—The Highaeres Collegian Students surveyed for presidential preferences By Kelly Yale The HIGHACRES COLLEGIAN staff recently con ducted a survey to determine Highacres students' preferences for presidential candidates in the November 4 election. Reagan was chosen by 31% of all students surveyed. Anderson followed with 23%, and Carter received 13%. However, the large portion of undecided students, 25%, makes it difficult to predict the actual election results. Of all students surveyed, 16% were registered voters actually intending to vote for Reagan, 9% for Anderson, and 4% for Carter. Ten percent of those intending to vote were undecided at the time of the survey. Forty-three percent of all students surveyed were Freshmen Sophomores Males Females Registered and Intendin: to vote Non-reEisterea and Not intendinl to vot Total Surveyed Registered Votes of Total Surv- 'd MONDALE REAGAN CARTER Voting tips to help students on Nov. 4 For those of you voting for the first time in the general election on November 4, here are a few tips that may be of help: 1. Bring your voter registra tion card with you for purposes of identification, and in the event there should be any mix-up. Be prepared to give your name and address to the clerk and to sign in before entering the voting booth. 2. Don't be intimidated by the nature or the size of the ballot. Look for a sample ballot (generally posted at the polling registered voters. Three percent were registered but did not intend to vote and did not express any preference in candidates. A number of students are of the opinion that no one candidate is significantly better than the others. Several students express ed such opinions at the time of the survey. One student felt "None of the candidates are really qualified to run or be president." Another student said he would not vote "because Carter is very wishy-washy, Reagan is going to die in office, and Anderson is a puppet." Still, another felt that "Reagan and Carter are both playing a political game that neither can afford to lose. This leaves the nderson arter ea:an 18.8% 34.8% 15.9% 32.3% 22.6% 38.5% 22.9% 18.8% 25.5% 4o 070 10.0% 15.0% 13.0% place)- in order to get used to par ty lines and the variety of offices being contested. 3. If possible, find a copy of the League of Women Voters "Voters Guide" (published locally by the Hazleton Standard-Speaker a few days before the election). This provides background information on the candidates and their posi tion son certain issues. You may take the "Voters Guide" with you into the voting booth. 4. Don't be intimidated by par ty workers urging support for Election 'BO American public as the prize that neither candidate knows anything about." In contrast some students do have a positive reason for choos ing a particular candidate. One prefers Reagan because he is against abortion; another favors Carter because he wants to keep the welfare program in ex istence. One student reasoned that "For the most part I agree with Carter's ideas. Each candidate has drawbacks, but with Carter presently in office, I think he has more insight to world problems." In summary, the opinion of the students of Highacres is quite divided. More detailed informa tion on the survey results can be seen in the chart. 17.3% 29 . 2% BUSH ANDERSON their candidates outside the poll ing place. Make up your own mind. 5. Read the directions on how to operate the voting machine. Feel free to ask questions and to take your time; to do so is no cause for embarrassment. Though it may sound like a cliche, remember that your vote does count. Particularly in a close election and it seems likely that this will be true for several offices the votes of a few people can literally make the difference. Key battleground states to decide 1980 election By Ken Skuba With an estimated 25 million Americans still undecided as to which presidential candidate to vote for next week, the race to the White House is almost neck and neck between President Carter and Ronald Reagan, with In dependent candidate John B. Anderson close enough behind to trip up a clear majority of elec toral votes, sending this election to a photo finish in the House of Representatives. The deciding factor or factors in this election are the so-called "key battleground states," nine in all, which carry the bulk of electoral votes needed to secure a majority. The nine states are California, at the top of the list with 45 electoral votes; New York, next with 41; Penn sylvania, 27; Illinois and Texas, 26 apiece; Ohio, 25; Michigan, 21; New Jersey and Florida, 17 each; for a total of 245 electoral votes out of a possible 538. To secure a majority a candidate must receive 270 electoral votes. Although no candidate has to win in all of the key battleground states to win the presidency, no candidate since 1948 has become president without winning in at least five of the nine. The race in each of the "big nine" states is tight escept in California where Ronald Reagan holds a comfortable lead over the other candidates. This comes as no surprise to the former Califor nia governor whose tax reform policies and other ac complishments there gained na tional recognition and secured for him a place in many a Califor nian heart. New York, the second largest state in terms of electoral votes, also seems to be leaning toward Reagan; however, a re cent Daily News Straw Poll found President Carter ahead. These two states are usually considered the most crucial to a presidential campaign. Since 1862, when the first Californians voted in a presidential election, no can didate has won the presidency LUCEY The race to the White House without winning both California and New York. Independent candidate John B. Anderson is not expected to take any of the big nine states; however, he may pose a threat to Carter in New York where Ander son was nominted by the Liberal Party. Anderson is considered by many to be the first third party candidate in over a century and a half with enough support to send the election to the House of Representatives. His appeal to moderates rather than to the left or right, which was characteristic of many third par ty candidates in the past may pull a significant number of voters away from the major can didates, especially President Carter. Carter reelection aides believe Anderson will do this to the tune of taking seven votes away from the President for every one taken away from Reagan. If Anderson succeeds, the election could go to the House of Representatives When it con venes in January. Each state, in this case, would get one vote. Should neither the House nor the Senate decide by January 20, the Speaker of the House becomes acting President under the Suc cession Act. The House of Representatives has had to choose a president on ly twice in U.S. History, and not since 1824. The Twelfth Amend ment came about as a result of the election of 1800 in which the race between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr ended in a tie. Burr, Jefferson's running mate, imprudently declined to remove himself from the competition, a political decision frowned- upon by many of his older brethren, not to mention Jefferson who was chosen to serve as the next Presi dent of the United States until 1804 and reelected until 1809. Again in 1824 the House of Representatives was called in to choose a president; this time the candidates were John Quincy Adams, who won, and Andrew Jackson.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers