camp, while Stein is firmly in Harris’.
Robinson has been associated with heavy controversy for his extreme positions on abortion, gay marriage and other cultural topics. He most recently denied allegations that he made remarks on a pornography website’s message board between 2008 and 2012. In which, Robinson allegedly expressed support for reinstating slavery, disparaged Martin Luther King Jr., referred to himself as a “black NAZI!” and made many sexually offensive comments.
Three separate Elon Polls have also predicted Stein ahead of Robinson in the polls, according to survey results from registered state voters. North Carolina’s redrawn 2024 congressional maps, however, may allow for as much as a 10-4 Republican majority in the U.S. House of Representatives.
With 7,822,024 registered voters in North Carolina as of Nov. 2, just over 4.2 million casted their ballots during the state’s early voting period between Oct. 17 and Nov. 2.
This number shattered North Carolina’s previous early voter record set during the 2020 elections at roughly 3.6 million. Alamance County hosted six early voting sites, including Elon’s South Gym.
Alamance County Democratic Party poll greeter Patty Temples worked the first two days of early voting at Elon’s South Gym and said she has never seen a turnout like this year’s.
“When we got here, it was like a one-hour wait, and now it’s up to an hour and a half,” Temples said on the second day of early voting. “Yesterday it was two hours, so it was a madhouse.”
One of the factors that encouraged this turnout, Temple said, is the perceived stakes of this year’s elections.
“I think people understand the gravity of the situation, and they’re willing to do whatever part they can do to save our democracy,” Temple said.
Local resident Rianon Benesch cast her ballot as soon as early voting opened. Though she has been eligible to vote for years, this year marked only her second presidential vote.
Benesch was inspired to vote early so she could be a part of something big and so resources such as emails and door-knockers could be spared for undecided voters.
“I saw where Georgia’s first day of early voting broke records and I was like, ‘I want to be part of that,’” Benesch said. “I want to be a part of history.”
Polls will close at 7:30 p.m.
— Ryan Kupperman and Abby Gravely