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The Daily Northwestern Wednesday, October 30, 2024

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THE ELECTION ISSUE — ETHS students stress importance of voting, PAGE 2 — The Daily’s general election ballot guide, PAGE 4 — NU professors, staff donate to Democrats, PAGE 5

Residents withhold votes Students favor Harris Some voters uncommited due to violence in Gaza Surveyed undergraduates largely support Democratic ticket By FEMI HORRALL

daily senior staffer

When Newland Smith cast his ballot in the 2024 Illinois primary election, he did not select any candidate to be nominated to run for president. Instead, he wrote in “Gaza.” Smith wasn’t the only one to withhold his vote. Over 42,000 Chicago voters cast ballots indicating no votes or write-in votes in the 2024 Democratic primary, compared to just over 12,000 in 2020. A portion of this increase was caused by the Uncommitted Movement, a group who withheld their votes in protest of the United States’ handling of the war in Gaza. Since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel killed 1,200 Israelis, according to Israeli officials, Israel’s military campaign in Gaza has killed more than 41,000 Palestinians, according to Palestinian officials.

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While Vice President Kamala Harris called for a ceasefire during her speech at the Democratic National Convention, she also stated that she would “always ensure Israel has the ability to defend itself.” Smith said he “may well not” vote for her, former President Donald Trump or any thirdparty candidate in the Nov. 5 general election. “I don’t see either the present administration of the vice president running for president and the Democratic Party or the other candidate being able to do justice in stopping this utterly insane, devastating war,” he said. “So I hate to be in this position, but that’s where I’m at.” Smith is a member of Evanston Ceasefire, a coalition of Evanston residents striving to pass a ceasefire resolution in the Evanston City Council. Some other members of the organization are also considering withholding their votes. Dickelle Fonda said she plans to wait until

» See UNCOMMITTED, page 14

By SCOTT HWANG

daily senior staffer

In its inaugural undergraduate campus poll conducted three weeks ago The Daily asked students how likely they are to vote and which presidential candidate they plan to vote for. The answers: Very likely, and overwhelmingly for Vice President Kamala Harris. Over 90% of students from the U.S. said they were “very likely” or “likely” to vote. Meanwhile, 91.7% of students with a voting preference said they would vote for Harris, compared to only 5.0% for former President Donald Trump. But the poll, which consisted of only multiple choice questions, did not provide a full picture of students’ thoughts on the election. To find out more, The Daily reached out to a group of students who indicated they would be willing to answer more questions but did

not know in advance what topics they would be asked about. Twenty students provided written answers to The Daily’s questions about the election. Here are three takeaways. 1. Harris is widely preferred to Trump — but with varying degrees of enthusiasm If you plan to vote in the November U.S. presidential election, who do you plan to vote for? Cole Morgan (sophomore, McCormick): “I am voting for Kamala Harris because I agree with her policy goals and her ability to lead. I am also voting for her because I believe that Donald Trump is unfit to lead in numerous ways, including his age, his character, his policy goals, his harmful language and his criminal liability.” Efren Ponce (senior, Communication):

» See POLLING, page 14