FSU and FAMU Students React to 2024 General Election and Amendment Failure

On election night, ballots were being counted. Florida State University Senior Owen Girard attended an off-campus party where local, state and presidential elections were broadcast on multiple televisions.

For Girard, President-elect Donald Trump declared winner in race against vice president Kamala Harris It was music to his ears as he and other Conservative students celebrated victories at the ballot box.

He was pleased to see it too Amendment 3 about recreational marijuana and Amendment 4 on abortion access — the two amendments causing the most concern among college-age students — both failed to pass muster in the state.

“We are very pleased that the pro-life position was supported by the state of Florida after the amendment failed,” said Girard, who is also vice president of the FSU chapter of the College Republicans. He is also the chairman of the organization US turning point at FSU, a nonprofit organization that advocates for conservative politics on high school and college campuses.

“Recognizing that abortion is an extremely pressing issue on college campuses, we recognize the need to continue to have conversations and discuss this topic respectfully while upholding our pro-life values,” he added.

Amendment 3 would have made recreational marijuana legal for adult use, and it received 55.9% of the vote in favor, although it fell short of the 60% supermajority threshold required for passage.

Likewise, abortion access through Amendment 4, which would have enshrined Floridians’ right to an abortion, also failed as it received 57.1% of the vote and fell short of the required threshold. But that’s still the majority of Floridians.

While students like Girard celebrated the results, FSU and Florida A&M University campuses are filled with other student voters who supported the controversial amendments and are dissatisfied with the results.

FAMU student Jasmine Engel, a Milwaukee, Wisconsin native, expressed her frustration as she tracked the results of the amendments in her room on campus. She says she was unaware of the 60% requirement.

“It was so close to passing because we got a majority vote on it,” Engel, 19, said, referring to Amendment 4. “It was just very disappointing, and it was sad to read stories about women who died. due to health problems due to the inability to obtain a legal abortion.”

She says that after this election, it feels like “a lot of people have lost hope.”

“But we just have to keep fighting,” Engel said. “Even though Florida is a very Republican state, we need to educate more people about these types of amendments.”

Engel was among the majority of FAMU community members who voted as registered Democrats at the university polling place.

According to FAMU’s Efferson Student Union, 95% of voters were Democrats who voted for Harris and 3% were Republicans who voted for Trump on Election Day, according to Leon County Election Supervisor. Additionally, about 90% of voters supported Amendment 3 and about 93% supported Amendment 4.

Additionally, the FSU student union building was one of the county’s polling places where about 64% of Democrats voted for Harris on Election Day and about 33% voted for Trump. Amendment 3 received the support of 79.17% of voters in the precinct, and 79.5% supported Amendment 4.

“Turnout was significantly higher than what we’ve seen in past elections,” Leon County Elections Director Mark Earley said, referring to college campuses.

During both early voting and Election Day this year, a total of 13,784 people voted on FSU’s campus and 3,044 at FAMU. In 2020, 11,084 people voted in FSU, and 2,447 people voted on the FAMU website.

Following the election and Trump’s triumph, where he defeated Harris with at least the 270 electoral votes needed to win, the FSU branch of the Republican Party published a statement Wednesday to congratulate Trump on his “landslide victory in the White House.”

“We are pleased to see President Trump bringing peace abroad, renewing the economy for the working class, and creating a safe environment for everyone,” the post said.

The Student Democrats chapters on the FSU and FAMU campuses have not issued any public statements of their support for Harris, and the FAMU Student Republicans chapter has been inactive for the past six years.

Contrary to what the FSU College Republicans chapter said, FSU freshman Lucas Houston — a political science major voting for the first time in this year’s election cycle — was not thrilled with either the results of the presidential election or the amendments.

The Hernando, Miss., native typically has a busy schedule on Tuesdays, but says he still kept a close eye on the election that night.

“I’m very left-leaning in my ideologies, so I voted for Kamala,” Houston, 18, said. “I’m not really upset about it, but I’m upset because I have trans friends and female friends. and many of Trump’s policies target these minorities.”

“I’m a little scared about it, but it’s nothing I can control,” he added. “As a Christian, I just rely on God.”

He also says the results of the amendments on recreational marijuana and abortion access were “crazy” and the 60% rule was “garbage.”

“I did the best I could by voting,” Houston said, “and I’m looking forward to the next election by the time I get ready to graduate.”

Contact Tara Jean at [email protected] or follow her on X: @tarahjean_.