#StetsonVotes Straw Poll Results: Rubio, Sanders

#StetsonVotes Straw Poll Results: Rubio, Sanders

As a values-driven institution that emphasizes the importance of global citizenship, as stated on Stetson’s website #StetsonVotes!, Stetson strives to develop the habits of citizenship that will last our students’ entire lives. One of the most important – and most fundamental – aspects of being an engaged citizen is participation in our democracy through voting,

#StetsonVotes!, the one-stop site for all voting questions and resources, held a straw poll Tuesday, March 8, on the steps outside the Carlton Union Building, exactly one week before Florida’s Presidential Preference Primary, March 15. The purpose of the straw poll is to get the student population involved in the electoral process.

“This is the third time we’ve done this straw poll here at Stetson in the last three election cycles,” said Kevin Winchell, associate director of Stetson’s Center for Community Engagement.

“I think Stetson is going to vote along the lines of most Millennials,” said #StetsonVotes!, director Christina Borg, a sophomore majoring in political science. “We’re going to be doing a straw poll for the general election as well, so this is an introduction to that.”

The polls’ results are as follows: On the Democratic side, Senator Bernie Sanders won with 86.6 percent of the Democratic vote.

On the Republican side, Marco Rubio, U.S. Senator from Florida, won, with 48.6 percent of the Republican vote.

The main purpose is to educate the Stetson students about the current political process. “It has been very resourceful in getting people to learn about the primaries and how the political process works in Florida,” said sophomore Rachel Saunders. “We get to see people’s opinions on who they would like to vote for and how they feel about what’s going on in politics right now.”

#StetsonVotes! wants to remind all students who are registered to vote in the state of Florida that they can still vote in the actual Presidential Preference Primary. More information on voting in the Presidential Preference Primary can be found at www2.stetson.edu/vote.

By David Baker

Video by Jeff Taylor, David Maisel