Election Exercise 1
–
Exit Poll Interviews
November 1, 2016:
Sabri Zooper
St. Edwards, Jr.
SZ: I am a student at St. Edwards, yes.
HO: And you just voted?
SZ: I did just vote, for the first time!
HO: The first time? Congratulations!
SZ:
Thank you!
HO: Did you know who you were going to vote for going into today?
SZ:
I knew as far as the presidential election but like when it goes to like local officials I was
kinda like everybody democrat, so.
HO:
Are you aware of everything that
has happened in the past 72 hrs, like the new e
–
mail
developments?
SZ:
So I have my own feelings about that and they are that that’s a bunch a crap. I feel like that
because she’s a woman and because she is hilary Clinton she’s not like some nurturer l
ady shes
strong you know shes a leader they’re going to look for something to poke at her you know
what I mean because trump obviously has had so many scandals. They need something for
Hillary because right now she’s looking like the freaking Pope compared
to him so..
HO:
Coud anything have changed your vote leading up to this?
SZ:
No, haha, Hell No. Okay, because if like Trump, he’s not a good person he’s not a good
leader, I would never want him to help lead my.. I don’t know..a club at school. You
know what
I’m saying like…
HO:
How long have you known that you were going to vote for Hillary?
SZ:
I don’t know. I’ve been following the debates,
I’ve been following what she’s saying. I’ve
been looking at her websites. I’ve been looking at Trump’s websites. I’m very informed on her
policies and the lack of his policies. So I mean I just felt like she was the only choice in many
ways. I mean he’s j
ust…
HO:
The worst.
SZ:
I mean the way he talks about the Republican party, he talks about minority parties, or
minority groups, he talks about Everybody. Everybody that’s outside of the 1% the people that
are like…him you know and his class and I ju
st feel really isolated from him.
HO:
How was your experience voting today?
SZ:
It was great. It was great. It was different. I mean I felt like it mattered.
HO:
Did you have to show any form of identification or anything?
SZ:
I did. I had to g
ive my voter registration card and they also just need to see a photo ID that
its me. So.
HO:
They didn’t actually need to see one
SZ:
They didn’t actually need to see one, yeah.
HO:
I don’t think so
SZ:
I don’t think a lot of people are inform
ed about that because even when I was signing up
for my voter registration card they weren’t aware that I didn’t need my ID
HO:
OK?
SZ:
So I think that might be a discrepancy. I saw on my voter registration card that it says, “that
the requirement to
show ID is under review and may change”
HO:
OK.
SZ:
You know, so I know that they didn’t need to see it but I don’t think that they know?
HO:
Are you satisfied with your voting experience today?
SZ:
Um, yeah, I am
HO:
How long did it take
you?
SZ:
It took me like…it was really quick actually it was electronic so I think that makes
everything kind of speed the process up, um it took me maybe 7
–
10 minutes.
HO:
Did you vote for anything else on the ballot today?
SZ:
Oh yeah, oh yeah. I voted for school districts. I voted for um road repairs kinda like budget
for that and I think that was it.
HO:
Ok, so you did vote for proposition one?
SZ:
I did vote for proposition one. Get uber back.
HO:
That’s not what tha
t will do.
SZ:
Haha I know but still.
Stephanie Darby
, 23
Student, St. Edward’s University
HO:
Did you just vote?
SD:
I did just vote.
HO:
Is this your first time to vote?
SD:
It’s not it’s my second time to vote
HO:
How old are you?
SD:
23.
HO:
And what year are you?
SD:
I’m a Senior.
HO:
Do you know what happened in the last 72 hours?
SD:
In the last 72 hours in terms of…?
HO:
Politics.
SD:
Um, are you talking about the Clinton E
–
mails?
HO:
Sure, anything about
politics that has come to your attention in the last 72 hours.
SD:
Ok, so in the last, whats today? Tuesday? Ok, so I know last Friday over the weekend more
e
–
mails have been uncovered through Anthony Weiner, the Hillary Clinton Benghazi scandal,
every
thing. It’s a mess. Umm more women came forward last week through Donald Trump’s
sexual assault allegations. Umm there has just been a lot going on.
HO:
Did that affect your…
SD:
It really reinforced what’s already been..um..the dialogue has already
been going on with
the issues. So it didn’t change my opinion. It didn’t influence my vote because I had already had
my opinion made up.
HO:
Do you mind if I ask who you voted for?
SD:
I don’t mind, I voted for Hillary Clinton. I think it was a really momentous occasion for me
just now to be able to cast my vote for a woman. And as a woman it just felt so liberating to
know the glass ceiling is a little bit lower. That maybe one day um t
here will be even more
women in politics. This is just such a
monumental occasion so…
HO:
Could anything have changed your vote? Or how long have you known you were going to
vote for Hillary?
SD:
Um since Bernie Sanders was not the nominee for the D
emocratic party.
HO:
Did you originally support Bernie?
SD:
Absolutely. Yes.
HO:
Ok!
SD:
He has, had a lot of the ideals that I would like to see implemented in politics in the US.
HO:
Do you consider yourself a Democrat?
SD:
Yes, I do. A
very progressive Deomcrat, yeah.
HO:
*Laugh*
SD:
Laughs
–
A very liberal democrat.
HO:
Could anything have changed your mind against voting for Hillary Clinton?
SD:
No, I don’t think so. And unfortunately a lot of this election did feel like it was voting for
the lesser of two evils
HO:
Uh huh
SD:
But ultimately I know where my morals stand and I could never allow myself to…uhhh…
dude extempore speaking is
hard…um I would never allow myself to be put in a position where
I would enable a candidate like Trump to be elected.
HO:
And how did the voting experience go for you today?
SD:
In terms of Logistics or???
HO:
Yeah.
SD:
Same old same old. I’ve
done this a few times so..
HO:
Did they ask you for any forms of ID?
SD:
They did. That was an odd one because I am used to showing my voter registration
certificated.
HO:
Um hum.
SD:
Personally, I am not a fan of the voter ID laws. I feel like
they really do target certain
minority groups and make it a lot more difficult for certain individuals to vote
. So I don’t think
that that’s the way Texas should have gone but ultimately they did.
HO:
This is may be an odd question but how do you ident
ifiy?
SD:
As a person?
HO:
Yeah,
SD:
I’m a Mexican American Woman.
HO:
Is there anything else on the ballot that you voted for today?
SD:
Um, I voted for a lot of the local elections. I like to keep up to date on politics in that
regard. I t
hink it’s really important to be involved in our community and it’s our civic duty to be
aware of what’s going on.
Jason Lotz, 34
Employee, St. Edward’s
HO:
How was the voting process for you today?
JL:
Very simple and very convenient.
HO:
Did
they ask you for an ID?
JL:
Yes.
HO:
Did you have your voter registration with you?
JL:
Yes.
HO:
Did you show them both?
JL:
Yes.
HO:
Were you under the impression that you had to show your ID?
JL:
No, I was aware that I could sign a
piece of paper saying that I didn’t have an ID and that I
could still vote by judicial mandate.
HO:
Is there any particular reason you chose to vote early?
JL:
Because I’m smart.
HO:
Ok! Are you aware of all the political information that has come
out in the last 72 hours?
JL:
About the e
–
mail thing and what not? Yeah.
HO:
And did that have any effect on your vote?
JL:
No.
HO:
Do you mind if I ask who you voted for today?
JL:
Uh, Hillary Rodham Clinton.
HO:
Did that vote have any
special importance to you?
JL:
Well I came here from Louisia
na, and uh, Louisiana is so red that my vote never really felt
like it mattered at all. Like I could go vote…if I voted for Hilary in Louisiana I knew that you
know, so when I moved here a year
ago, I was like ah I’ll be able to vote in the election. And I
feel like my vote would actually count here because Texas is so close to maybe swinging and so
I was like kinda excited about it.
HO:
Wonderful.
JL:
My first time voting in Texas so…
H
O:
Could anything have changed your mind going into this election?
JL:
Probably not. I mean its funny because um, like as an informed voter I knew that I should
vote for Hillary.
HO:
Uh huh?
JL:
But there is always that little part, like I can totally see why people would vote for Trump.
Because theres that little part of you that’s like, “Hell yeah lets make it
intelligible..”
It’s easy to
rile up and its like yeah hes right about some of these
things even though I know he is LYING
completely about so many things. I like its kinda like how Hunter S. Thompson used to tell a big
lie to create a truth.
HO:
Ok?
JL:
It’s almost like he does that kinda
thing where he just tells all these lies but there’s a little
bit of truth in there. There’s just enough that you can grab onto and be like, Yeah, I want
something different, even though he’s not the person to bring something different. *Laughs*
HO: Is
there anything else you voted for today?
JL: I voted the down ballot just straight Democrat. Um I wasn’t honestly uh very
knowledgeable about the representatives and what not. But I did look for the city council
people and I did not vote for the incumb
ent in my district. Mostly because of the uber/lyft
ordinances. The fight that they had in May. I voted against the incumbent
HO: And who is the incumbent?
JL: Lesley Poole.
HO: Lesley Poole?
JL: Yeah.
HO: Um did you vote for proposition on
e?
JL: Yes.