Technician - November 4, 2008

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Raleigh, North Carolina

Swing status brings added focus to state N.C. STATE’S PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION TIMELINE January 30 After losses in Iowa and New Hampshire, Democratic presidential candidate, former senator and University alumna John Edwards drops from the presidential race. (jan. 31 issue) March 27 Hillary Clinton makes her first North Carolina visit to Wake Tech Community College March 29 80th Annual Young Democrats’ State Convention brings John Edwards, James Carville and many students to RTP March 31 Chelsea Clinton speaks at Talley Student Center, student gets national attention for question about Bill Clinton’s personal life.

CAMPAIGNS KEEP PUSHING TILL THE END DESPITE NORTH CAROLINA’S STATUS STORY BY SAJA HINDI & CHRIS ALLRED | PHOTOS TECHNICIAN FILE | PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY LUIS ZAPATA

April 8 Michelle Obama campaigns for husband in Reynolds Coliseum

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oday’s the day. North Carolina mattered in the primaries when people thought it couldn’t happen, because the state’s primary was so late.

April 21 Proposed April 27 debate at the RBC Center is officially cancelled. Clinton pushed for the debate, but Obama’s campaign had not yet agreed to come, so the party cancelled it.

And now, although the state has voted red since 1976, it’s being considered a swing state. “Part of it is changing demographics in a lot of places, people moving in from the northeast,� Chris Ellis, assistant professor of political science, said. But Ellis said it’s more than that. “People that are traditionally conservative or moderate voters are changing their minds,� he said. However, Ellis said he doesn’t think North Carolina’s change of attitude is enough to change the state’s status as a red state. “It wasn’t a close state at all in 2004,� he said. “It takes a lot of attitude to change to [turn blue].� Jim Ceresnak, a junior in political science, is an advocate of gubernatorial Republican candidate Pat McCrory and Republican presidential candidate John McCain, and he remained optimistic in North Carolina’s performance. “McCain will win,� he said. “It’s going to be an extremely tight race, [but]

May 2 Obama and Clinton speak at Jefferson-Jackson Dinner at State Fairgrounds. May 6 Obama draws thousands to Reynolds Coliseum where he speaks after winning North Carolina’s Democratic primary

Oct. 6 Technician holds debate between Students for McCain and Students for Obama Oct. 29 Obama returns to Raleigh. Nov. 1 Gov. Sarah Palin, Republican vice presidential candidate, makes first Raleigh appearance at State Fairgrounds.

ELECTION COUNTDOWN:

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Days until the election.

McCain will pull it out.� Ceresnak said the GOP headquarters in downtown Raleigh was so full Monday night that people could barely get in. “Despite all the news and all the coverage and the polls... we’re looking at polls now every 30 to 15 minutes, and the margins keep tightening, especially in the state,� he said. Ellis said there’s only so much history to go against to win a state like North Carolina. “You have a national tide toward the Democrats,� he said. Melissa Price, an alumna and vice president of Young Democrats in North Carolina, disagreed. “It will be a tight race, but Obama will probably pull it off,� she said. Obama, Price said, had a “really amazing ground effort� in North Carolina that helped him become competitive in the state. “People knew what he was for — it’s what turned North Carolina into a swing state,� she said. “He had to fight harder in North Carolina, [and] by fighting harder, he positioned himself better in the general election.� Ceresnak agreed that attitudes are definitely changing. “On the national level, as a Republican, it’s not a great thing to hear that

CHECK INSIDE FOR MORE ELECTION COVERAGE:

Find national and local election coverage online at technicianonline.com. The Technician Voter’s Guide, which outlines each national, state and Raleigh candidate, is still available to view online at technicianonline.com.

Page 2: Shaping up the governor’s race Page 3: How citizens judge a presidents’ character Page 4: Negative ads’ role in the campaign Technician’s guide to election results Page 7: Perspectives from different voters

Unified government could present risks If the Democrats win the presidency, supermajority provides advantages and disadvantages Saja Hindi Editor-in-Chief

The Democrats, now in control of both the House and the Senate, will also be in control of the highest executive office of government if Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama wins the national election. Michael Cobb, associate professor of political science, said there are both positives and negatives to this possibility.

SUPERMAJORITY

The Senate can vote to place a time limit on consideration of a bill or another matter with cloture to avoid a filibuster. This can only be done with a vote of three-fifths of the entire Senate, or 60 votes, which is why the Democrats desire a 60-vote majority. SOURCE: U.S. SENATE WEB SITE

“Unified government makes it easier for actions to occur,� he said. “One party is in control and it makes it easier to know who is in charge of the good and the bad [things that happen].� But on the other hand, there is less introspection of the party’s own member’s activities.

“We saw that in the last three years where a large number of Republicans were indicted in investigations and found guilty and faced jail time,� Cobb said. The number was almost unprecedented in modern times, he said, not that these people weren’t guilty — but that there wasn’t as much scrutiny on the Democrats. Douglas Massengill from the North Carolina Federation of Democrats, a junior in political science, said a unified government for the Democrats would help Obama implement his proposed policies. MAJORITY continued page 4

With North Carolina now classified as a swing state, every vote will be crucial. IN four individual polls compiled by CNN between Oct. 23 and Now. 2, neither candidate held a lead of more than six points.

HERE ARE THE POLLS: CNN Poll of Polls Obama 49% McCain 48% Unsure 3% Date conducted: Oct. 23-Nov.2 Margin of error: No sampling error Poll 1 Source: NBC/Mason-Dixon McCain 49% Obama 46%

our state that’s been red... could be turning blue,� he said. But both Price and Ceresnak recognized the importance of the local races as well. “I think [U.S. Senate Democratic candidate Kay] Hagan is going to pull it out and it’s going to be really good for North Carolina,� she said. Ceresnak said the changing attitudes in North Carolina apply to the local races, not just those on the national level. “This is such a monumental election in so many ways on so many different levels in North Carolina,� he said. “People want changes in the national

Unsure 5% Date Conducted: Oct.29-30 Margin of error: +- 4% Poll 2 Source: CNN/Time/Opinion Research Corporation Obama 52% McCain 46% Unsure 1% Date conducted: Oct. 23-28 Margin or error: +- 4% Poll 3 Source: Allstate/National Journal/FD Obama 47% McCain 43% Unsure 10% Date Conducted: Oct. 23-27 Margin of error: +- 5% SOURCE FOR ALL: CNN.COM

offices as well as the local offices.� McCrory, he said, is running on a similar agenda — for “the same reason people are fed up with Republicans on the national level,� the Republicans want a change in Democratic governors. “The excitement about this election is at such a high level,� Ceresnak said. “It’s great for people who understand politics.�

insidetechnician

Pack cloggining looks to expand team. See page 10.

focused features classifieds sports

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allup’s final national pre-election poll showed Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama ahead of Republican presidential candidate John McCain, 53 percent to 42 percent. Republicans are hoping McCain can make a sweep of swing states tonight for a victory with at least 270 electoral votes.

CARS BY TAYLOR MCCUNE | MCCAIN PHOTO COURTSY JOHNMCCAIN.COM| OBAMA PHOT BY PEGGY BOONE

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PAGE 2 • TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2008

CORRECTIONS & CLARIFICATIONS Send all clarifications and corrections to Editor-in-Chief Saja Hindi at editor@ technicianonline.com.

WEATHER WISE Today:

63/56 Expect showers for most of the day. Take an umbrella with you to the polls.

Wednesday:

66 54 Rain lets up slightly with only a 30 percent of showers.

Thursday:

70 52 Rains lets up with partly cloudy skies all day. SOURCE: WWW.WEATHER.COM

POLICE BLOTTER November 2 1:23 A.M. | ASSISTANCE Avent Ferry Complex RA reported loud noise. Subject complied to turn music off before officer arrived. No action taken. 12:06 A.M. | FIRE ALARM Williams Hall Units responded to alarm caused by faulty HVAC unit. Facilities responded. System reset. 12:27 A.M. | SPECIAL EVENT Talley Student Center Omega Toga Party. No problems reported. 3:10 A.M. | ARMED ROBBERY Book Store Student was robbed in front of bookstore. All appropriate personnel notified. 10:59 P.M. | SUSPICIOUS INCIDENT Avent Ferry Complex Report of suspicious odor. Officers checked area but did not locate any problems.

QUOTE OF THE DAY “He had to fight harder in North Carolina, [and] by fighting harder, he positioned himself better in the general election.� Melissa Price, alumna and vice president of Young Democrats of North Carolina on the effect of Obama’s primary win

Gubernatorial race remains tight, candidates work outside bases Democrat Perdue holds consistent but small lead over Republican McCrory

ture of corruption in Raleigh and Bev Perdue is a part of that.� As the economic downturn has made this a “change� elecChris Allred tion, Dancy said McCrory would News Editor provide change from the current state government. In a state that typically “They’re sick of what’s been goelects Democratic governors, ing on, and they want somebody Republican candidate Pat to change that,� Dancy said. “The McCrory is in an interesting traditional Democrats need a position this year as a poten- whipping boy. It’s time for them tial winner. to get out.� Polls between McCrory Bobby Mills, a senior in politiand Democratic gubernato- cal science, works for Perdue’s ria l candicampaign and date Bev Persaid a big turndue have reout for Obama mained close could benefit throughout Perdue. the election “We expect cycle, though a large DemoPerdue has cratic turnout, stayed slightand hopefully ly ahead the Indepenin pollster. dents and Recom’s compublicans will posite polls. vote for Bev Its latest poll Perdue,� Mills Aaron Dancy, has Perdue said. “She ran freshman in chemical ahead 46.9 a hard and fair percent to campaign, and, engineering McCrory’s hopefully, the 45.1 percent. voters will see In a harsh political climate that.� for Republicans nationwide, McCrory and Perdue, who is Aaron Dancy, freshman in the state’s present lieutenant chemical engineering and governor, have different bases in vice-chair of Students for Mc- the state that could aid them in a Cain, said McCrory has the win, and Dancy said McCrory’s advantage of running against Democratic support in Charlotte the reigning party. is reflective of his broad appeal. “People have known that McCrory has been the mayor the Democrats have been in of Charlotte for 13 years, and he power [in North Carolina],� has the advantage of Charlotte’s he said. “There’s been a cul- wide media market, he said. But

“They’re sick of what’s been going on, and they want somebody to change that.�

IN THE KNOW

Democrats host viewing party

North Carolina Democrats will be hosting an Election Night party from 7:30 to 11 p.m. at the Marriott Raleigh City Center State Ballroom. The address is 501 Fayetteville St. in downtown Raleigh, and the election watch begins at 7:30 p.m. There will be music by Lorraine Jordan with Carolina Road Light snacks and cash bars. SOURCE: WAKE COUNTY DEMOCRATIC PARTY

The Wake County Republican Party will host an election party at the North Raleigh Hilton Hotel on Election night. Doors will open at 7:30 p.m. SOURCE: WAKE COUNTY REPUBLICAN PARTY

SG takes students to polls Members of Student Government will be driving vans to take students to the polls today. The vans will run from noon to 7:30 p.m., and to get a ride, students can call 919-515-2797. The vans will be marked with signs, so students can flag them down on campus for a ride as well. SOURCE: STUDENT BODY PRESIDENT JAY DAWKINS

Wind Ensemble

The NCSU Wind Ensemble, back from their international trip to the Sydney Opera House, presents their fall 2008 performance with pieces by Johann Sebastian Bach, David Holsinger, and Gioacchino Rossini. The concert also features guest pianist Dr. Glenn S. Harman. www.ncsu.edu/arts Ticket Central: 515.1100 2nd Floor, Talley Student Center

COURTESY WWW.BEVERLYPERDUE.COM

Gubernatorial candidate Bev Perdue works with a staff member.

McCrory has had to try to cross over to eastern North Carolina voters. “His challenge is to try to reach out to the eastern part where Bev

Perdue had the upper hand,� Dancy said. Republicans hope his success in Charlotte will lead to success across the state, he said.

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Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory, Republican candidate for governor, shouts out to his spectators after speaking at the Velvet Cloak Inn on Hillsborough Street Sept. 16. McCrory announced that the headquarters for his campaign will be in Raleigh.

“The urban voters will lead toward McCrory, they’ll see what he’s done to Charlotte,� Dancy said. Chris Ellis, an assistant professor of political science, said the “change� election has made this an odd season for North Carolina. Just as people are dissatisfied with the Republican Bush administration, that dissatisfaction can spill over to the Democratic state government, he said, and Perdue has some issues of her own. “Perdue has not run the most effective campaign,� he said. It would be “quite a scene� if McCrory were to win in an environment heavily favoring Democrats across the country, Ellis said. While McCrory has appeal in Charlotte, Mills said Perdue’s campaign has had strongholds in the eastern part of the state and have tried to break into the Piedmont. And while many voters will follow Democrats down-ticket, Mills said a lot of voters will also research the gubernatorial and senatorial candidates’ positions. “The lower down the ballot, the more immediate impact they can have in your daily life,� he said. Mills said his support of Perdue comes from her strong positions. “I’ve seen her commitment to North Carolina, and to education specifically,� he said.

Republicans host victory party

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Election 2008

TECHNICIAN

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2008 • PAGE 3

Personality may play role in electability ALTHOUGH POLICIES IMPORTANT IN THIS ELECTION, TEMPERAMENT CAN ENERGIZE VOTERS STORY BY SAJA HINDI | ILLUSTRATIONS BY TYLER STORM

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epublican presidential candidate John McCain said the 2008 presidential campaign was not about issues but about personality. And while Steven Greene, associate professor of political science, disagrees, he said he does think temperament and personality do play a role in the election. “He wants it to be about experience and such, not all policy. But people are worried about the economy, and they want to change from Bush policies,” Greene said. “He’s trying to put it on what he sees as more favorable terrain.” Still, temperament and personality have a real impact, Greene said. “We really do evaluate presidential candidates as human beings,” he said. “We’re really looking primarily at what we see as their competence, their ability to get the job done, things like that.” Voters, Greene said, also want someone who is empathetic and has integrity. Like presidential candidates before him, McCain has his own traits that people attribute to his personality. “There’s his maverickness if you will,” Greene said. “He’s a straight-shooter — part of his personality.” While Greene said McCain has positive

In “The Role of Character Assessments in Presidential Approval,” associate professor of political science Steven Greene concludes that citizens judge their presidents profoundly on character. “Clearly, citizen evaluations of the president do not rely solely on economic and performance grounds,” the study states. “Rather, what citizens think about the president as a person is central to their approval or disapproval of his job performance.” SOURCE: “THE ROLE OF CHARACTER ASSESSMENTS IN PRESIDENTIAL APPROVAL,” BY STEVEN GREENE

characteristics about him, it’s his experience that is playing for him in this election rather than his temperament. And that’s partly why the Republican vice presidential pick, Sarah Palin, was based somewhat on personality. “Certainly she’s really energized the base even more than they anticipated,” he said. “There was a huge initial surge of energy coming from that pick.” Obama, on the other hand, does something different for voters, Greene said. “[Democratic Presidential candidate Barack] Obama clearly inspires hope and optimism to a degree not seen in a long time,” he said. “His personality is more of a feature in this election than John McCain’s personality.” Derek Gatlin, a senior in sociology, said for some people, personality and temperament do play a role in who they vote for, and both candidates have memorable personality traits. “McCain is kind of seen as too hot to deal with... but on the flip side, Obama was sometimes seen as too cool,” he

said. Gatlin said an example of McCain’s hot-headedness was his pausing his campaign during the week of the economic bailout package proposal. “It was very detrimental to his campaign,” Gatlin said. As for Obama’s coolness, Gatlin said an instance where it was portrayed was during the Saddleback interview in which Obama was asked about abortion and calmly addressed the issue “when people weren’t looking for that,” Gatlin said. Both candidates though, Gatlin said, have traits that will help them lead. “One of the things that I don’t think is said enough is the personality traits of both of these candidates is they’re both very patriotic,” he said. And while Greene stressed that these traits don’t affect the votes completely, they do have an effect. “Intelligence, sadly, voters don’t seem to care as much about,” he said. Despite the Palin pick, Greene said voters still are leaning more toward the

Democrats. “No matter how much you love the vice presidential candidate, it still is the vice presidential candidate,” he said. And while Palin did gain some votes for the Republicans in this election, she also lost them some, Greene said. Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden, on the other hand, may not have highly distinguishable character traits, but he hasn’t lost the Democrats votes, he said. “He was a very nice compliment to Obama,” Greene said. “He didn’t bring Obama any more votes if any. Palin has cost McCain votes.” Biden, Greene said, didn’t need the excitement. “He proved to be a very smart pick,” he said. The candidate provided the sense of a steady hand and was a reassurance for people, Greene said. “It gave people full confidence that he was up for the job and ready to step up,” he said. Biden provided Obama with the foreign policy experience people said Obama lacked, Greene said. “For Obama, the smart move was the safe pick,” Green said. “And as we saw, the smart move was the safe pick. And as we saw, it was received quite positively by the media.”

Electoral College and how the popular vote plays out in national races What is an electoral college? It is a set of electors who are empowered to elect a candidate to a particular office. Who selects the electors? Generally, the political parties nominate electors at their State party conventions or by a vote of the party’s central committee in each State. Electors are often selected to recognize their service and dedication to their political party. Then the voters in each State choose the electors on the day of the general election. Must electors vote for the candidate who won their State’s popular vote? There is no constitutional provision or

federal law that requires electors to vote according to the results of the popular vote in their States. Some states, however, require electors to cast their votes according to the popular vote. These pledges fall into two categories—electors bound by State law and those bound by pledges to political parties. Is my vote meaningful in the Electoral College system? Within your state, your vote is important. Under the Electoral College system, we do not elect the president and vice president through a direct nation-wide vote. We select electors, who pledge their electoral vote to a specific candidate.

How is it possible for the electoral vote to produce a different result than the nationwide popular vote? The electoral vote totals determine the winner, not the statistical plurality or majority a candidate may have in the nation-wide vote totals. Electoral votes are awarded on the basis of the popular vote in each State.

vice president from the two vice presidential candidates with the most electoral votes. Each Senator would cast one vote for vice president. If the House of Representatives fails to elect a President by Inauguration Day, the vice president-elect serves as acting President until the deadlock is resolved in the House.

What happens if no presidential candidate gets 270 electoral votes? If no candidate receives a majority of electoral votes, the House of Representatives elects the president from the three presidential candidates who received the most electoral votes. Each state delegation has one vote. The Senate would elect the

What would happen if two candidates tied in a State’s popular vote? If a state’s popular vote were to come out as a tie between candidates, state law would govern as to what procedure would be followed in breaking the tie. A tie would not be known of until late November or early December, after a recount and after the Secre-

tary of State had certified the election results. Federal law would allow a State to hold a run-off election. How Do the 538 electoral votes get divided among the States? The number of electoral votes allotted to each State corresponds to the number of representatives and senators that each state sends to Congress. The distribution of electoral votes among the states can vary every 10 years depending on the results of the U.S. Census. SOURCE: HTTP://WWW.ARCHIVES.GOV/FEDERALREGISTER/ELECTORAL-COLLEGE

Election 2008

PAGE 4 • TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2008

TECHNICIAN

Negative campaign ads not worse than past elections Ads are ‘surprising,’ but not out of the ordinary Derek Medlin Managing Editor

With Election Day here and months of campaigning finished, the constant barrage of negative television ads will subside, at least until the next round of voting two years from now. Craig Smith, a communication professor, said the negative campaign ads in this election season are no different from what usually occurs during any hotly contested campaign. “For the most part there is a certain diet that has to be fed to people who traditionally support a group,” Smith said of the push for negative campaigning. “You begin to get into a cycle.” In this election season, ads run by the John McCain presidential campaign and Elizabeth Dole’s SCREENSHOTS COURTESY YOUTUBE.COM senate campaign have come An Elizabeth Dole ad attacking Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate Kay Hagan. under heavy scrutiny for going to far in attacking Sen. Barack Obama and Kay Hagan. Smith said these ads have been somewhat over the top but not out of the ordinary. “There is an upside to attacking policies, and there can also be an upside to attacking character when character is demonstrated to be relevant,” he said. “You tend to get different kinds of voters. Some voters pay attention to it and others don’t.” Smith said the main concern he has about this election season is how little Republican campaigns focused on their own policy and how much they focused on attacking opponents. “I don’t think there are more negative campaign ads than before, and I don’t think it’s getting any more attention, but I can’t remember a campaign that has had so little else to say other than negative ads,” Smith said of the McCain campaign. “North Carolinians have voted for George Bush twice by subSCREENSHOTS COURTESY YOUTUBE.COM stantial margins, and right now Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. John McCain address negative campaigning during their final debate. North Carolina is leaning for Obama. That seems to be suggesting [negative campaigning] is not working.” said the ads have been extreme- they did in previous elections. “Negative ads won’t effect Samantha Warden, a junior in ly negative but not anything he “There is so much informa- turnout because most people communication, said she thinks wouldn’t expect during a cam- tion through so many different that are going to go out and the ads haven’t paign. sources that people are not as vote get their information been more com“They have dependent as they once were on from either watching debates mon this year but been over the just the commercials,” he said. or reading up on the candithat more people top,” Sip e s “When McCain and Palin talk dates online,” he said. have been paysa id of t he about Obama being a socialist “People seem to go off of ing attention to ads. “But that and things like that, it is more info they find out for themthem. is pretty much difficult for things like that to selves and not what they see “There have alstatus quo for hold up when people are getting on TV.” ways been negam o s t e l e c - information from all kinds of tive ads around, tions. sources.” but more people “I’m k i nd Warden agreed and said Craig Smith, communication are paying attenof surprised she believes voter turnout professor tion to the elecby the things will be unaffected by negaTECHNICIANONLINE.COM tion so they are said in the ads, tive campaign ads. noticed more,” but it is fairly For Sipes, negative cam- Look for links to these videos on technicishe said. “People will vote if there normal.” paigning ads won’t effect anonline.com. are negative ads are not.” As far as affecting voter turn- turnout because people Zach Sipes, a sophomore in out, Smith said negative cam- get information from different nutrition science, agreed and paign ads have less effect than sources than television.

“I don’t think there are more negative campaign ads than before.”

VIEW MORE

MAJORITY continued from page 1

“The only way he can get those things done should he be president is if we have a legislative branch that is indeed vetoproof,” Massengill said. But Massengill said the balance of power should continue to be maintained. “There are still plenty of Democrats and even Republicans that aren’t going to agree with any legislation that potential president Obama or president [John] McCain are going to put forth,” he said. Congress, Massengill said, won’t rubberstamp everything like George Bush’s Republican Congress. “They’re going to challenge president Obama, and in turn, make him a great leader and a great president if he wins,” Massengill said. But, Peter Barnes, executive director of College Republican and sophomore in forestry man-

agement, disagreed. without any oversight from the A Democratic supermajority opposing party.” will make any controversial legBoth Cobb and Massengill islation go through the way the agreed that the risk of losing Democrats want it to, he said, the Democratic majority in the whether it’s on taxes or abor- next election exists even if the tion. party doesn’t “They’ll be able do anything to push through to drastically their legislation a upset the Relot easier, and put publicans. through stuff that “The party would never ever that wins the pass without the presidency supermajority,” tends to suffer Barnes said. electoral lossAnd the only es in the next system of checks midterm elecand balances, he tion,” Cobb said, would be said. “It’s alDouglas Massengill, junior in the courts. most always polirtical science “Checks and the case. The balances are dead reason why has at this point [if Obama wins],” nothing to do necessarily with a he said. “The courts will keep it voter referendum on the activito a certain extent, but there’s ties of the party, but the party only so much they can do.” typically wins the presidency by The reason, Barnes said, is getting more people out to vote Obama will be able to appoint who wouldn’t normally vote.” anyone he wants to as a judge, inMassengill, however, said decluding “very ultra-liberal judges spite these results, the American

“They’re going to challenge president Obama, and in turn, make him a great leader.”

people elect the president and in turn pick the platform of the next government. “That’s what we have elections for in the first place,” he said. Cobb said the unified government shouldn’t be seen as trouble, but “objective reality may not matter,” he said. “It’s just perception.” And right now, Cobb said, the climate is leaning toward the Democrats. Obama’s platform of repositioning troops from Iraq to Afghanistan, his health care reforms and his new economic policies will be on the top of the list for change if he is elected and has a unified government to back him, he said. The time it will take to get these things done and how fast Obama will push them is still unclear though, Cobb said. Massengill thought otherwise. “I expect that he will be very quickly acting,” he said.

CHRIS SANCHEZ/TECHNICIAN FILE PHOTO

Jenna Tucker, a freshman in biomedical engineering, claps during a speech by John McCain in the basement of the GOP building on Hillsborough Street with the Students for McCain.

What to look for during, when results are coming in What to watch for:

After many nights spent watching primary results, presidential debates and, in some cases, 30-minute infomercials, many voters are ready for some closure in this election. Depending on the early results, this election could be a nailbiter like 2000 or a 1980 breeze.

What to watch for as the polls close:

7 p.m. By this time, all of Indiana’s polls will be closed. It’s one of the swing states that has hung in McCain’s bracket in most polls, so for a McCain win, Indiana may be essential. Also, if Georgia remains unannounced or goes for Obama, it’s bad news for McCain. Virginia is one of the most talked about states in the nation, as it has shifted in many pollsters maps from red to yellow to blue. If McCain wins , it would show that he’s still got a shot, but an Obama win could reflect a trend that could spread to North Carolina and other swing states. 7:30 p.m. North Carolina closes, and it’s likely to be tight. Obama has made gains in recent polls in the state that’s been red since 1976, but McCain is still the most likely winner. It depends on the Republican’s response on Election Day, after early voting tallies show a heavily-Democratic turnout. 8 p.m. Florida, Florida, Florida. While it’s not likely to be the election-deciding mess it was in 2000, it’s still a major swing state. Polls have shown Obama slightly ahead recently, but McCain has focused heavily on Florida, which voted for Bush in the past two elections. Again, if it goes for Obama, that’s one less road for McCain to travel to 270. Pennsylvania’s a swing state, but has consistently skewed for Obama in the polls. A McCain win would be a big boost for the Republicans. New Hampshire is likely for Obama, but it’s a sentimental state for McCain, where he regained ground in the Republican primary. If Obama wins Oklahoma, you can go to sleep. It’s over. 9 p.m. With many of the swing states out of the way, McCain’s home state of Arizona is also inching closer to Obama territory. It’d take a lot for it to change colors, so expect it to stay with it’s home senator.

Campaign fundraising heavy in North Carolina

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emocratic presidential candidate Barack Obama’s decision to forgo public financing in his presidential campaign has allowed him a seemingly-endless amount of fundraising potential, raising $150 million in September alone. While Republican candidate John McCain has the Republican National Committee’s fundraising to aid him as well, it has given Obama an advantage in advertising, noticeable in everything from video games to Obama’s own 30minute infomercial last week. McCain made a joke of it on Saturday Night Live in a sketch in which he campaigned on the QVC shopping network. Here are some of the numbers from campaign contributions and expenditures in this election season:

EXPENDITURES

McCain: Operating Expenditures: $242,799,790 Transfers to other Authorized: $6,557,762 Funding Expenditures: $ 6,816,641 Exempt Legal and Accounting Disbursements: $1,158,124 Loan Repayments: $20,998,577 Other Disbursements: $20,288,698 Offsets to Expenditures: $11,277,430 Contribution Refunds: $5,375,792 Debts Owed By: $1,262,098 Obama: Operating Expenditures: $564,229,329 Other Disbursements: $25,770,126 Offsets to Expenditures: $16,588,103 Contributions Refunds: $3,935,442 Debts Owed By: $2,302,458 SOURCE: FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION WEB SITE

Obama Contributions by state 1.California $83,542,296 2. New York $50,586,620 3. Illinois $31,152,520 4. Mass. $21,368,802

5. Texas $17,729,272 North Carolina $ 7,312,056 McCain Contributions by State 1.California $23,941,576 2. Texas $17,616,812 3. Florida $14,634,200 4. New York $12,465,488 5. Virginia $ 8,443,790 North Carolina $ 2,782,381 SOURCE: FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION

Top 5 Contributors for Obama 2003-2008 1. Goldman Sachs $ 799,821 2. University of California $ 784,593 3. Harvard University $ 543,639 4. JP Morgan Chase & Co $ 529,012 5. Citigroup Inc. $ 523,948 Top 5 Contributors for McCain 2003-2008 1. Merrill Lynch $ 358,320 2. Citigroup Inc $ 298,101 3. Morgan Stanley $ 250,377 4. Goldman Sachs $ 245,995 5. JP Morgan Chase & Co $ 215,092

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PAGE 6 • TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2008

STONE

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this fall. I voted in the primaries before I left, but I didn’t start the process to get my absentee ballot for the presidential election until well after I arrived in New Zealand. I got my absentee ballot by faxing in an application that I found online, and I received it about a week later. While studying abroad this semester, I have had the odd experience of watching our election from outside the United States. I am acutely aware of the mass media coverage it gets in New Zealand. I have been impressed with my conversations with Kiwis who seem to know just as much if not more than I do about this presidential election. In my classes, I’ve talked with students and professors who

HAMILTON continued from page 5

vote at all? Deciding who is “the lesser evil” isn’t easy, either, especially in an election as ambiguous and image-oriented as this one has been. In a contest between a young, untested media superstar a nd a ca reer politician who courts the press and has been bu i ld i ng h i s image as a supposed “maverick” for decades, how does one decide who will actually fulfill his promises and support one’s values? With all the expert spin-controllers campaigns use, we may not know nearly as much as we think about the candidates, the electoral process or who decides what information reaches us. On the other hand, the last eight years have taught us that

complain that Kiwis follow the U.S. election more closely than their own. Americans have known for awhile that our war was affecting many other countries, but I never fully realized the ramifications of our decisions until the economy crashed. I immediately read news stories about the worldwide financial crisis. In New Zealand, people are having trouble taking out home loans just like in the U.S. In our current situation, this year’s election will impact other countries perhaps more than ever. If we don’t owe it to our own country to vote, then we owe it to the world. Send in your Election Day thoughts and reasons for voting to letters@technicianonline.com.

politics founded on partisanship and polarization serve no one but the politician most skilled at manipulation. Sens. McCain and Obama are both establishment candidates, with little divergence from their parties’ platforms. But their attempts to portray themselves as figures who transgress normal political roles have opened a space in the national dialogue for the real “purple candidates” to step up, show their true colors and take back their country: the American people. Hopefully, they will seize their opportunity.

“Sens. McCain and Obama are both establishment candidates.”

Send in your Election Day thoughts and reasons for voting to letters@technicianonline.com.

focused MILIAN

continued from page 5

the middle. No, I’m not talking about those of us who are unsure for whom to vote. I am speaking of those of us who could honestly care less. Reasons that some of us choose not to vote can vary tremendously — from lack of interest in politics to lack of faith in the candidates or just plain apathy toward life. What matters is that I choose not to and even though some people may disagree, it is my right as well. Truth be told, when was the last time that one vote decided an election? When did the vote that you cast ensure that a president was going to actually do half of the things he promised in his campaign? Therefore, on Nov. 4, when a new presidential candidate is elected, I will be able

HAUSER continued from page 5

on securities to 7.5 percent, while Obama has proposed raising capital gains to 20 percent on households making more than $250,000. Also, McCain will allow investors to deduct more of their capital losses from their income tax, make Bush tax cuts permanent and decrease the death tax rate. Instead of helping create more wealth in America, Obama wishes to “redistribute” the current wealth of America by “trickling” it down to others. McCain understands that more taxes on the upper class will also hurt small businesses that cater to the upper class and in turn cause Americans to lose jobs. Destroying the incentive to create wealth and work hard

BRASILEIRO continued from page 5

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or retired individuals concerned with Social Security and Medicare, young people aren’t associated with core issues like other demographics are. But students should care. Even if the candidates aren’t discussing issues students care about, exercising your right to vote is important and helps build the student vote as an interest group. The reason why politicians focus on primary education, safety and entitlement programs is the willingness of other interest groups to go to the polls and vote for the candidate who they agree with on the issues. Students have issues that matter, like college loans and the job market — they should use their collective influence and fight to get politicians to bring about the change they want. Already, students have seen the election come to campus — there have been countless voter registration drives, and N.C. State was the only college campus to have a student-run debate and mock election, which gave students plenty

of information on the candidates. Greene said we are already seeing the impact of registration drives, particularly with the polls for registered or likely voters. Early voting has also had an impact — election commissions in North Carolina acted quickly to keep early voting polling stations open for four more hours Saturday. Students have seen firsthand what organization and energy can do to get people motivated for this election. They need to apply this organization and energy to consistently putting candidates in office who will bring about changes to issues students care about — jobs, college costs and food and gas prices. But nothing will happen if students do not vote. This election offers various interest groups an opportunity to shape policy in a favorable way, and not voting is the easiest way for students to waste such a chance.

Having to go through primaries and the electoral college system have proven in the past to promote the views of not only the masses but the educated masses. However, the idea that a candidate can win a presidential election without the majority of the public vote is very different to me. Also, legal immigrants with g reen ca rds should be allowed to vote. In order to receive a green card, an immigrant has to live in the U.S. for several years, and most become educated in the U.S. system. This is particularly noticeable with the recent tightening of security on foreigners in the U.S. — most legal residents get screened and educated enough

Send in your Election Day thoughts and reasons for voting to letters@technicianonline. com.

will only deteriorate the entire American economic system to one with socialistic qualities. The downturn on Wall Street has the greatest effect on the top one percent, who overwhelmingly own the majority of securities in America. McCain understands that heavy taxes on companies in America will cause them and jobs to go overseas. I want “change,” and seeing that Democrats controlled the financial committees in Washington the past two years and the resulting mess on Wall Street, I can’t vote for more of the same. Let’s put country first. That’s what John said. Send in your Election Day thoughts and reasons for voting to letters@technicianonline. com.

to be able to make wise decisions when it comes to voting in the United States. Non-U.S. born residents cannot fill the higher positions in the U.S. government, which is understandable. But why not at least offer a screening process other than naturalization through which legal permanent residents can receive the right to vote? Most foreigners and residents would be more educated about the electora l system and about local and national campaigns if they were allowed to vote. And the more educated people there are voting for a cause, the better the decision made is likely to be, as it would encompass the views of a larger group.

VOTING continued from page 5

running for potential vice president,” he said. “In many ways this is an historic election.” Greene said the youth vote could also be very important in today’s outcome. “The youth will determine the size of Obama’s margin of victory rather than whether he wins or not,” he said. “Obama has done wonders with the youth vote and it’s really helped him out.” Brad Trahan, a sophomore in communication and volunteer

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What Sen. Obama promotes is a change that will change the way that Americans view energy and the environment. The environment holds high saliency on Obama’s agenda, as it should. To solve the energy crisis, as well as to provide a healthy environment for ourselves and future generations, we need to place our time and our money, in finding new ways to provide our nation with clean energ y and save our environment, which we have neglected for too long. While there are many important issues this election, without giving attention to the desperate needs of the environment, everything else is a moot point. Sen. Obama’s views focus on the long run and provide a win-win, and that’s why I voted for change.

“The environment holds high saliency on Obama’s agenda.

COSTELLO continued from page 5

It’s very frustrating to be separate from this election, especially with such controversial candidates — a black man, a war hero, a Roman Catholic and a woman. No matter which party wins, it’ll be a very important year, and there is no way for me to be a part of this. It’s ironic that I can’t vote, because I stay diligently informed of each campaign. I take a genuine interest in politics and the future of the nation. There are others who know nothing about either of the main candidates yet they

SNEAD

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year and how close some of the races are, people are more excited,” she said. “People believe their votes really do matter more.” Craig Smith, a communication professor, said this year’s election is important for many reasons, including an attempt by both candidates to regain the trust of the world. “Much of the world no longer trusts us,” he said. “Internally and externally, there are all kinds of things hanging in the balance. There is a great deal involved.” Sheets said she believes young voters are more interested in this election and more polarized be-

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The United States is a leading consumer of oil and a leading producer of carbon dioxide emissions. To deal with this issue, the candidates have to promote a cha nge in the way that America uses s ou rc e s of energy. Both candidates promote nuclear energy, as well a s renewable resources. While Sen. Obama focuses on what will work in the long run by placing emphasis on renewable resources, Sen. McCain has placed more emphasis on nuclear energy. Nuclear energy would reduce carbon dioxide emissions, but it also poses environmental issues due to the water needed in a nuclear power plant and radioactive waste disposal.

for Students for McCrory, said today’s election is important for many reasons other than race or gender. “This election isn’t about gender or ethnicity,” he said. “It’s a huge election for our future. As college students, we need to be aware of the impact today will have. I hope and pray college students go out and have their voice heard.” Alysha Sheets, a junior in political science and intern for the Kay Hagan campaign, said she has seen increased interest from young and old voters alike during the campaign process. “With all the swing states this

Cheyenne Autry

Derek Medlin

continued from page 5

Send in your Election Day thoughts and reasons for voting to letters@technicianonline. com.

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Dan Porter

CAWOOD

pecting students across the country to have a profound impact on this year’s election turnout. This is a reward for young voters, who are being given the opportunity to have a say in such a controversial election. This country is currently struggling to maintain its position of international prominence. Traditionally, this has been seen to be an issue many would not usually worry upon. The current economic situation and its effect on job security are beginning to take their toll on millions of Americans. Students will be carrying on the country’s tradition of freedom and have the chance to influence the policies that

“Also, legal immigrants with green cards should be allowed to vote.

Saja Hindi

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to say, “Well, all right.” While major parties scramble to gain last second votes and convert people for their respective candidate, I, the so-called “apathetic” voter, will be worrying about more things than who wins the presidential race. I am choosing not to vote not because I am making a defiant stand or because I do not like the candidates — I am simply not voting. So I know on Tuesday that of all the things that can happen in the election, my vote will not change a thing because I am not voting.

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Send in your Election Day thoughts and reasons for voting to letters@technicianonline. com.

still cast their vote. The law clearly states that one must be 18 years of age to vote, but I still feel that I deserve the right just as much as someone a month older than I. It’s not that it’s unfair for them to participate and not me, but it’s that I keep myself informed, despite the fact that I must just sit back and watch what happens to this country. I feel as a citizen I have the right to choose our leader, and I do, but not for another four years, when the next election rolls around. Send in your Election Day thoughts and reasons for voting to letters@technicianonline. com.

keep this country strong. Students should start acting today, because our opinions and ideas matter, and we will soon be needed to keep our country on the right track. The election year and politics are always taking a crazy course of action, and it’s important that we all maintain a firm knowledge of these current issues affecting our lives so we can keep up to speed with the election news and meet expectations. Regardless of whether you are a Democrat, Republican or Independent first-time voter, take this election more seriously than you would take every final exam you’ve had — every vote is going to count, and every vote this year is more important than ever. Send in your Election Day thoughts and reasons for voting to letters@technicianonline. com.

cause of how different the administrations of George Bush and Bill Clinton were. “Those of us who are college age or just above spent our teen years under the Bush administration,” she said. “We remember Clinton and Bush and those were two radically different presidential administrations. And now, however people are leaning politically, they are passionate about which way they want the election to go.”

Technician (USPS 455-050) is the official student newspaper of N.C. State University and is published every Monday through Friday throughout the academic year from August through May except during holidays and examination periods. Opinions expressed in the columns, cartoons, photo illustrations and letters that appear on Technician’s pages are the views of the individual writers and cartoonists. As a public forum for student expression, the students determine the content of the publication without prior review. To receive permission for reproduction, please write the editor. Subscription cost is $100 per year. A single copy is free to all students, faculty, staff and visitors to campus. Additional copies are $0.25 each. Printed by The News & Observer, Raleigh, N.C., Copyright 2008 by North Carolina State Student Media. All rights reserved.

Election 2008

TECHNICIAN

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2008 • PAGE 7

NIKKI EDMONDSON, A FIRST-TIME VOTER

BRANDON PARKER, A MINORITY VOTER

KIMBERLY SPENCE, A FEMALE VOTER

Nikki Edmondson had never voted in an election before. As an 18-year-old freshman in management, Edmondson said she felt it was very important to have her vote counted for the first time in “a big election.” Edmondson, who is the second generation of her family to be able to vote at 18, said her parents heavily pushed her to get out and vote. It’s a trend that carried throughout her childhood — her parents had always said it was important to vote, and they even made her watch debates with them. “I felt like I had to, but I also voted because I wanted to,” Edmondson said. Edmondson stressed the importance of voting in the election because the outcome should be important to everyone regardless of race, gender or age. Youth voters have never counted for a majority of the votes in the elections, but this year’s heated debates and candidates have caused more and more young people to get involved, she said. Edmondson said she believes that many young people just don’t care as much, but that the faltering economy and the importance of this year’s election have given many a push to the polls. “I wanted to make a difference,” Edmondson said. “I’m pretty sure most of my friends have voted, too.” Edmondson voted straight ticket when she visited the polls last week. Edmondson said she was asked multiple times in the Brickyard if she was registered to vote. Voter registration has been pushed heavily on campus, Edmondson said, even if they don’t vote in the election. Edmondson and her friends plan to watch how the election plays out tonight over plates of spaghetti.

Brandon Parker’s family has been pressuring him to vote since he was a kid, when he saw his brothers and sisters — who he said are “a lot older” than he is — come back from voting. “They always hype up the election, before I even had the ability to vote,” Parker, a senior in psychology, said. “They have always been advocates of voting. They always said you can’t complain about the government if you sit around and don’t vote.” This year, which was the first time he has voted in a presidential election, was no different. “Besides saying, ‘You better vote,’ they call me all the time,” Parker said adding that people have been coming by his house since he’s a registered voter, urging him to vote. “They text me, saying, ‘Have you voted yet?.’ “She would call me again, asking if I’ve voted.” But it didn’t take much to get Parker out to the polls. He drove to a polling place in Durham, his hometown, on Saturday with a friend. “The drive was long — it was long for many reasons, mostly because of traffic,” Parker said. “Going to the polls was a little bit stifling because the sheer number of people who voted at that particular site,” Parker said. “The entire ride, I was thinking about getting in there and then actually voting.” So he went in, waited about 15 minutes in line, and left with Kendra, his friend. “I actually did have a dork moment in the car with Kendra on the way back. I said, ‘Yay, we just voted, yeah!’ We high-fived about how excited we were to have contributed to the popular vote,” he said. Parker said he felt accomplished once he had actually handed in his ballot. “It wasn’t like it was a reward, but voting was its own sense of accomplishment,” he said. “I hope that our relationship with other countries becomes more stable to a point where we’re not seemingly aggressors to the outside world and that our economy bolsters so that we also appear to the outside world that we are stable enough to once again become the superpower that we were.”

When she was about 9 or 10 years old, Kimberly Spence’s mom took her to the polls. Not to vote in a mock child’s election, and not on accident. Her mom, who Spence, a sophomore in biological sciences, said has voted in every election at least in the last 20 years, took her so she could see voting in action. “I remember it very clearly,” Spence said. “It was interesting to me. I have gone to the polls with her twice and she let me watch her vote. They talk about voting a lot in my family — not necessarily who to vote for, but voting in general and how important it is.” Spence will cast her first vote at 5:30 p.m. for an election that made her “learn so much during these past couple of months” because she’s been more motivated to learn about different issues. “I’ve always been interested in discussing politics, but it’s not ever really been important to me. It’s never really been a big interest,” she said. “The past two months, I feel like I’ve been discussing some part of people’s campaign at least once a day.” She said although she has kept in touch with the presidential race and knows who she’s going to pick, she does not yet know who she will vote for in any other part of the ballot. “Most of the other things are kind of up in the air for me,” she said. “I’m talking to some of my friends who I feel agree with some of my values and principles. The election has been building up as I am still making some of my decisions.” Her vote, as well as those of other women, cannot be stereotyped into one hockey mom-type category, she said. “There definitely are different kinds of women and, for example, a stay-athome mom would be concerned about different things than a woman in the working world,” she said. “They’re going to vote according to those issues.” She said although her generation has grown up expecting the right to vote without a second thought, it is “strange to see that the youth of America is not voting when the issues that these people in office are deciding on are going to affect us even more than they’re going to affect the generation above us.” She pointed to issues like Social Security, health care and the national debt. “That should be a much bigger issue in the campaign,” she said of the debt, which sits at $10 trillion. When she leaves the polls tomorrow, she said she will be “ready to see if people are going to carry through with their promises. I’m ready for all these things we keep talking about to actually happen.”

— CHEYENNE AUTRY

— ALISON HARMAN

Suffrage movements have little effect on voting responsibility

— ALISON HARMAN

STORIES BY ALISON HARMAN | PHOTO ILLUSTRATIONS BY LUIS ZAPATA

ALTHOUGH SOME DEMOGRAPHICS WERE GIVEN THE RIGHT TO VOTE IN THE LAST 50 YEARS, MANY STILL DON’T VOTE Twenty percent. It’s the number pundits across the country have brought up when it comes to how students feel about voting. And it all arises from one New York University study, in which a fifth of students said they would exchange their right to vote for an iPod touch. More than 60 percent said they’d sell their right for the price of tuition. Half said that $1 million could buy their vote forever. But Michael Cobb, associate professor of political science, said these results must be put into context and taken “with a big grain of salt.” “Keep in mind, this was done before people even knew Obama was a nominee, let alone the nominee,” Cobb said. “This happened well before the excitement of the campaign.” He said he doesn’t view the results as “discouraging at all” because it was conducted at a time when people weren’t necessarily as enthusiastic, and since people perceive politics as a “team sport,” they will show up and root for their team — in this case, candidate or political party — on election day. And students, he said, are already turning out at higher rates than is usual for the youth age demographic. He attributes those numbers to easy access to polls and lower cost for voting. “I would say the number of students going out to vote is slightly

higher here at State than in the last election,” Cobb said. “The age demographic is going to turn out higher than it had last year, which was higher than it had been in the pervious cycle. That’s going to continue to go up. Historically, he said, white voter turnout is slightly higher than black voter turnout — with one exception. “White turnout of voting age population is usually higher than the African-American turnout,” he said. “In the voting eligible population, there’s not much difference.” The voting eligible population includes only those who are able to vote — such as those who have not been convicted of felonies. Black suffrage, which was enacted with the 15th Amendment in 1870, only took effect in the 1970s with the passage of the Voting Rights Act, Cobb said. And historically as well, Cobb said women are more likely to show up to vote than men. The women’s suffrage movement, he said, was a product of a century’s worth of work. He said he doesn’t think voting rates today are affected by reminders of the work done earlier in the 19th and 20th centuries. “Most Americans are born into a system in which everyone has a right to vote,” he said. “Voting habits are a product of political environment and social environment. For the most part, all people experience those same things pretty much similarly.”

Election 2008

PAGE 8 • TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2008

TECHNICIAN

51 reasons to vote IT’S ELECTION DAY. IF YOU HAVEN’T VOTED YET, YOU SHOULD. HERE’S WHY.

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You get an “I voted” sticker.

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You have a good excuse to be late to class. (Hey, the line could be long. Really long.) This country needs a cheer, and “Drill, Baby, Drill!” might just be it.

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If you were part of the 42 percent of registered North Carolina voters who have already cast their ballots, you could have stopped reading this by now.

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When you turn in that ballot, you can revel in putting an end to the seemingly longest horse race election in history. If you weren’t 18 four years ago, you now have a choice in who runs your country.

You want a job after college.

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It gives you something to talk about at Thanksgiving dinner — especially if you vote against your family’s favored candidate. Election Day is like (choose one: Christmas, Hannukah, Kwanzaa, Eid) for the candidates. So, effectively, you’re their (choose one: Santa Claus or religious variation).

7

If you don’t vote, the Electoral College could win. And you don’t want that to happen.

8

You have 13 hours to vote. When have you ever had that much time to bubble in answers to questions? Plus, none of your choices are wrong.

9

You can help make real change — Obama change or McCain change, it’s your choice — in Washington. Whether that’s good change is another question.

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COMPILED BY TECHNICIAN STAFF

When campaigners shout at you to vote for their candidates, or wave signs in your face, you can shoo them away in good faith.

14

You want to stop reading about the election in Technician.

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You have the chance to make the White House a half-black house.

This could be the first election in 31 years North Carolina has been led by a Republican governor. Road trip (To the polls)!

Get a little taste of off-campus air.

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The economy needs you.

Ben & Jerry’s is giving away free ice cream to voters. Starbucks will give voters a free small coffee.

Krispy Kreme will hand out “star shaped doughnut with patriotic sprinkles” to people who vote.

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If you’re a woman, this is only your 22nd chance to vote in a presidential election.

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You could make history: we could have the first black president.

You could make history: we could have the first female vice president. North Carolina is a swing state.

Ronald Reagan, the oldest elected president in history, was 69 years old at inauguration. If elected, McCain will break his record at 72.

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John F. Kennedy, the youngest elected president in history, was 43 years old at inauguration. If elected, Obama will only be four years older at 47.

Every vote counts. (Remember Florida and Ohio?)

You’ll stop getting texts from the candidates.

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You can practice filling in bubbles for your finals. It’s your last presidential vote as a student. You’ll likely have graduated by Nov. 2012. North Carolina has one of the nation’s highest gas taxes. If you vote, you can complain.

You’ll stop getting invited to election Facebook groups.

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You’re exercising a right. For free. Thank the 15th, 17th, 19th, 24th and 26th amendments.

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No one else can do it for you.

Keep the polling places busy.

The high today is 63. There’s a 60 percent chance of rain. Stay warm — and dry — inside a polling place.

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If you vote for McCain, you nullify someone’s vote for Obama.

If you vote for Obama, you nullify someone’s vote for McCain. The campaign signs will disappear. The old people manning the polls are always really nice and smiling.

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If you’re under 20, you’ve never had a president who wasn’t named Bush or Clinton.

You can’t do it for another four years.

The Saturday Night Live skits will just get better and better, no matter who you vote for.

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Five of the nine Supreme Court justices are heading toward retirement age, which means five potential vacancies during the new president’s term.

A recent NYU poll said that 20 percent of students would give up their right to vote for an iPod Touch.

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It’s illegal to have your cell phone on in the North Carolina polls — which means not listening to people talk on the phone.

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You can always vote against someone if you don’t want to vote for someone else.

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It just feels good.

Election 2008

TECHNICIAN

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2008 • PAGE 9

Tracking your vote Ballots’ results move from polling place to Board of Elections office Alison Harman Features Editor

As of Monday night, 42 percent of registered North Carolina voters had cast their ballots. Johnnie McLean, deputy director for the state’s Board of Elections, said she’s hoping for 40 percent more. That puts 80 percent of North Carolinia’s voters — about 5 million — at the polls. But once voters have handed their ballots to polling employees, pressed “Cast vote� on electronic voting machines or sealed the envelopes on their absentee ballots, McLean said their votes take two journeys. “There’s not a great deal of exciting mystery in that,� she said. One, via a modem, delivers votes quickly to the Board of Elections office. Polling employees hand deliver the other, printed on tapes McLean said resemble those in cash registers, to the office. Both serve the same purpose: to bring all voters’ choices to the same place. It is here where, tonight, North Carolina will be preliminarily deemed a red or blue state. The trip “Once the voter verifies that the votes are what they wanted and they do the ‘Cast vote’ on the touch-screen machine, the screen goes blank,� McLean said. “And then it says ‘Thank you for voting.’ That says your vote has been recognized.� For those who are going to a polling place where paper ballots are issued, once voters issue their ballots into what McLean called a tabulator — a machine that “simply reads the votes and records them and, with the proper command, tabulates them in the electronic brains of the machines� as they come in. “It’s as if you were making little tick marks — one, two, three, four and a crosshatch to five — it’s similar

ELECTION 2008: WHAT COULD GO WRONG, AND HOW TO PREVENT IT Voting machine troubles Even though the infamous Florida chad voting system is a thing of the past, difficult forms of casting ballots are alive and well. Even though Congress authorized $3.9 billion to new, high-tech voting equipment, the new machines can be miscalibrated and malfunction, sometimes causing the selection of one candidate as another. Also, 11 million people live in counties that will still use lever machines or punch-card ballots, even though the deadline to replace them was in 2006. How to prevent this: Most, if not all, of the voting machines in Wake County are electronic with paper backup. But if you decide to vote in your hometown, find out which voting polls have electronic voting machines.

to that. It records each vote and they just sit there until the machine is told to tabulate those votes,� McLean said. “The machine doesn’t care who wins or who loses.� Polling employees will oversee tabulation of each of the location’s machines once polls close at 7:30 p.m. tonight. McLean said this process could take anywhere from 30 minutes to two hours. The 2,597,884 votes cast during the early voting period will be counted from 2 to 5 p.m. today — votes were recorded, but will not be tabulated until all other votes are in. Employees must hand-tabulate write-in votes. They add in these results with the others, marking each candidate’s totals on voting machines’ tapes along with the final voting results from that polling place. Ensuring your vote is your vote Each machine has undergone a series of tests McLean said ensures they are operating correctly. “We have issued several procedures to the county boards of election that are followed,� McLean said. “These measure the security of machines before they are sent out to voting places.�

Unequal distribution of resources There are influxes of new registered voters in battle ground states, including Indiana, around influential areas, such as universities instead of urban or poor-populated areas. There also may be an unequal amount of voting machines in different areas. How to prevent this: Make sure to get to the polls as early as possible to avoid long lines. Watch out for unofficial people Election frauds aren’t only confined to registration fraud. People may pose as election officials to influence votes. How to prevent this: Only listen to people who have on attire, such as official pins or T-shirts. SOURCE: TIME MAGAZINE

Before electronic voting machines are relocated from climate-controlled storage to polling places, McLean said the Board of Elections performs a testing procedure in which employees test ballots to ensure they are correctly recorded and tabulated. The Board of Elections also looks over ballots before and after they are distributed. Final election results “The results that you will see [tonight] are unofficial,� McLean said. “I don’t care what they say on the national news, I don’t care how many winners they project — it’s still unofficial.� She said although the spreadsheet the Board of Elections compiles from polling places’ final tabulations dictates preliminary results, the state’s results will be made official Nov. 14. “Two tapes come from each machine,� McLean said. “Both have to match. They will compare those later on. They won’t do it [to]night.� Once they have confirmed the tapes match, employees will compare those results to the ones sent by a modem.

Classifieds

POLICY

The Technician will not be held responsible for damages or losses due to fraudulent advertisements. However, we make every effort to prevent false or misleading advertising from appearing in our publication.

DEADLINES

Our business hours are Mon.-Fri., 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Line ads must be placed by noon the previous day.

U.S. SENATE RACE FACT SHEET Dole (Republican): won her party’s primary with 90 percent of the vote Hagan (Democratic): won her party’s primary with 60 percent of the vote Current Voter Registration: 6,265,830 Democratic: 2,865,662 Republican: 2,002,601 Libertarian: 3,607 Unaffiliated: 1,393,960 2002 Senate Race Voter turnout was 37 percent in the 2002 election Dole - 1,248,664 - 54% Bowles - 1,047,983 - 45% N.C. Demographics Population: 9,061,032 Female: 51% Male: 49% White:67% Black: 21% Hispanic: 7% American-Indian: 1% Asian: 1.8% SOURCE: WWW.USNEWS.COM

BLOGOSPHERE Vote for design The election is almost here, and the campaigning is more intense than ever. Each of the candidates in the presidential, gubernatorial and senatorial races has a Web site that gets information about themselves and their campaigns to the public. Politics aside, it’s clear that some of the sites are better than others. Here’s a breakdown of the Web sites from the big elections that affect North Carolina. TO READ MORE OF DESIGN CO-EDITOR SUSANNAH BRINKLEY’S WEEKLY BLOG ABOUT WEB SITES, SEE WWW.TECHNICIANONLINE.COM / BLOGS/SCITECH

RATES

For students, line ads start at $5 for up to 25 words. For non-students, line ads start at $8 for up to 25 words. For detailed rate information, visit technicianonline.com/classifieds. All line ads must be prepaid.

To place a classified ad, call 919.515.2411, fax 919.515.5133 or visit technicianonline.com/classifieds EMPLOYMENT HELP WANTED Awesome Toy Store is hiring. Fun whimsical environment. Must like working with moms & kids. 5mi. from campus. Learning Express in Cary: 859-1989 or learningexpressnc@msn.com BARTENDERS ARE IN DEMAND! Earn $20-$35 per hour. 1 or 2 week classes & weekend classes. 100% job placement assistance. Raleigh’s bartending school. Have fun! Make money! Meet people! Ask about our Fall tuition rates and student discount. CALL NOW!! 919-676-0774. www. cocktailmixer.com

HELP WANTED

HELP WANTED

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Hab Techs Needed! Maxim Healthcare needs staff to work w/developmentally disabled clients in Wake County. Flexible hours in afternoons, evenings, and weekends. $10-$15/hr based on experience. Need own transportation. 676-3118.

Law firm Office Assistant - Applicants should be multi- task oriented, have excellent oral communication skills, and be able to function well in a fast-paced environment. The responsibilities include: processing incoming and outgoing mail & packages, internal distribution of office documents, maintaining and operating fax, copier & cost recovery machines, running errands, some heavy lifting, five days per week with flexible hours. A valid driver’s license, reliable transportation and professional attire required. Submit resume via email to kal@ wardandsmith.com.

Law firm Word Processor - Applicants should be able to create, proof, edit, revise, and print correspondence, memoranda and legal documents from original dictation or from form books using word processing software on a personal computer. Applicants should be familiar with Word, be able to type 65 wpm, possess strong grammar and punctuation skills and have transcription experience. The hours are 1:00-6:00 p.m. Submit resume via email to kal@ wardandsmith.com.

Seeking mature individual with pleasant personality to show rental houses to NC State students. Fun work. 10- 20 hours/ week. January through August 09. Excellent salary. Office furnished. Call 833-7142 for more information.

Valet Parking Attendants Needed, Many Positions Available. Part-time/Temporary at Various Upscale Restaurants/Private Parties. Flexible Schedules/ Weekends. $8-$15/hr including tips. 829- 8050 or contact Matt 796-5782

FT Veterinary Receptionist/Assistant needed for one of the best equipped small animal hospitals in the state. Practice is 15 miles east of Raleigh. Ideal position for pre-veterinary student on sabbatical or out-of-state student trying to establish North Carolina residency. Veterinary School Scholarship available for FT employee working for one year. Call Dr. Mike at 553-4601.

Join Our Team! Student Media is looking for Advertising Sales Reps and Office Assistants. Must be highly motivated, with a good communication skills and willingness to learn. Stop by 323 Witherspoon Student Center to fill out an application.

Level:

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HELP WANTED COUNSELORS: Entry level counselors needed to work with female adolescents in a group home setting. Full time and part time hours available. Ideal for Psychology students and/or recent graduates. Email resume` to : applicant@hopeservices4u. com Earn Extra Money. Students needed ASAP. Earn up to $150 per day being a mystery shopper. No experience required. Call 1-800-722-4791.

Mitch’s Tavern. Wait staff and kitchen positions available. Please fill out application after 3 pm. 2426 Hillsborough St. No phone calls please. Flexible hours/great job for students.

SUPERSTAR LEASING CONSULTANT NEEDED PART TIME. ( ABOUT 25 HOURS A WEEK). GREAT PERSONALITY AND COMMUNICATION SKILLS A MUST. MUST BE ABLE TO WORK SATURDAYS. FLEXIBLE SCHEDULE. PLEASE EMAIL RESUME TO PARKWOODAPTS@ MINDSPRING.COM OR FAX IT TO 919-834-9874.

CHILD CARE NEEDED Needed: Responsible, reliable person to care for 6 yr old boy in our home. M,T,TH, F 3pm-6pm, hours can be increased during track outs. If interested, call 854-2666. Serious inquiries only please.

Tutorial Service is hiring Math, Chemistry, Physics, Earth & Environmental Sciences, English, Education, and Spanish tutors. Juniors, seniors and graduate students with a 3.0 and above GPA. $22-$24 per hour. 847- 2109 leave name, phone number and major (repeat for clarity).

REAL ESTATE APARTMENTS FOR RENT Remodeled apartments available immediately and also pre-leasing for Spring and Summer 2009. Directly on the Wolfline. Mention this ad and we will waive your application fee. Check out our website at www.parkwoodvillageapts. com. or call 832- 7611 for more information

SERVICES SPRING BREAK BAHAMAS SPRING BREAK $189 5-DAYS or $239 7- DAYS. All prices include: Round-trip luxury cruise with food. Accommodations on the island at your choice of thirteen resorts. Appalachia Travel. www.BahamaSun. com 800-867-5018.

FOR RELEASE NOVEMBER 4, 2008

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Technician was there. You can be too. The Technician staff is always looking for new members to write, design or take photos. Visit www.ncsu.edu/sma for more information.

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Sports PAGE 10 • TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2008

WOLF FACTS Desbois named Academic All-American Sophomore third baseman Bridget Desbois was announced as an AllAmerica Scholar Athlete on Monday by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association. The softball player from Virginia has a 3.51 GPA and is majoring in biological sciences. Desbois is the second player in the softball team’s five year history to earn Academic AllAmerica honors, as Heather Gelbard received the honor in 2005. SOURCE: N.C. STATE ATHLETICS

Wake Forest kickoff announced The ACC announced Monday that N.C. State’s matchup with in-state rival Wake Forest will kickoff at 3:30 p.m. on Nov. 15. The football game will be broadcast live on ESPNU from Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh. Also, this Saturday’s game at Duke will be broadcast on ESPN360.com. SOURCE: N.C. STATE ATHLETICS

”Chow4Yow” bidding begins Bidding has begun in the email auction for a dinner at Kay Yow’s house on Friday Dec. 12. The winner of the auction and three guests receive a four-course meal and courtside seats for the men’s basketball game against Winston-Salem State and the women’s basketball game against Mississippi. Every women’s basketball coach in the ACC is doing a similar program with all proceeds going to the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund. SOURCE: N.C. STATE ATHLETICS

ATHLETIC SCHEDULE November 2008 Su

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Wednesday WOMEN’S BASKETBALL VS. PREMIER PLAYERS Reynolds Coliseum, 7 p.m. WIFFLEBALL CAPTAINS MEETING Playzone, 6 p.m. Thursday MEN’S BASKETBALL VS. FORT VALLEY STATE Reynolds Coliseum, 7 p.m. Friday WOMEN’S TENNIS AT UNC INVITATIONAL - DAY ONE Chapel Hill, all day VOLLEYBALL AT VIRGINIA TECH Blacksburg, Va, 7 p.m. MEN’S SOCCER AT DUKE Durham, 7 p.m.

QUOTE OF THE DAY “We have nothing to be satisfied with. We are not putting [wins] on the board.” said by redshirt junior offensive lineman Jeraill McCuller on the football team’s morale

DID YOU KNOW? John McCain was a varsity wrestler in high school and was a lightweight boxer during his time at the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis.

COMING SOON

Wednesday: A preview of the women’s basketball season and a story on intramural soccer playoffs

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• 19 days until the football game at UNC-Chapel HIll

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• Page 5: Election focused

TECHNICIAN

FOOTBALL

Wolfpack looks to turn season around Saturday N.C. State wants to make a statement against Duke Samuel T.O. Branch Senior Staff Writer

After last week ’s 27-24 loss at Maryland, N.C. State stands at 2-6 overall and 0-4 in the ACC with four games to play. If the Wolfpack wants to get in any kind of bowl game, every game is a mustwin situation. When the Pack faces the Duke Blue Devils Saturday, the team knows it has to make a statement. “I feel that we should prove we are a better team than what our wins and losses have shown,” redshirt junior linebacker Ray Michel said during State’s weekly press conference on Monday. During the open date, the coaches talked to the defense about its sub-par performance lately. “[Defensive coordinator Mike Archer] told us we’re at the bottom of the pole right now,” Michel said. “We’re the laughing stock of the ACC.” Michel went on to say that the team was irate after those comments and was motivated to make a change. “It made me furious,” he said. “That’s when we finally realized that we’ve got to get together and get in our playbooks.” Coach Tom O’Brien and offensive coordinator Dana Bible sung a similar tune to the offense. “There was a point where coach O’Brien and coach Bible challenged us to man up and focus on paying attention to detail so we can start doing some positive things on the offensive side of the ball,” redshirt junior offensive tackle

DREIER CARR/TECHNICIAN FILE PHOTO

Jamelle Eugene fumbles the ball on the goal line during the Homecoming football game Saturday, October 4. N.C. State has not won since an overtime win against East Carolina Sept. 20 and must win out in order to reach the postseason. The team plays next in Durham on Saturday against the Duke Blue Devils.

Jeraill McCuller said. O’Brien said confronting his team was just a matter of being truthful. “You try to motivate them any way you can, but one thing we don’t do is sugarcoat a lot of things,” he said, “We try to be truthful and honest with them, and this is our honest evaluation.” And when the Pack renews its rivalry with the Blue Devils Saturday at Wallace Wade Stadium, the task will not be any easier. Duke has already changed its culture in regards to football in only one year under coach David Cutcliffe. The Devils have wins over respectable opponents, such as Vanderbilt, Navy and Virginia and a three-point loss in over-

time to Wake Forest. games this year. “They are very aggressive as a “[Our rush defense] needs to unit… they are a pretty good all- improve,” he said. “Look at the around team right now,” Michel way that Duke rushed the ball said. against Wake Forest. Nobody Duke’s defenrushes the ball sive play stands against Wake out to the team, Forest like that. ac cord i ng to We better have McCuller. our chin straps “They are a but toned on talented group,” and our mouthhe said. “Their guards in on defense is reSaturday playCoach Tom O’Brien on his ing this football ally ferocious. O’Br ien s a id coaching staff’s approach to team.” his players that the team But State has also needs to i mproved i n improve its run defense if they recent weeks. Even the previous are going to contain an offense disappointment against Marythat has put up over 140 yards land was a step forward as the on the ground in four different Pack put up 24 points against a

“One thing we don’t do is sugarcoat a lot of things.”

REMAINING SCHEDULE • • • •

@ Duke, Nov. 8, 3:30 p.m. Wake Forest, Nov. 15, 3:30 p.m. @ UNC-Chapel Hill, Nov. 22, TBA Miami, Nov. 29, TBA SOURCE: N.C. STATE ATHLETICS

defense that had shut out Wake Forest the week before. “[Our coach has] let us know we are getting better, but we have nothing to be satisfied with,” McCuller said. “We are not putting [wins] on the board. We’re not doing our job. We’ve just got to find a way to get that [win] at the end of the game.”

CLUB CLOGGING

Pack clogging hopes to expand team On campus since 1989, cloggers received club affiliation in 2008

WHAT IS CLOGGING? Clogging is a folk dance that combines elements of English, Irish and German step dancing. Resembling tap dancing, clogging utilizes special shoes called “jingle taps” which give the dancers’ steps a unique sound and style. Characterized by small pieces of metal bound the bottoms of the shoes, they multiply the number of taps the dancer makes allowing the performers to differentiate themselves from other forms of dance.

A.G. Walton Staff Writer

The official folk dance of North Carolina, clogging, is unique to the state, and according to Katie Craven, a junior in meteorology, it is still evolving today. “Clogging originated in the Appalachian mountains from dances like line dancing,” she said. “But now clogging has elements from country to hip-hop. It does still use some traditional elements though.” Jamie Liles, a sophomore in international studies, agrees that clogging is a traditional dance but says the Wolfpack cloggers have integrated modern elements into it. “A lot of people think clogging is really country, but not all of it is,” he said. “At a lot of the events we do use a lot of modern music and techniques that people really like.” Originally, clogging was only offered through the University as a physical education course. The course was dropped from the catalog, but clogging lived on through the club. Founded in 1989, the club was designed as a student organi-

SOURCE: N.C. STATE CLOGGING CLUB

CHRISTIN HARDY/TECHNICIAN

Members of the clogging club practice their routine in Carmichael Gymnasium. The dancers were practicing for a performance at a diabetes benefit Nov. 1. Jamie Liles, a sophomore in international studies and member said the club is “fun and a good workout.”

zation, which performed at campus and community events. According to Craven, the club shares the same focus today. “We do a lot of performances around the community, like art festivals and benefits for charitable groups,” she said. “We also perform every summer at concerts at Walnut Creek and at the State Fair every year. ” The team requested for club affiliation in 2007 and was granted

it in 2008. Since then, the club has been run and organized completely by students. Composed of 13 members — 11 females and two males - the team has no “official” coach, instead relying on two former Wolfpack cloggers for guidance. “We have two alumni who come every week and help us,” said Andrea Carroll, a graduate student in agriculture manage-

ment. “They’re not really our coaches, but we call them our coaches because they do so much.” One interesting element about clogging is the use of males as well as females in the dances. Unlike other more well known dancing clubs, such as the N.C. State dance team, the clogging team utilizes both male and female dancers. The inclusion of both sexes is necessary for

many types of dances the club performs. “Guys are important because a lot of the dances we do are couple dances,” Craven said. “Right now we’re having to use girls in place of guys in some of our dances. We need more guys.” The team is constantly recruiting, and Carroll said the team has an open-door policy for all those interested. “We had tryouts, but if anyone is interested all they need to do is come to practice,” she said. “We would have an informal tryout, and then the team would vote and decide. We always want to expand.”

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