Election Day at Georgetown

As millions across the country go to the polls today, Georgetown students will participate in a variety of Election Day events. From marching to the polls, to calling voters in swing states, to thoughtfully discussing the impacts of either a Trump or Harris presidency, to praying for the nation, our campus is ready for voting day in the nation’s capital.

Follow along with the Voice’s coverage of the 2024 election on and off-campus, including Vice President Harris’s election night event at Howard University!

10:05 p.m.: GU Politics Watch Party

By Franziska Wild

GU Politics hosted a watch party in the HFSC social room. While CNN played on the projector, students milled around eating pizza, making buttons, and wearing election related merch. 

The Voice spoke with a couple of students about why they were at the watch party, how they were feeling, and the results they were hoping for. 

Sporting a camo Harris-Walz hat, Delaney Sebora (SFS ’26) told the Voice how she has stayed up to watch every election as long as she can remember. 

“Honestly, I’m very nervous. Every election year, since I can remember, the all night watch thing, and I know increasingly over the past few years, it’s just become more tense and more prolonged,” she said. 

Photo by Sabrina Shaffer

She’s from Minnesota and expressed excitement about potentially seeing Tim Walz the former governor there in the White House.

“My brother works for Tim Walz, and I love Tim Walz,” she said. 

Sarah Eyob (CAS ’27), who was wearing her “I Voted Sticker” from voting today at the Georgetown public library, also shared her hopes for a Harris presidency. 

“I just agree with her on a lot of issues. I agree that the government shouldn’t tell people what to do with their bodies. I do think abortion has a constitutional right, just like every other constitutional right, and freedom should be protected.” Eyob said. “I don’t agree with a lot of the hateful rhetoric coming from Donald Trump and his friends.” 

Photo by Sabrina Shaffer

But, no matter who wins, Eyob shared that she hoped people would remain kind to each other and respect our democratic norms. 

“Regardless of whoever you’re voting for, it’s important I think to just respect everyone’s basic humanity,” Eyob said. “I feel very strongly about this election and all of the issues, but at the end of the day, I don’t think it’s fair to equate a person’s choice with who they’re voting with any moral qualities.”

8:00 p.m.: March to the Polls

By Sabrina Shaffer

As the sun set on Election Day, GU Votes led a march from the John Carroll statue to the Ward 2 Hardy Middle School polling location. Pratik Jacob (CAS ’25), co-president of GU Votes, led a dozen students down O Street before turning left on 35th Street and walking north towards Wisconsin Avenue. Several students held proof of residency papers, as they prepared to register to vote in D.C. at the polling location.

The march included students from a variety of states—and some non-citizen residents—who had decided to vote in-person in D.C.

“There’s a lot of issues that prevent students from voting in the states where they’re from. We also have a lot of American citizens, who are students here, but don’t have permanent addresses in any state in America, so D.C. is the place they can vote while they’re students here,” Jacob said.

One such student is Paula McCoy (CAS ’25), an American citizen whose home is in Mexico.

“I don’t really have a U.S. address, so D.C. is the only permanent address that I can provide, which is why I am voting in D.C.,” McCoy said.

When asked how she feels about voting in the U.S. election, she said that she was worried about having the proper documentation for registration.

“I feel so nervous. I feel like it’s more complicated than what I’m used to,” McCoy added.

Other students were unable to register in their home states or had issues requesting their mail-in ballots. Jenna Pae (SFS ’25) decided to vote in D.C. because she was unable to register in Indiana, her state of residence, in time for the election. She tried to register to vote over the summer, but because she is a naturalized citizen and her license had expired, she needed more supporting documents, which she didn’t have.

“I didn’t think I was going to be able to vote, but I saw that I was able to do it here,” Pae said. “This is my first time voting in a presidential election, second time voting as a U.S. citizen, so I’m excited about it.”

Mark Santamaria (MSB ’25) is from North Carolina and had trouble receiving a mail-in ballot to vote in his home state. He considered not voting at all, but changed his mind last minute.

“I was a little bit hesitant to vote for either candidate the whole time, so I was like, ‘You know what, I’m not going to do it.’ But then yesterday I felt that it was kind of my civic duty to do it, so I decided to go and vote in D.C,” Santamaria said.

A law passed this June allows D.C. non-citizen residents to vote in local municipal elections. Several students who joined the march are non U.S. citizens who are able to for positions on city council, U.S. House non-voting delegate, U.S. House shadow representative, and U.S. shadow senator. Blanca Faine (CAS ’25) is an international student from Barcelona, Spain and a non-citizen resident of D.C.

“Even though I’m not from here, I live here, and I’m impacted by the policy here, and I want to be able to have a say in my community,” Faine said.

In the final hours of Election Day, GU Votes’ march to the polls allowed students to cast their ballots, despite voter registration and mail-in ballot difficulties. According to Jacob, D.C.’s day-of voter registration laws make it easy for residents to register at polling locations if they bring identification and proof of residence in the District.

“Shoutout to D.C. for meeting us in our goal of trying to make things as easy and accessible for students to vote,” Jacob said.

6:35 p.m.: Interfaith Prayer for the Nation 

By Franziska Wild

Campus Ministry held an interfaith prayer for the whole nation beginning at 4 p.m., led by each Chaplaincy director, including Rabbi Ilana Zietman, Dr. Jim Wickman, Rev. Ebony Grisom, Brahmacharini Shweta Chaitanya, Imam Yahya Hendi, and Rev. Gregory Schenden. A couple dozen students from varying faith traditions attended the prayer held in Dahlgren Quad amongst the bubbling fountain and autumn leaves. 

Students who attended the event reflected on it as a nice moment of grounding amidst a hectic and nerve-racking day. Luke Daugherty (SFS ’28) briefly chatted with the Voice about his decision to attend.

“It’s my first election that I voted in, well, first major election I voted in,” Daugherty said. “I just felt like it’s nice to step back and look at things. And I feel like the religion and interfaith dialogue provides a real chance to do that.”

Timothy Suh (CAS ’24) who also attended the prayer, told the Voice about how his faith is carrying him through today’s jitters and uncertainty. 

“Everything is Christ’s kingdom. I think that Jesus’s kingdom is less seen but more real. And that kingdom, to which I am a citizen, allows me to not put my ultimate hope in this citizenship to America,” Suh said. For Suh staving off despair is contingent on prioritizing heavenly citizenship. 

Faith leaders prayed in their respective faith traditions to heal division in the nation, protect our democracy, and prevent disenfranchisement. 

“Let us never take for granted the freedoms won in generations past and may your wisdom lead us to better ways to live together with the humility, civility, and generosity of spirit,” Hendi said in his prayer. “Strengthen our will to fulfill our duties to our country and to one another and all the nations of the world to exercise our gracious right to vote and to do all we can to ensure that every legal vote is counted.”

5:34 p.m.: Panel of experts in international affairs break down U.S election impacts to students 

By Larson Matuck

The Georgetown Journal of International Affairs held a panel discussing the international impact of the U.S election. The panel consisted of experts Steven Feldstein, Dennis Welder, Josh Ruebner, and Benjamin Geden. The panel focused on each presidential candidate’s foreign policy positions, including U.S-China relations, Israel’s ongoing bombardment of Gaza, and other topics in international affairs.

5:22 p.m.: Pizza and Politics; GU Politics hosts Alencia Johnson for student discussion

By Larson Matuck

GU Politics held a discussion with Alencia Johnson, a cultural critic who has been featured in CNN, MSNBC, the Washington Post, and more. Johnson and students discussed some of the standout moments of the campaign. Johnson, who specializes in cultural impact, described her advising experience in a variety of political campaigns, including Barack Obama’s and Joe Biden’s presidential campaign, along with Elizabeth Warren’s senatorial campaign.

Students enjoyed pizza and other refreshments as they discussed the election in the GU Politics Living Room.

2:55 p.m.: Chess and Destress suffers from low attendance; students experience stress and no chess

By Larson Matuck

Event organizers tell the Voice that Chess and Destress, originally scheduled for 2 p.m. in the HFSC Herman Room, may suffer from low attendance due to limited advertising. There were no students present at the event when the Voice’s photographer arrived at 2 p.m.

2:40 p.m.: You vote, we play: GU Pep Band performs in Red Square

By Sophia Frank

GU Pep Band played songs requested by passersbys in Red Square starting around 1 p.m. Including: “Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)” by The Offspring, the “Star-spangled Banner” (ah, yes, its Election Day!), “YMCA” by Village People,“Stacy’s Mom” by Fountains of Wayne, and “Toxic” by Britney Spears.

12:59 p.m.: Election Day 2024: How will the financial markets respond? A conversation hosted by the Psaros Center 

By Connor Martin

The Psaros Center for Financial Markets and Policy hosted a conversation about the election’s impact on financial markets starting at noon in the Arrupe multipurpose room. The event featured the following speakers: Andy Blocker, Global Head of Public Policy at Invesco; Rachel Goldberg, Head of U.S. Government Affairs at Citi Bank; Lauren Belive, Head of U.S. Public Policy at Ripple; and Geoffery Okamoto, managing director of Government Affairs at Goldman Sachs.

Students and faculty listened, asked questions, and made predictions about the post-election financial landscape.

12:20 p.m.: Take a Break with ESCAPE! in the HFSC Herman Room

By Dolce Coury

Students and leaders from GU Politics and ESCAPE gathered over snacks, creating a welcoming space to discuss the upcoming election. Students flowed in and out throughout the event, which went on from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. in the HSFC Herman Room.

Alisha Singh (CAS ’25), the undergraduate co-chair of the GU Politics student advisory board, has played a big part in putting together GU Politics Election Day Programming. Singh has collaborated with many clubs on campus, cultural identity groups, and the Corp to bring election day programming together. Singh mentioned that the “turnout has been good” in all GU Politics spaces.

“It’s our responsibility to keep this campus safe for one another and to feel like it’s a safe space for all people to have their own opinions and beliefs,” Singh said.

Henry Ren (CAS ’26), one of the ESCAPE coordinators at the event, remarked how fun it was to do more community engagement and partner with GU Politics, where the entire Georgetown community is welcome.

“We’ve had a lot of people come and just swing by, grab snacks, do coloring, do a sudoku and yeah, it feels nice to be able to give something to the community,” Ren said.

Sean Rafferty (CAS ’26), GU Politics forums and events chair, expressed his excitement for what he called the celebration of the democratic process and being able to partner with other groups on campus.

“It’s been really great working with stakeholders across campus like ESCAPE,” Rafferty said. He remarked on the opportunity for everyone to “come together to mark this milestone, this kind of pivotal date in everyone’s Georgetown experience.”

While both Rafferty and Ren expressed stress over the upcoming election and noted their parents’ concerns about safety in D.C., they felt confident in the Georgetown community.

“I think emotions will be high in the next few days, but I trust that Georgetown students will be able to come together and respect each other,” Rafferty said.

11:50 a.m.: Cultural Identity & Political Power: the Asian American Experience in the HFSC Social Room

By Allie Schlicht 

Students watched the documentary, First Vote, which examined Asian American political representation and the diversity of opinions on the election within Asian-American communities. The event was organized by AASA, the Chinese Students Association, South Asian Society and GU Politics.

10:24 a.m.: Bipartisan Breakfast in the GU Politics Living Room

By Franziska Wild

To kick off Election Day, GU Politics held a breakfast complete with coffee, bagels, and pastries—fuel for a jam-packed day of discussion and anticipation ahead. 

The event had “moderate turnout” and most people weren’t talking politics, according to Cody Becker (MPM ’25), a member of the GU Politics Student Advisory Board. Instead, the breakfast created a space for grounding ahead of a long-evening of results watching. Becker himself is eagerly anticipating the GU-Politics watch party hosted in the HFSC social room later tonight. 

“I’m excited to see everything come in live—and it won’t be everything—but we’ve just been sitting on the thought of what’s going to happen for so long,” Becker said. “It’ll be nice to finally get some answers.” 

He’s also just generally excited about the atmosphere on campus and watching his peers get excited about the thing that drew him to D.C. for graduate school—political involvement. 

“It’s fun seeing people who are voting for the first time getting involved right in the middle of things,” Becker said. “No matter what side people are taking, I just like that people are very engaged.” 

Editor’s note: This article was updated on 11/5/24 at 5:31 p.m. to reflect that “Chess and Destress” was not cancelled, but instead suffered from low student attendance.