ELECTION 2024 EXTRA EDITION T h e I n d e p e n d e n t S t u d e n t N e w s p a p e r o f B r a n d e is U n i v e r sit y S i n c e 1 9 4 9
the
Volume LXXVII, Number 7
Justice www.thejustice.org
Wednesday, November 6, 2024
Waltham, Mass.
FORMER PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP WINS ELECTION
■ A walkthrough of the election’s progress, battleground states. The next wave of poll closures
which Former President Donald Trump is likely to win. By JULIA HARDY
JUSTICE ASSOCIATE EDITOR
On Nov. 5, 2024, people around the U.S. cast their vote to elect the next president. By the time polling sites opened, approximately 80 million people had already voted early. Polling in many states has shown Vice President Kamala Harris and Former President Donald Trump at nearly an even percentage throughout the day, particularly in the battleground states. According to Columbia Broadcasting System News and Cable News Network Politics, there are seven swing states — or battleground states — that will have a significant impact on the outcome of the election. The states are Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Each state polling site closed anywhere between 7 p.m. and 1 a.m. Eastern time, with Alaska polls being the last to close. With one hour left until the first wave of poll closings, the critical battleground states continued to be close races based on razor thin margins, according to News Broadcasting Company news coverage. The first of the presidential election results came in from Kentucky, Indiana, Georgia, South Carolina, Vermont and Virginia. As predicted, the initial projection for Georgia was deemed too early to call by National Broadcasting Company News, as was Virginia, South Carolina and Indiana. Kentucky was projected for Trump and Vermont for Harris. At 10 past 7 p.m., Microsoft NBC analyzed the first votes from Georgia shortly after poll closures, providing the initial information on one of the
at 7:30 p.m. brought more projected victories for Trump, with Ohio and West Virginia predicted to go to the former president. Kentucky was projected shortly after. At this point in the night, results were just beginning to roll in, but at 8:00 p.m., the polls closed in 16 states and the District of Columbia, resulting in a huge influx of new information. Of the 16 states, Pennsylvania is perhaps the most anticipated initial result, as it is one of the major battleground states. Of the 16 states, five states projected Trump to win, three for Harris and nine states were too early to call. D.C. was called for Harris. Most notably, all the battleground states where the polls closed — Pennsylvania, Georgia and North Carolina — continued to be too close to call as of 8:04 p.m. EST, according to MSNBC. At 8:11 p.m. EST, Georgia was labeled “too close to call” instead of “too early to call.” At 8:15, MSNBC gave South Carolina to Trump. Main battleground projection states — GA, NV and PA — continue to have inconclusive results. NBC News projected Arkansas to go to Trump. At 9:00 p.m., 15 more polls closed, with the majority of the states inconclusive. Of those states, Texas, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming were all projected to go to Trump. However, CNN coverage suggested that “[n]o one had broken serve yet,” meaning that there has been no surprises yet. In the battleground states, Harris was ahead in PA and Michigan, while Trump was ahead in North Carolina and Georgia, as of 9:00. Just 10 minutes later, Harris was predicted to win in Delaware, according to MSNBC. As of 9:30 p.m., according to Associated Press News nine states had been projected wins for Harris and 17 have been given to Trump. The battleground states — NC, PA, AZ, WI and MI — continued to be too early to call, and Georgia was too
close to call. The polls in Idaho, Montana, Nevada and Utah closed at 10:00 p.m. EST. Montana and Utah were projected by NBC News to go to Trump, and Idaho and Nevada were too early to call. As of 10:30 p.m., the numbers for the battleground states continued to fluctuate. According to NBC News, Trump is ahead in projections in Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin. Harris was ahead in Michigan, and Nevada has zero percent of the vote in. With just 10 minutes before the next wave of poll closures, a total of 32 states had been called. Nine states were projected for Harris, and 23 were given to Trump. At 11:00 p.m., the polls in California, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington closed. Trump was projected to win Idaho and Harris won Washington and California. With this new information, Harris has 145 electoral votes as compared to Trump’s 214. With only two states left to close up their polling sites, the battleground states remained too close to call as of 11:30. According to NBC News, Trump led in Georgia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Arizona and Wisconsin with razor thin margins. Harris led in Michigan and Nevada. At this time, Harris had 172 electoral votes and Trump had 214. Virginia and New Mexico — called by AP News — were both called for Harris, leaving only 12 states left to be projected as of 11:45 p.m.. At that time, Harris had 185 electoral votes as compared to Trump’s 230. At midnight, the polls in Hawaii closed and were projected for Harris, bringing her total electoral votes to 189. As of 12:30 a.m., both North Carolina and Georgia were called for Trump. After these states were called, at approximately 12:44 p.m., Harris’ campaign co-chair Cedric Richmond addressed the crowd at Harris’ Headquarters. He expressed that “We still have votes to count. We still have states that have not been called yet.” He said that “You [the American people] won’t hear from the Vice
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ELECTION: Members of the Brandeis community gathered in the Shapiro Camus Center Atrium to watch the unfolding election. President tonight,” but she will address the public the next morning. At the time of this speech, Harris had 189 electoral votes and Trump had 246. At 1:00 a.m. EST, the final polls closed in Alaska, with the final voters casting their ballots. At that time, the electoral votes stood with Harris with 194 and Trump with 246. The night of Nov. 5, 2024 and the early morning hours of Nov. 6 marked a historic time in U.S. history. However, there is much more history to be made; Nevada, Arizona, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Alaska still have not been called. The story of the 2024 presidential election has been one of narrow margins. The remaining states continued to be too close or too early to call, thus preventing the recognition of a new president of the United States. The country will be waiting with baited breath as the final tally of the votes come in and a new president is elected.
College voters: Activism at Brandeis, students encouraged toward polls ■ As the presidential election drew
near, Brandeis was busy with political programming as students and faculty encouraged voting and voter registration. By ANNA MARTIN
JUSTICE EDITOR IN CHIEF
The Brandeis campus has been buzzing with election preparation all semester, as students have gathered to watch debates, register to vote and discuss policies. Many students are passionate about their beliefs, and the election has made its way into class offerings, club programming and more. At the beginning of the school year, watch parties were held on Sept. 10 for the Presidential Debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and Former President Donald Trump. The watch party was co-hosted by Student Union, Brandeis VoteDeis, the Educational Network for Active Civic Transformation and the Samuels Center for Community Partnerships and Civic Transformation. The Dean of Students Office, the Brandeis Legal Studies Program and the Intercultural Center also took part in hosting the event. It took place on Sept. 10 from 8:30 to 10:30 p.m. in the Mandel Center for the Humanities. Following the watch party, Student Union President Rani Balakrishna ’25 provided remarks. In correspondence with The Justice on Nov. 3, Balakrishna expressed her joy regarding this speaking opportunity, sharing “I really love voting, I am in a position that was voted on by the student body at Brandeis, and I take great pride in that connection.” That same night, the Brandeis Journalism Program hosted a watch party featuring speaker Prof. Eileen McNamara (JOUR), a Pulitzer Prize winner and former Boston Globe columnist. McNamara is teaching Political Packaging in America this semester, a class that dives deep into journalism’s role in elections and the history of election coverage. There was a watch party for the Vice Presidential Debate in the Golding Judaica Center Audi-
torium on Oct. 1, hosted by Student Union, COMPACT, VoteDeis, ENACT, DOSO, the Brandeis Journalism Program and the ICC. Student Union Vice President Ria Escamilla-Gil ’27 provided remarks following this debate. The Student Union and VoteDeis collaborated to hold a voter registration drive on Oct. 7 in Fellows Garden. They shared information regarding resources on campus that help with voting. These resources included envelopes, stamps and an available notary. The VoteDeis Coalition also hosted voter registration events through the month of September, encouraging all community members to prepare for the election. On Sept. 29 the group partnered with the Department of Community Living to hold a parents weekend voter registration drive in Ridgewood Residence Hall. On Sept. 30, VoteDeis partnered with Triskelion, Brandeis’ oldest surviving LGBTQ+ student-led community, to promote voter registration in the Shapiro Campus Center Atrium. On Oct. 9, COMPACT collaborated with VoteDeis to host “Finding your path in community action: A conversation with Dr. Danielle Allen.” This event consisted of a “student-focused [question and answer session] … featuring Prof. Daniel Kryden’s ‘Introduction to American Government’ class” according to Instagram. Dr. Allen is a professor at Harvard University, and the director of the Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation. She is also the founder and president of Partners in Democracy. VoteDeis also brought some fun to this election season, hosting a sticker design contest. The winner’s stickers were printed for members of the community to enjoy, and they received a giftcard to Lizzy’s Homemade Ice Cream. On Oct. 22, VoteDeis, ENACT, Student Union, DOSO and the Politics Department collaborated to host a “vote goat.” The goat, named Weston, brought much attention to Fellows Garden, as students and faculty alike stopped by for selfies. In addition to holding the goat, help was offered with registration, early voting and coordinating rides to polling stations. VoteDeis Coalition member Maddie Leventhal ’26 spoke with The Justice on Nov. 2, sharing “The VoteDeis Campus Coalition has been working to For tips or info email editor@thejustice.
grow student voter turnout by hosting election education events and by supporting students through registration and ballot requests, with a variety of social and academic events. Our most memorable moment was to bring in Brandeis’ very own VoteGoat! Weston, the VoteGoat, brought attention and energy around civic engagement while we were able to help registrations for students.” On Oct. 23, Balakrishna was joined by former Student Union President Peyton Gillespie ’25 to speak at the “Your Vote Matters!” panel moderated by LeManuel Bitsoi, Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the Rapaporte Treasure Hall. The panel covered the importance of voting, with the aim of directing students to the polls. In response to questions regarding the panel, Balakrishna stated “My goal by the end of that panel was to convince those who say ‘my vote doesn’t matter because I am not in a swing state’ to vote, and to encourage civic participation. I believe that there are so many issues up and down the ballot that people need to make their voice heard. I hope it encouraged Brandeis students of all ages to engage with democracy because everyone’s lives are impacted by politics.” In addition, Balakrishna explained the importance of voting to her, sharing “Voting is incredibly important to me because as a woman of color, it is a privilege and an honor that I am excited to exercise. I voted in my first Presidential Election this year, and I saw firsthand the impact of grassroots organizations up and down the ballot this summer in local political work. I collected signatures, did phone banking and interned for the Massachusetts Democratic Party this past summer, which gave me so much insight on the power of local government.” VoteDeis also organized buses to polls for all students registered as Waltham voters for both early and normal voting. The vote bus ran on both Sunday, Oct. 27 and Tuesday, Nov. 5, utilizing BranVans that are Americans with Disabilities Act accessible. Balakrishna, who has driven these vans, “know[s] that a barrier to voting is that people cannot get off campus after they arrive for classes or for the workday, and we want to be sure everyone gets an equal chance to vote.” In advance of election results, the Student Union provided resources for stressed and over-
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whelmed students. The Union partnered with Dog B.O.N.E.S. to host therapy dogs Ollie and Ava. They also opened their office to all students all day, providing a safe space and snacks. The Brandeis Counseling Center, the ICC and the Gender and Sexuality Center have also offered support resources to overwhelmed students. On election night, the SCC was alive with watch parties, both in the atrium and in the multipurpose room. Brandeis Dems hosted the Democratic watch party in the MPR as students gathered to show their support for Harris. In the atrium, many campus departments collaborated to host a nonpartisan watch party for all interested students. Members of the Brandeis community came out in flocks to support their respective candidates.
— The Justice Editor in Chief Anna Martin ’26 is employed by the Brandeis Legal Studies program and taking Political Packaging in America and contributed to and edited this article. — The Justice Editor Lin Lin Hutchinson ’25 is employed by the Brandeis Journalism program and taking Political Packaging in America, and edited this article. — The Justice Deputy Editor Lauryn Williams ’25 is employed by the Brandeis Journalism program and taking Political Packaging in America and did not contribute to or edit this article. — The Justice Deputy Editor Tibria Brown ’25 is employed by the Brandeis Journalism program and taking Political Packaging in America and did not contribute to or edit this article. — The Justice Managing Editor Eliza Bier ’26 is employed by the Educational Network for Active Civic Transformation and did not contribute to or edit this article. — The Justice Editor Nemma Kalra ’26 is employed by the Educational Network for Active Civic Transformation and did not contribute to or edit this article. — The Justice Associate Editor Julia Hardy ’26 is on the executive board for Brandeis Democrats and did not contribute to or edit this article. — The Justice Editor Niamh Mullen ’26 is taking Political Packaging in America, and did not contribute to or edit this article.