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Despite Sanders Drop Out, College Voters Still Look to Show Up to the Polls

Jeff Auth at English Wikipedia

When Bernie Sanders dropped out of the presidential race, many Democrats worried that college students – an important voting block for Barack Obama – might not vote this time around, but Sandy Hausman found strong interest when talking to students in Charlottesville and Richmond.

There are more than 75 colleges and universities in this state, including Virginia Commonwealth University.  We spoke with two dozen students there and found only one – a young man from China – not planning to vote. 

“I’m voting for Hillary.  I love Hillary!"  

"I was a really big fan of Bernie Sanders, and then I watched the PBS debate, and I saw how she handled herself, how she had plans and things as opposed to her opponents."  

"I’m leaning toward Gary Johnson. Gary Johnson is the only one where I can agree on the majority of things on." 

"It’s our duty to vote.  I think a lot of young people forget that it does matter." Sandy Hausman asks, "do you have a candidate you like?"  "I don’t like Trump."  

"Yeah, I’m voting for Hillary Clinton." 

"Really, it’s the lesser of two evils that you have to pick right now.  I’m just trying to figure out who that is.”

At the University of Virginia, a formal survey of 1,400 students found 93% were registered – and the vast majority – 67% said they would cast a ballot for Hillary Clinton. 

Donald Trump and Gary Johnson were favored by nearly 10% each, but the real surprise came from a second survey by the student newspaper.  It showed 87% of students are anxious about the election and its outcome. 

Sandy Hausman is Radio IQ's Charlottesville Bureau Chief
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