LIVEBLOG: Election 2020
3:45 AM ET, Nov. 4th — Princeton, NJ
Results are continuing to trickle in through the night, coloring in solid reds and blues across the 50 States. Even as a long-time cartography nerd, the hours on end zooming in and out of red and blue counties have been draining and frankly, not too informative.
Below are links to different approaches to mapping election results.
For starters, here is a map from the New York Times visualizing the Two Americas from 2016.
The University of Michigan also published several different maps adjusted for population by state, county, and the number of electoral votes.
More maps! Here’s a couple different approaches from Wired.
The Washington Post also shared what they claimed to be the “least misleading map of the 2016 election,” highlighting the importance of nuance in visualizing and interpreting what seems as simple as a map.
As Ken Field, a product engineer at Esri, a mapping software company put it in his Wired interview, "All of these maps show different versions of the truth. None are right, and none are wrong, but they all allow you to interpret the results differently."
- YL ‘22
11:15 PM ET, Nov. 3rd — Carlisle, PA
Need some late-night election-themed music to keep you going through the final hour of Nov. 3? Here are the songs that’ve been playing on repeat in your classmates’ head this Election Day:
BC'22: What the F**k Right Now — Tyler, the Creator
MN '22: World Gone Made — Bastille
TI '22: We Didn’t Start the Fire — Billy Joel
NH '24: Forget me too — Machine Gun Kelly ft. Halsey
AM '22: Blowin’ in the Wind — Bob Dylan
AM '22: American Hero — Rainbow Kitten Surprise
EB '24: FDT — YG ft Nipsey Hussle
JW '21: It’s the End of the World as We Know it — R.E.M
Happy (or angsty?) listening...
-JK '21
10:24 PM ET, Nov. 3rd–Princeton, NJ
Earlier today around 3PM, I took the liberty of skipping my last lecture to chat with AG, the manager at Varsity Liquors. For many who are familiar with the town, Varsity Liquors located by the Friend Center and the E-Quad is a popular stop for all alcohol needs.
I grabbed a case of Smirnoff and Bacardi before making my way up to the cashier. An elderly gentleman was having a lively conversation with AG about the 2016 presidential election. For 2020, he pocketed three bottles of wine before heading out with a quiet smile.
According to AG, today’s been an unusual Tuesday. Owing to the election, today’s been busier than usual. However, aside from today, business has been slow. Since students left campus in March, Varsity has seen a significant decrease in sales.
“That’s the thing about being in a college town,” said AG. “When the University is in session, it’s great, but when it’s not, we all struggle.”
With just a few bars open in Princeton, there has been an increase in the sale of cocktail mixes though, shared AG.
“Hopefully, the first week of December, the University announces it’ll bring students back,” said AG.
In the meantime, I’m sipping my Bacardi pina colada, watching the election results come in from my off campus apartment across the street from Varsity.
- YL ‘22
10:14 PM ET, Nov. 3rd — New York
Election Day is an exciting opportunity to shape our future. It can also be deeply stressful. It’s important to vote and stay engaged, but it’s equally important to take care of your mental and emotional health today (and every day!) We’ve collected a resource roundup of ten stress-reduction and self-care tips for Election Day— all compiled from Dr. Calvin Chin, Director of Counseling and Psychological Services at Princeton, Mr. Momo Wolapaye, Director of Student Life of Whitman College at Princeton, and various national media publications.
Here are the tips:
1. Be Kind to Yourself
2. Turn Off the Tech and News
3. Be in Another Environment
4. Exercise, Move Your Body
5. Shift Your Mindset: Personal
6. Shift Your Mindset: Election
7. Connect with People
8. Distract Yourself with Positive Activities
9. Be of Service
10. Reach Out to a Professional
You matter, and deserve mental, emotional, and physical well-being during this election season. Read the tip explanations and a full version of the resource roundup here: http://www.universitypressclub.com/archive/2020/11/mental-health-and-self-care-tips-for-this-election-day/
-AA '23
8:39 PM ET, Nov. 3rd — Ashburn, VA
The experiences of two first-time voters who voted early could not be more different.
Lawrence Azzariti ‘24 saw the stable COVID numbers in Westchester, New York, wanted a memorable first-time voting experience, and had difficulty requesting an absentee ballot.
“Let's cut the hassle and just go,” he thought.
Kalena Blake ‘24 cited similar reasons for voting in-person, but the two student voters faced drastically different polling experiences.
Blake drove to a recreation center fifteen minutes from her house in Maryland and was in and out of the polling location.
“I expected a much larger line at the early voting place just because I watched a lot of news broadcasts prior to that point about 8 hour lines in Georgia and things like that,” she said. “But there was barely anyone there.”
Azzariti envisioned a similar voting experience—“We’ll be in and out,” he told a friend who went with him—but ended up waiting in an eight-hour line a week before Election day.
“My immediate reaction was frustration,” Azzariti recalls. “You never want to be waiting in line, especially in a region where you don't expect to be.” He had seen stories about long lines in the southern states, but never expected to face the same in Westchester, New York so far out from Election Day.
“Everyone had the exact same idea, and everyone fell off the same cliff together," he said.
Azzariti waited it out, using the time to catch up with his friend whom he hadn’t talked to since high school and meet fellow voters.
“We were talking to this guy in front of us in line and he was teaching me a little bit how to juggle,” he said, recalling one of the more memorable moments of the eight hours spent outside.
Both Azzariti and Blake found an unexpected perk to voting in-person: free food.
“There's this organization called Pizza to the Polls that somebody called, and they brought over some pizzas for everyone waiting in line,” Azzariti said.
Blake didn’t receive free food when she voted early but took advantage of Election Day promotions. “I did get a free coffee this morning by showing my voting sticker at one of my favorite coffee places in Georgetown,” she said.
Next time around, Azzariti will try to avoid the long lines even if there is food involved.
“Honestly, I just hope I never have to go through that again,” he said. “In future elections, what I've learned is go later in the early voting period or just mail it in. It'll probably be easier that way."
-AC ‘24
8:22 PM ET, Nov. 3rd — Evanston, IL
A roommate and I drove into Evanston today for some poorly timed errands. Evanston, as far as we could tell, hadn’t been hit as hard by the election mania as some other places were.
As a Virginian born and raised, I’m currently living in a state I’m not voting in; I moved here in September with some friends for the fall semester. I sent in my Virginia ballot last week; like me, all of my roommates voted via absentee ballots, so none of us had to rise early to make it to the polls. Besides, Illinois is covered in lawn signs for politicians I don’t know: Kim Foxx, Robyn Gabel, Pat O’Brien.
By far the most popular signs other than the Biden/Harris ones are those advocating for or against the Fair Tax Amendment, which would give the state of Illinois the ability to tax high earners with a higher income tax — perhaps the most important aspect of this election for some voters, since Illinois has been reliably blue.
But despite the prominence of political signs, actual evidence of election day in Illinois was rare. In one-and-a-half hours in Evanston, I only saw five “I voted” stickers — normally a mainstay for the first Tuesday of November. I assume most folks got in their votes early.
Driving by two polling stations revealed nothing but poll workers standing among clusters of political signs. There weren’t any lines that I could see; maybe one or two voters entering or exiting the building.
Evanston was quiet besides, though there was a strange energy in the air, an understanding of the possibility of change yet to come — or perhaps that was just in the mind of yours truly.
-GT '24
8:10 PM ET, Nov. 3rd — Montgomery, AL
As the presidential vote count begins, many students at Princeton and beyond are turning to anonymous platforms to express their thoughts and anxieties.
One such platform, Unmasked, is a social media app designed to allow college students to vent their emotions and receive support from peers. Princeton students use it to discuss their insecurities, workload, and more recently, political anxieties.
“I am so antithetical to the common perception of what I should be,” an anonymous poster writes. “I can tell people see you differently because you believe in free markets and less government regulations. But people treat politics as a defining characteristic, and it can get [really] toxic.”
“Thank you for your perspective—I never really thought about it from that light,” another user responds. “But I know, pompous pricks are annoying from everywhere, from both sides of the aisle.”
Librex is another anonymous app, similar to Reddit, created specifically for Ivy League students. The platform saw a significant uptick in political posts in the days leading up to the election, and now its forums are filled with posts from users everywhere on the political spectrum.
“Biden wins, likely by 3am. Calling it,” one Yale student writes.
“I’m out here working the polls. It’s gonna be a long day,” writes another.
“I just voted for Donald Trump,” writes a Dartmouth user. “Ask me anything.”
Librex’s forums are heating up as more votes are counted, with an ever-increasing number of political jokes and spam. This trend seems likely to continue across similar platforms as university students seek an anonymous outlet for their thoughts and feelings on the election.
-EW ‘24
8 PM ET, Nov. 3rd — Cupertino, CA
As we begin to sit down in front of our television screens to watch the election results come in, however uncertain and tentative they might be, many will indulge in the time-tested tradition of drinking games.
* Please take everything that follows with a grain of salt and drink responsibly if you do choose to partake tonight.
In honor of the phenomenon, I decided to scour the Internet to see what interesting statements would cause sips to be taken.
“If you’re watching election coverage without rocking an I Voted sticker: Take one drink.” -A casual reminder to vote, courtesy of Porch Drinking’s game
“Any mention of voter fraud: Pretend to take a drink.” and “If Trump tweets during election coverage: SEND SOMEONE A TEXT IN ALL CAPS AND TAKE A DRINK”
– I appreciated the wit, again from Porch Drinking’s game
“If Obama makes an appearance: Finish your beer, sink the can in the trash, and yell “That’s what I do!”” -Very timely; honestly just read Porch Drinking’s game because it is quite hilarious
Drink for EVERY MENTION of: 4) “Most important election of our lifetime”; 5) “Still too close to call”; 7) “Unprecedented”; 12) “It all comes down to Pennyslvania.” – A good selection of the classics, courtesy of Matt Taibbi
Drink EVERY TIME: 21) “There is video of Melania Trump looking a little too happy that her husband is losing”; 23) “Biden says something incomprehensible, dozes off, or forgets whom he’s talking with in a TV appearance.” -Amusing candidate appearances, also courtesy of Matt Taibbi
“Take 2 sips if/when: a commentator starts solving theoretical math problems with projected electoral votes” -Love me some algebra on election night, courtesy of Our Community Now
“Pour yourself a new drink if: Kanye wins.” – Surprise, surprise, courtesy of Our Community Now
-VP ‘22
7:52 PM ET, Nov. 3rd–Princeton, NJ
Election Day on campus was quiet and peaceful, but tensions have been rising in our virtual, online campus communities. Yesterday afternoon (ET), Tyga San, the moderator of Tiger Confessions #, announced they will be lifting the “ban on political posts over the next few days because of the election.”
Tyga San’s most recent announcement comes after a heated debate about free speech and censorship on confession platforms that could, “contribute to the polarization and exclusion of conservatism at Princeton, especially in these tense times due to the upcoming election.”
See the rest of the story on Moderating Our Debates: Confessions of the Tyga's
- YL '22
4:20 PM ET, Nov. 3rd — Washington, D.C.
Hello from the nation's capitol (aka plywood city). Businesses left and right have been boarding and hiring extra security in anticipation of possible civil unrest.
A bit of an eerie sight in a country built on the idea of a peaceful transition of power.
I ventured down to Lafayette Square to the sound of power tools from stores and cafes doing last-minute prep.
The "non-scalable" fence that has stood in front of the White House since the spring has been expanded, and fencing along Lafayette Square's northern edge still serves as a de-facto bulletin board, much of it new as prior posters and signs had been torn down.
It's quite the hodge podge crowd: Drummers. Joggers. Gawkers. International media. Apparently, one guy has been yelling "Jesus Saves" the whole day.
And here, a Trump supporter raps for the cameras. He later does a dance off against a Bider supporter.
I've been asked about the likelihood of civil unrest. It's too early too tell. There's a lot of weird energy in the streets, but things have been peaceful so far. Let's hope they stay that way.
-SMC '21
4:05 PM ET, Nov. 3rd — Carlisle, PA
To spice up an afternoon that is feeling longer and longer by the second, here are some crazy ways in which Princetonians have convinced others to vote, or have been convinced to do so, this election season.
"A rap battle" — TI '22
"My cousin threatened to withhold her child from seeing me if I didn't vote! Needless to say, my ballot was submitted weeks ago." — NH '24
"I unghosted a summer hookup and two ex flings with a "hey random but have you voted? love ya!" text. An ex responded: "no but want to make a plan together ;)". Time to reghost." — AM '22
And the most wholesome:
"No one has really encouraged me to vote in a memorable way this year. But I'm trying to encourage other people to vote by phonebanking (right now!) in Arizona, which may be a little crazy." — EB '24
Send us some more of your crazy (or wholesome) voting stories here: https://forms.gle/oG3ZgTmcG1SmzW4W8
-JK '21
2:30 PM ET, Nov. 3rd — Cupertino, CA
This election has been unparalleled in many ways, and that experience is only compounded for first-time voters. Many Princeton students, voting for the first time, are not currently living at home or near campus and so had to make alternate voting arrangements.
For Aria Lupo ’24, Puerto Rico is home for the semester. Lupo voted in-person in Connecticut during the primaries, but realized she had to vote absentee after planning her move.
Her county’s absentee ballot application must be submitted as a physical copy, but technical difficulties forced Lupo to triangulate her application to her new location.
“I don’t have a printer [in Puerto Rico], so I had my mom mail me the application form to vote absentee,” said Lupo. “So that was its own process, having to have her mail me the application. I then filled it out and sent it to my town clerk.”
Lupo safely received her application in early October. Her roommates, from Texas and Vermont, also received absentee ballots, but the states all had varied forms. Lupo said that the significant differences in the voting forms were one of the things that made her nervous about her vote being counted.
“I checked [my ballot] over 50 times and then got the courage to put it in the mailbox.”
-VP ‘22
1:58PM ET, Nov. 3rd -- Corolla, NC
Over a month ago, we conducted a survey to get a sense of how Princetonians were planning to cast their ballots in today’s historic election. We asked 103 students how they voted, who they voted for, and whether they faced any logistical issues during the voting process.
92.3% of respondents planned to vote for Biden/Harris, 6.7% planned to vote for Trump/Pence, and one student noted that they were planning to write in a different name in lieu of the more popular—and more contentious—candidates their classmates preferred.
(Visual by Richard Huang)
The majority of respondents are voting in their home state, with 53.8% mailing in their vote. At the time of the survey (distributed on September 22), 80.8% of respondents had requested their mail in ballot, with 84.8% of these students left waiting for their ballot to arrive. Afraid of postal delays and ballot issues, these students acted early in order to ensure their vote was counted during the weeks leading up to Election Day.
Understaffed election offices, issues with changing voting addresses, long wait times, and a host of other logistical issues made voting more complicated during this year's pandemic-era election. One respondent noted the “stress and uncertainty around the security of voting by mail." Others—33% of respondents at the time—translated their worry into work, putting in hours phone banking and poll working.
The pandemic also altered several students’ voting plans. Many expressed worry with in-person voting safety. But due to state regulations or concern with whether their vote would be counted accurately, they planned to vote at the polls.
“Despite the possible dangers of voting in person during the pandemic, Texas will not allow voters to vote absentee without a valid reason (the pandemic does not count), so my family and I will have to vote in person,” said one Biden voter.
“I'm a bit nervous about voting in person, but this will be my first general election in which I'm eligible to participate, and I really want the in-person experience of going to the polls,” said another respondent.
Some students living outside of their home states—which comprised of 40.8% of respondents—made plans to cast their ballot strategically. “I’m voting in PA (living in Philly) since it's a swing state, and I felt like my vote would be more significant than voting in MA or NJ, which are more solidly blue,” said one Biden voter.
Others urged their fellow students to volunteer. “Volunteering has literally never been easier,” said one voter. “Takes like three clicks to make phone calls or send texts for a candidate you care about!”
One Biden voter was excited at the prospect of casting his ballot for the first time. "This election really feels different and of extreme importance," he said. "I feel hopeful but also very nervous about how the next month will play out."
How the election unfolds over the next few days is still a mystery—leaving Princetonians around the country on tenterhooks.
-ME '21
7:41AM ET, Nov. 3rd -- Carlisle, PA
Good morning from Carlisle, PA, where the weather is looking absolutely stunning today—a perfect day to head to the polls (with masks and jackets on, of course).
As an international student who can't vote in the United States, I had to do with meeting my housemates in the kitchen at 6AM to bid them well as they headed to our local polling spot. Meanwhile, I'm overlooking the park that I've gazed upon since moving here a few months ago.
Last month, I wrote a reflection piece about what it's like living in a swing state as someone who can't vote during such a momentous election year, based on this very park. You can read it here: http://nassauweekly.com/lindner-park/
Fun fact: Yesterday we baked cookies for the neighbors and discovered that the residents of the "towering gothic house" with the Biden sign include—no joke—a member from Princeton's Class of 1965, whose wife is a former Admissions Officer. I can't say which of us was more surprised to discover other Princetonians here in Carlisle, but it was a serendipitous meeting nevertheless.
- JK '21
12:12AM ET, Nov. 3rd -- Chicago, IL
A record number of young people in their 20s and 30s, including some Princeton students, have signed up to work at poll stations on Election Day.
I spoke with Patrice McGivney ‘23, who is working the polls in Pueblo, Colorado, and Ella Gantman ‘23, a co-founder of Poll Hero, a non-profit which has recruited more than 37,000 poll workers across the United States to work the polls for the presidential election.
“This is the first election I’ve worked for,” said McGivney, who has been working the polls with their father. McGivney said the nearest polling station opened on Friday, so they’ve worked full days on both Friday and Saturday (although some places in Colorado opened earlier than this past weekend).
“I haven’t seen any massive lines yet,” said McGivney, adding that the average voter coming to the polling station was between 30 and 40 years old.
“Older people want to use the machines more,” said McGivney. “They also seem to be the ones who least know how to use [them].”
Gantman said Poll Hero “started out of the ashes that was everyone’s summer plans pre-Covid.” She notes that even though most elections lack volunteers willing to work a polling station, COVID-19 exacerbated the need for poll workers.
“The average age of a poll worker is 62 years old,” she said. Since poll workers come into contact with hundreds if not thousands of people in a day, a large chunk of the volunteer base for polling stations was leery of committing to a twelve-hour day for fear of contracting the virus.
“The world isn’t stopping for election day,” she said, which is why the volunteer base is primarily older: retired people don’t have work or school and can afford to spend a full day at the polls.
Gantman wasn’t able to work the polls this year. She said that when she applied to work in Washington, D.C., she was rejected because there were two thousand more applications then available poll working slots.
Both McGivney and Gantman stressed the importance of poll working (if possible) and voting no matter what.
“If it wasn’t important to vote, then historically people wouldn’t have tried to stop other people from voting,” said McGivney.
Gantman is concerned about voter fraud. “I am less afraid of people casting fraudulent votes compared to how worried I am about real votes being thrown out,” she said, citing examples of ballot boxes being set on fire and the push in Texas to throw out more than 100,000 votes.
McGivney agreed. “People just have no idea just how many people it takes to make sure that votes get counted,” they said, later adding: “When has the United States government ever been able to keep a secret?
- GT '24
11:45PM ET, Nov. 2nd -- Princeton, NJ
Pulse Check
In the final hours leading up to the 2020 Presidential Election, the University Press Club set out to interview how Princetonians around the world are feeling. While some students have found refuge living with friends away from the political tension back home, others shared feeling increasingly anxious about the fallout at home and within their communities.
“Honestly, I'm kind of nervous,” said Maya Jaaskelainen ‘24 from Texas. “I've seen things online where people are preparing for protests and riots, which is nerve-wracking. It just seems like everything is rising to a breaking point, and I'm not sure what is going to happen if the election is super close.”
Sean Zatz ‘23 from Florida recounted his surprise when he moved back to campus for the Fall.
“It’s like a parallel universe,” said Zatz. “In Princeton you walk around and you see BLM flags or Biden flags, and anti-Trump stuff but in my hometown, it’s all Trump stuff, everywhere. You’ll just get a lot of hate if you’re a liberal in my hometown.”
Zatz is not alone in his experience away from a tense swing-state. Martin Hito ‘22 from North Carolina and Andrew Tufillaro ‘22 from Pennsylvania recalled many late night conversations with their roommates, living off-campus in Princeton.
“People in my family—because my family is made up of immigrants—a lot of them have more conservative beliefs than the average person in my community. So there’s kind of been a pretty distinct dichotomy between what I heard in school, what I heard from my friends, what I heard at home,” said Hito. “I guess the only thing that I’ve tried to do is learn more on my own and have more conversations with people. I don’t think I know a lot of things about politics or policies, but I try to have a lot of conversations with people and try to keep those conversations civil.”
Tufillaro similarly has focused on having more conversations with friends and family. He is currently back home in Collegetown, Pennsylvania taking a “mini-vacation” from his semester house in Princeton.
“The people I’m living with in my house, and most of my friends from Princeton, are liberal, and I’ve had different debates with them especially with [the Black Lives Matter movement] and the Supreme Court in the last four months or so,” said Tufillaro ‘22, the founder of Turning Point USA at Princeton, a conservative activist organization.
“One of the biggest issues with American politics now is that there’s a tendency towards outrage and tendency towards violence against people you disagree with, and I think it’s important to actually sit down and talk to people about these things.”
Tufillaro left Turning Point last year in the hopes of finding a space where he can have more conversations and discussions. “That brand of conservatism is not what I believe in or what I want to represent,” he said.
President Trump’s brand and rhetoric have made it easy for some to determine their candidate, while leaving others to struggle between their values, party and country.
“I think the challenging part for me is that I have a lot of right-wing views and a lot of left-wing views. I’m rare to that extent because I think a lot of people, with identity politics, tend to group themselves into either left or right,” said Francesca Walton ‘21. “The hardest part for me is that throughout these different communities I visit and different conversations, in the end in my head, it’s hard to vote for one person who shares some of the views but not all of the views I have.”
Walton, though originally from Florida, is currently based in New York where she works part-time as an editor at Fox News.
“One of the reasons why I didn’t vote until later is because there’s a part of me that doesn’t want to commit my ballot. Something comes out in the news and I regret my vote, which I also realize isn't that common,” she said. “You wonder, what can happen in the last few days? But also, who knows?”
For some, the decision was more straightforward.
“I guess it was a pretty easy choice for me,” said Aniket Mukherji ‘24. “Frankly, I’m probably going to vote for a Democrat for president in most cases anyway. Genuinely speaking, I am concerned about the future of America if President Trump is re-elected.”
Mukherji, like many others, is voting for the first time. Bassit Fijabi ‘24, on the other hand, is unable to vote due to his late November birthday.
“I turn 18 on the 28th, so it’s in the same month but I still can’t vote,” said Fijabi. “It’s irritating. Obviously the bigger reason is there’s a lot riding on this election. All of the events of 2020, like COVID and the Black Lives Matter protests, they’ve all sort of come to a head in this election.”
The night before the election, students can’t seem to agree on what the next couple of days (or weeks) might look like.
“I’m not too concerned. The crying, getting angry, that’s overdramatic,” said Matthew Wilson ‘24. “I recognize elections have consequences. Of course I’m interested in the outcome. But if you’re crying because your presidential candidate lost , but you’re not crying about your county commissioner race, your priorities are misplaced.”
On the contrary, Benjy Jude ‘23, a Vote 100 fellow, argues students should feel more “entitled” about the election. “I feel like the term ‘entitled’ gets thrown around a lot, especially at older generations,” said Jude. “I personally love it. We should feel entitled! We are entitled! Why wouldn’t we be? We are entitled to our voice, to what we care about, to our feelings, to want a better country and a better world. I wanted to get involved in outreach because I wanted to help empower us to assert our entitlement.”
Tomorrow, Jude will be volunteering as a poll worker in California.
“We have so much to care about, and I believe the majority of us do care,” said Jude.
- YL ‘22
VP ‘22, SC ‘21, AA ‘23, EW ‘24 contributed to reporting.