The race between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump is down to the wire.
Election day is tomorrow and many recent polls show Harris and Trump are closely tied — which means this election’s results can come down to swing states votes.
Swing states — Nevada, Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Georgia — have 93 electoral votes in total. The electoral college has 538 electors and a presidential candidate needs at least 270 votes to win.
As of fall 2023, 4,010 nonresident students attend Morgan State University and their votes will help decide the outcome of this election.
Malaya Mason is a sophomore majoring in political science and is Miss Pink and Black for Morgan State’s chapter of Black Girls Vote, a student nonpartisan organization that prioritizes community service, student engagement, voter education and professional development.
“The swing states are the states that have the most power in the elections. In swing states such as Ohio, Michigan and et cetera, it’s kind of a toss up so their votes mean a little bit more,” said Mason.
Swing states, also called battleground states, are states that may favor either party. For example, states that voted for President Joe Biden in 2020 but voted for former President Donald Trump in 2016 would be swing states.
Olivia Garner, a freshman multimedia journalism major at Morgan, is from rural West Chester, Pennsylvania, — which is located just outside of Philadelphia. Garner said the state is more red than people often realize. While Philadelphia and Pittsburgh are historically blue, the rest of the state’s population can tip the scales.
“In West Chester, for example, you think we would lean blue being close to Philadelphia but Trump has a huge following in our area,” said Garner. “I sent in a mail in ballot, I am excited and felt pretty good about voting for the first time.”
Pennsylvania’s support helped clinch Biden’s presidency in 2020. The state has 19 electoral votes, which is among the highest in the U.S.
“Pennsylvania is a swing state so this upcoming election is very important due to the fact that Pennsylvania may end up being tied with finalizing votes or a needle thread victory for Kamala or Trump,” said Isaiah Stanton, a senior multiplatform production major and Philadelphia native. “But the current political candidates seem too out of touch.”
Thaddeus Goode works at Lasalle University in public safety and is a Philadelphia native. He shared similar concerns.
“This year it’s probably no telling. I’m pretty sure we have more people voting this year than any other so it’s gonna be tricky … I do think Harris would be more for people like us middle class workers but I am a little concerned due to Biden saying the same thing and nothing much really changed,” said Goode.
Malcolm Swayne, a senior majoring in multiplatform production, lived in Ohio and said he believes Ohio is divided when it comes to political beliefs.
“There’s no bias and it’s equally divided in those places in Ohio. Candidates can’t rely on party or ethnic preferences,” said Swayne. “They will have to really convince people as to why they should be running the country.”
Hannah Gillary, a sophomore majoring in multiplatform production shares her experience of the division of political beliefs within the state and how the state is misrepresented.
“Being a resident of Michigan, you notice that the state is split in half. The more up north you go the more Trump supporters you will find …” said Gillary. “I think the main reason Michigan is a swing state is because not everyone is voting and because of that you won’t always get the proper representation.”
The final day to cast a vote is Tuesday, Nov. 5. Find more information about voting at www.vote.org.
