Texas A&M University-San Antonio students chose former Vice President Joe Biden — by one vote — in The Mesquite’s unofficial social media poll.
The mock election attracted 32 participants. Of those, 16 voted for Biden and 15 voted for President Donald Trump.
The Mesquite created the mock election Oct. 9 to see who A&M- San Antonio students will vote for in the upcoming election. The poll was open until Oct. 25.
Biden is the Democratic candidate and is running on a platform of affordable healthcare, an economic recovery plan and his plan to beat coronavirus. Biden served as vice president under Barack Obama.
Dr. Andrew Sanders, assistant professor of political science, shared his viewpoint on why Biden won the mock election.
“San Antonio, Bexar County are very Democrat leaning,” Sanders said. “I think that poll is a fairly accurate reflection of the way things are going.”
The poll listed the candidates, asked for basic information and asked voters if they wanted to be contacted for an interview. However, none of Trump’s or Biden’s supporters responded to The Mesquite’s requests for interviews.
Sanders shared his viewpoint about why each side did not want to be interviewed.
“(Trump supporters) don’t want to be grilled if you will; they don’t want to necessarily justify why they would vote for Donald Trump because there is a belief that the reason they have for voting for Donald Trump would be perhaps critiqued in a way they wouldn’t appreciate,” Sanders said. “I think that also there are a lot of people who would vote for Republican rather than Donald Trump and perhaps they struggle to reconcile their Republican candidate.”
There were Biden supporters who did not want to be contacted either.
“Some people just don’t like to be contacted,” Sanders said. “Again I think there would be a lot of reasons why. … Perhaps they don’t want to explain it or their concerns or if they are going to be grilled for their beliefs.”
Trump is the Republican candidate and is running on replacing Obamacare, lowering taxes and strengthening the country’s law enforcement.
Some Trump supporters did not provide their name or Jaguar email on the poll; they just voted and pressed submit.
Sanders said: “I hate to sorta imply anything, but it could be that they were just saying that to be kinda malevolent on the poll,” Sanders said. “You know this is one of the dangers of polling. People will give you a false answer just for their own amusement or something.”
Sanders said it is important to learn about political science these days.
“The state mandates it, so the state has acknowledged that knowing about the U.S. government, knowing about the constitution, and all the other institutions of the federal government is important,” said Sanders. “If there is a problem in your community, you can identify the people that can fix it for you.
To be educated on who is running for president, visit https://www.usa.gov/voting. There you can find information on how to vote, the candidates, voting and election terms, and what the electoral college is.
The last day to vote for the presidential election is Tuesday, Nov. 3. To find local polling sites in Bexar County, visit https://www.bexar.org/2237/Early-Vote-Information.
