The Justice

Media Credit: Lisa Frank

For Rachel Berman-Vaporis '11, absolutely nothing is more important than her vote for Sen. Barack Obama in next week's election.

"I am supporting Barack Obama because he is the only hope the United States has," she said.

A registered Democrat from Indiana, Pa., Berman-Vaporis supported Sen. John Edwards in the Democratic primaries but is now firmly behind Obama.

"I was disappointed with how the primaries turned out, but I support Barack Obama 100 percent," she said.

RealClearPolitics.com predicts that Pennsylvania will vote Democratic in this election. In the past two elections, however, Pennsylvania was considered a swing state. The Democratic candidate won the state in 2000 and 2004, but it has been by a slim margin both times.

"I'm voting in Pennsylvania because it is a swing state, and there my vote will count more [than in Massachusetts]," Berman-Vaporis said.

Among Brandeis students from swing states -- states where the voting population is split between Democrats and Republicans -- most have registered to vote in their home states, hoping that their vote will tip the balance toward their preferred candidate. Although the large majority of Brandeis students from swing states traditionally vote Democratic, swing state residents who don't belong to any political party are also making a point of registering to vote in their home states.

RealClearPolitics.com currently lists Florida, Nevada, North Carolina, Missouri, Indiana and Montana as the most evenly split swing states in the upcoming election. The Web site also lists Colorado, Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia, Georgia and New Mexico as too close to call.

This semester, the Student Union developed the Brandeis Votes initiative, which allowed students to register to vote in Massachusetts or their home state. According to Union Director of Communications Jamie Ansorge '09, approximately 150 students signed up to vote through the Brandeis Votes program. The majority of students from swing states, however, were already registered in their home states.

George Falk '11 of Chelsea, Mich. exemplifies the active support students from swing states have demonstrated in this election. Although polls suggest that Michigan, traditionally a swing state, will vote Democratic, as it did in the previous two presidential elections, the Obama supporter isn't willing to take any chances.

Continued...

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