Tuesday night, University students nestled snugly in their beds, with visions of presidential candidates dancing in their heads.
Many woke surprised. Some contemplated the early election returns, while others just longed to put the election behind them.
“I went to bed with the impression that Bush was winning, but I woke up hoping that Gore had won,” said Annie Hummert, a sophomore women’s studies major.
Hummert is just one of the many University students who voted in Tuesday’s presidential election only to discover that as of Wednesday, they still didn’t know the results.
Final results are contingent upon the ongoing recount of election ballots in Florida. Officials are expected know the results by 5 p.m. Eastern time today.
“It is exciting because this is the first major election I have voted in,” Hummert said.
Hummert supported Gore mainly because of his stance on women’s issues.
“If Bush wins, I think I’m going to move to Canada,” she said jokingly.
Other University students are also awaiting election results with some apprehension.
“I am surprised by how close it is,” said Beverly Ajie, a senior biology major. “I voted for Nader, but seeing how close it is, maybe I shouldn’t have.”
As of Wednesday evening, Nader had received 5 percent of the vote in Oregon and 3 percent of the vote nationally.
“I wanted to vote for someone different,” said John-Paul Dull, a journalism and English major. “That’s why I voted for Nader.”
The small number of votes that Nader captured nationally disappointed some University students.
“I was really wishing that [Nader] would have gotten more votes,” said Mike Shuman, a pre-journalism major. “But the small margin between Gore and Bush made it very exciting, a perfect way to have an election.”
Some students who watched election coverage into the wee hours of the morning may have described the election as “frustrating” instead.
“First they gave Florida to Gore and then they took it away, then they gave it to Bush and then they took it away, and now they still don’t know. It’s really annoying,” said Katie Hultquist, a fine arts major. “I think that they should get rid of the Electoral College and go with the popular vote.”
But for some voters it was the constant projections ­ right or wrong ­ that kept the race exciting.
“I think the projections by the media really kept the race suspenseful,” said Ehsan Seyedhossini, a junior biology major.
Another element that kept the race tense was the controversy concerning the closeness of the race in Florida.
“I just think it’s a little suspicious that Bush’s brother is the governor of Florida and things are going on down there with missing ballot boxes and everything,” said Morgan Hager, a fine arts major.