By Joshua Flake
A majority of BYU students will be voting for Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., next Tuesday, according to a convenience sample poll conducted by The Daily Universe.
Of students who said they would vote, 70 percent said they would vote for McCain, 10 percent would vote for Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., and about 20 percent said they were still undecided. Of all the students surveyed, nearly 18 percent said they wouldn”t be voting.
Zach Haag, a freshman from Bountiful, said he wasn”t going to vote because he didn”t like either of the candidates.
“McCain”s not as bad as Obama,” said Blake Boardman, a junior from Sandy. “Some of Obama”s policies are socialist.”
Boardman said the Obama tax plan was something he didn”t like.
“The issue I”m most concerned with now,” Boardman said, “is how we”re moving away from a free market and towards big government. Obama moves in that direction.”
But some students had other things to say about the senator from Illinois.
“His campaign is all about change,” said Kimberly Webb, a sophomore from Aurora, Colo. “I love that; I respect that. … If more students would vote, Obama probably would win.”
Webb said she would still vote for McCain if she could, but that she won”t be able to vote because of difficulties registering and obtaining an absentee ballot when her parents recently moved.
She said McCain”s vice presidential pick, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, wasn”t the most qualified but that she helped McCain seem more alive.
Marnie Conklin, a senior from Provo, said she was voting for Obama because he represents more of what she wants.
“I”m concerned about finding a job when I finish school,” Conklin said. “He”s more concerned with education.”
Cristina Montana, a sophomore from Caracas, Venezuela, said she doesn”t like either of the candidates but that Obama would be better for her country.
“My president doesn”t like the United States,” Montana said. “I think relations would improve with Obama.”
While most students didn”t have positive things to say about either of the candidates, most settled behind McCain.
“I think McCain”s the lesser of two evils,” said Jamie Wheeler, a freshman from Bountiful.
Wheeler, and many other students surveyed, said he would have preferred to vote for Romney.
“I liked Mitt Romney,” Wheeler said, “not just because he was Mormon, but because he could help the economy. That”s what we need right now.”
Students who are still undecided said they would be studying the issues more during the next week.
“I”m curious about health care,” said Lee Babbel, a junior from American Fork. “I”m going to medical school, and I”m interested in keeping the government out.”
Babbel said he would be researching the candidates” positions more closely and make his decision.
This convenience sample was taken by Daily Universe reporters Monday afternoon, which included 212 BYU students randomly surveyed at 31 locations across campus.
