The Texas A&M University-San Antonio campus was eerily quiet as the sun set and cicadas sang nearby on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 3. As the campus Mays Center and other polling locations around the city closed their doors and votes were counted, the nation held its breath, awaiting results for the 2020 presidential election.
Election night on campus
Pink signs taped on the side of the Science and Technology Building and chalk arrows on the sidewalk of an empty campus guided voters to the entrance of the polling site. Strips of tape, separated in 6-foot increments promoting social distancing, lined the sidewalk outside the Mays Center.
According to a Tweet from the Mays Center, the Election Day polling site saw 194 voters.
Working a wellness station right outside the Mays Center entrance, Travis White and Moises Hernandez asked voters as they walked up to the building if they were voting or were students. If they were voting, they had them wait by the door for an attendant to greet them.
White said for the three evening hours he had worked, there were not many voters. By 6:19 p.m. there were about five voters inside the polling place and no lines.
After the polls closed at 7 p.m, the university’s election watch party began in the Ceremony Room of Patriots’ Casa and on the pavilion. The event was hosted by five organizations: the Campus Activities Board, Student Government Association, Common Experience, the Mays Center and Recreational Sports.
Students gathered in the Ceremony Room to watch the election results together. Some sat at tables in small groups, chatting among themselves watching CBSN, drinking hot chocolate and water and snacking on pan dulce. Others played volleyball and basketball on the pavilion. By 7:16 p.m. there were eight people in the Ceremony Room, with more attendees trickling in as the night went on.
Marketing senior Valerie Valdespino said she was attending the watch party to relieve some stress. Others, like kinesiology sophomore Joshua Gilbert, said they were watching out of curiosity about who will win.
“It’s like what they say: ‘vote because everything depends on it,’” Valdespino said.
Biology junior Lizbeth Marquez felt it was important to vote this year especially.
“There’s a lot of reasons,” Marquez said. “We just need some change.”
There was a heavy silence in the room around 7:30 p.m. as a reporter announced the votes coming in, saying President Donald Trump was currently in the lead with electoral votes, but the results flipped shortly after in a presidential tug-of-war.
Psychology freshman Stephanie Cruz said she has been keeping up with the election all year. She sat with criminal justice sophomore Tiffanie Romero during the watch party. Romero said she voted for Joe Biden and was interested in the election because she felt like criminal justice and politics tied in together.
Many students voted, but most said they voted in their hometowns.
Mesquite reporters Tweeted live from various polling locations throughout the county to update the public on lines and other notable Election Day information. Readers can access these updates on The Mesquite’s Twitter account.
Election results
As the nation awaits presidential election results, some federal, state and local elections have been determined according to local news sites:
United States Senator: John Cornyn (Rep.)
United States House, Texas Congressional District 23: Tony Gonzalez ( Rep.)
United States House, Texas Congressional District 21: Chip Roy (Rep.)
Texas Railroad Commissioner: James ‘Jim’ Wright (Rep.)
Texas House, District 121: Steve Allison (Rep.)
Bexar County Sheriff: Javier Salazar (Dem.)
Bexar County Constable: Kathryn Brown (Dem.)
Bexar County Tax Assessor-Collector: Albert Uresti (Dem.)
Bexar County Commissioner, Precinct 1: Rebeca Clay-Flores (Dem.)
Bexar County Commissioner, Precinct 2: Trish DeBerry (Rep.)
Residents also voted to pass all three City of San Antonio propositions: the Pre-K 4 SA, workforce training and VIA transportation plans, ensuring program funding through a 1/8 cent tax.
“San Antonio voters overwhelmingly chose a brighter future for our city,” said San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg in a Tweet about the propositions Nov. 3. “Workforce development, early childhood education and enhanced transit all passed with incredible margins. I’m so happy that we get to do this together. Thank you for the privilege of serving you.”
For more Texas election results, visit https://www.kens5.com/elections.
Texas remains ’red’ in presidential race
After a tight race between Donald Trump and Joe Biden, Trump won the Texas electoral college votes, keeping Texas “red” and resulting in another Republican win. However, the race for the presidency continues this morning as ballots are counted throughout the country.
Presidential candidates must receive 270 electoral college votes to win the election. By 8:30 a.m. Nov. 4, Biden had received 238 electoral votes, remaining ahead of Trump’s 213.
“I want to thank the American people for their tremendous support,” Trump said from the White House in the early morning of Nov. 4. “Millions and millions of people voted for us tonight, and a very sad group of people is trying to disenfranchise that group of people and we won’t stand for it.”
Trump went on to highlight his wins in Florida, Texas and Ohio. He also claimed wins in Georgia, North Carolina and Pennsylvania, which have not yet reported their final ballot count.
“We were getting ready to win this election; frankly, we did win this election,” Trump said.
Trump lamented the slow ballot count, claiming it as a “fraud.”
“We want the law to be used in a proper manner, so we’ll be going to the U.S. Supreme Court. We want all voting to stop; we don’t want them to find any ballots at 4 o’clock in the morning and add them to the list, OK?”
Shortly after, Biden followed Trump’s speech with his own, speaking to the nation and his supporters from Wilmington, Delaware.
“We’re going into maybe tomorrow morning, maybe even longer,” Biden said. “But look, we feel good about where we are, we really do. I’m here to tell you tonight: we believe we’re on track to win this election.”
Biden urged supporters to remain patient, saying “it ain’t over till every vote is counted.”
