In a campus wide poll, The Record received anonymous student reported statistics on intention to vote, intended candidate and voting method. 234 students responded, which represents 34% of the undergraduate body. 

76.3% of respondents, 145 students, declared their intention to vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz. 20.5% of respondents, 39 students, stated that they will be putting Donald Trump and JD Vance on their ballot. One student is unsure, but plans to vote for Jill Stein.

This is a shift in demographics from the 2020 election at Goshen: at the time, The Record reported the results of a similar poll, in which 82% of respondents were voting Democrat and 11% were voting Republican. This is a 6% decrease in Democratic voters, and a 9% increase in Republican voters on campus.

55.6% intend to vote, 33.1% intend not to vote and 11.3% are unsure where they will land.

Of students who are registered and able to vote, 73.1% have already cast their ballot ahead of election day. 44.2% of respondents who intend to vote have voted in person early, and 28.4% have voted by mail. 

This 73% is significantly higher than the comparative national 32% turnout of expected voters for the election. 

Of those who said they did not plan to vote, 43% were either an international student or not a citizen and thus unable to. 

Of the respondents who are not planning to vote, or are unsure of their plans, 17% reported that it was due to their voter registration status. One respondent reported “I missed the registration deadline due to confusion on whether or not I was already registered.” Another said “I’m not registered by choice.”

Others that were unsure also expressed that they felt that neither candidate was a good option. 

Participants explained themselves saying, “[I] have heard terrible things about both candidates” and “I just don’t really believe one side is correct over the other. I do have a preference on who’d I vote for but I’m just unsure about them still.”

Still others were hesitant due to a lack of information, stating “I’m not up to date on what’s going on in the world,” “I don’t want to get into politics, and I don’t know much about the running campaigns. It be like voting for a random person,” and “I’m not educated enough.”