Who Drake’s first-time voters are and who they voted for

ONLINE EXCLUSIVE BY JAKE BULLINGTON

Driving past First Christian Church on University Avenue, drivers could see a flock of Bulldogs heading to cast their ballot in their first presidential election.

Between 12:45 and 1:30, the Times-Delphic spoke with eight Drake students who voted at the precinct and shared why they felt it was important.

First-years Aspen Walters and Meghan Eubler say they voted for Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.

First-years Aspen Walters (left) and Meghan Eubler say they voted for Clinton

“My big two issues are women’s rights and environmental stuff, so that’s why I voted for her. She’s more for those,” Walters said.

Eubler agreed. “I think she’s more experienced for when it comes to political things and I don’t really support Trump, about what he says about women, et cetera.”

First-year Benjamin Heinze said the only thing that went awry during his general election voting process: “I didn’t get a sticker, though, but otherwise it was fine.”

First-year Benjamin Heinze says he voted for Clinton today.

Heinze said he voted for Clinton because her similar policy points with sitting president, Barack Obama.

“I think overall he’s done a good job leading our country and I’d like to see a continuation of those policies and I think that Donald Trump represents a lot of things, that as an American, I don’t want,” Heinze said.

Sophomore Alexandra Miller said that voting was “easier than I expected.” She opted not to share who she voted for, but was enthusiastic about it being her first presidential election.

Sophomore Alex Wadsley said he also voted for Clinton. “She aligns more with my views than Donald does,” Wadsley said.

Sophomore Alex Wadsley says he voted for Clinton.

Zach Hoffman, whose first presidential election was in 2012, says he voted for Trump for his support of veterans’ issues and his plans to “fix” the Department of Veterans Affairs.

“As well as addressing issues today people are afraid to address, politicians today,” Hoffman said. “We as a people want the problems addressed.”

Hoffman acknowledges that coming to Drake, he believed it was a largely liberal campus, but feels confident Trump will win Iowa.

“I can’t concentrate, I can’t work on my school, I’m watching the news,” Hoffman said, saying he was excited to see the results tonight.

Stay tuned for more 2016 election coverage on our Twitter feed and here on TimesDelphic.com