By Katie Gaughan

Tomorrow, November 5, 2024, our nation elects the 47^th President of the United States.  

If it were up to La Roche students who completed a recent online survey, Kamala Harris and Tim Walz will be taking office.  

The survey, issued via email to all current La Roche students, gave them the option to choose one of the three presidential candidates, or to choose the option of “I’m not voting.” The survey then asked students where they are from, their age, major, and to explain why they are not voting if they chose that option.  

The purpose of the survey was to serve as a mock election to determine who the popular candidate was among La Roche students as well as voting trends based on demographic information. 

Fifty-seven percent of students who completed the survey said they support Kamala Harris and Tim Walz during this election season, while 36.2 percent support former President Trump and J.D. Vance.  

Of the completed surveys, no student survey response showed support for Libertarians Chase Oliver and Mike ter Maat.  

Seven percent of students will not be voting for a presidential candidate.  

Fourteen percent of students who completed the survey said they are from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and most who completed the survey are from surrounding areas.  

Out of all students who said they are voting for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, just one was from outside of Pennsylvania.  

The oldest student Republican party supporter who completed the survey is 26 years old. The oldest student supporting the Democratic Party is 57, while the oldest student who said they will not be voting in the election is 31.  

About 11 percent of surveyed students are psychology majors, 56 percent of which said they would vote for Kamala Harris.  

Majors in the sciences make up 34 percent of completed surveys.  

These students, except for one who said they will not be voting, split 52 percent to 47 percent in favor of Kamal Harris.  

Fourteen percent of surveyed students offered explanations for why they will not be voting for a candidate on November 5^th.  

One surveyed student said, “I don’t care for any of the candidates,” while another said they have no desire to vote.  

Another student said they “did not register in time” and that familial pressure contributed to their hesitancy.