This is the Vermont Cynic’s live updates page for the 2024 general election. Throughout the day, reporters from the Cynic will be covering election-related developments on campus as they happen.
10:45 p.m.
In Harris Hall, YDSA members watched CBS with growing anxiety.
The group distracted themselves from the stress of the election by looking at images on Google of Trump’s old tweets and debating the difference between dinner and supper.
State Senator Tanya Vyhovsky, a Progressive Democrat for the Chittenden-Central District, was supposed to attend YDSA’s watch party, but was too sick to attend.
Back in Wright Hall, the watch party has dwindled.
“I just texted my dad,” a curly-haired brunette shared. “I told him I’m scared. I can’t live in Trump’s America again, it’s too close.”
“I’m so glad I’m a Canadian citizen. I can run away if need be. And Justin Trudeau is hot as fuck,” the curly-haired brunette giggled as her friend agreed.
In the background, CNN discussed the possibility of Trump’s Georgia lead being overturned.
Words became scarce, replaced by disgruntled mumbles as their projections continued.
“My parents are not thrilled. They think Trump’s gonna win,” a brunette boy entered after getting off the phone with his parents.
The room was filled with tired eyes and the mood was solemn.
“I just remember waking up in 2016 and it was gray,” a boy in corduroy pants reminisced.
10:00 p.m.
“Everything sucks right now. Like all the results are bad,” a YDSA co-chair said in reference to local elections.
“Whenever blue people have the majority they don’t do anything with it,” a student with round glasses said during a discussion about the possibility of Republicans gaining the majority in the Senate.
Students in YDSA were glued to the projector, which had switched back to MSNBC. They expressed shock at the idea that parts of Maine could go to Trump.
“You know what’s crazy, I was in elementary school when he first came into office. Now I’m in college, still dealing with him,” the student with round glasses said.
A group of three students discussed what bills Trump would pass if he was elected. “Totally not thinking about the fact that Montreal is a three hour bus ride from here,” a student in a flannel shirt said.
Students continued to huddle around a MacBook in Wright Hall, watching CNN’s election coverage.
“It looks like a petri dish,” a blonde with glasses remarked as a county map of Georgia’s uncounted ballots appeared on the screen.
In reference to Georgia’s tight race, another student said, “It could go blue. It could, but it’ll be close.”
A brunette broke his silence with a lively “whoop” and promptly apologized for the outburst. “This is how I am when I watch football, I make random noises,” he said.
“Why does he look like that?” a curly-haired brunette gestured to a photo of Donald Trump. “She looks so good and he just doesn’t,” she added when Kamala’s photo appeared next to his.
The Brennan’s crowd has dwindled to about 20 students, with the occasional straggler stopping in to check the election coverage.
The members of the UVM Civic Engagement Program begin to pack up their materials as students filter out of Brennan’s. Many comment on the uncertainty of the race and the likelihood of a long, stressful night, as several sources predict that the race will not be called tonight.
Several students have begun to complete their election bingo cards while C-SPAN airs phone calls from those who voted for third-party candidates, questioning what issues drove their votes.
The Associated Press continues to call races in many states, though the polls have not closed, while some students appear increasingly more tense as vote counts continue to pour in.
Incumbent Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders has also been re-elected for his 4th term as a senator after running as an independent, as projected by the AP.
9:15 p.m.
As the dinner rush subsides at Brennan’s, the atmosphere has become calmer. Roughly half of the tables are full, and approximately 30 people are in attendance.
Jamal’s Chicken played MGMT’s “Time to Pretend” over the speakers, while C-SPAN aired a live phone call from a Trump supporter endorsing Project 2025.
Scattered cheers arose when C-SPAN called Illinois and Delaware for Harris.
The more attentive attendees were frequently checking other sources for electoral news and updates, with many screens displaying blue and red state maps.
In the Lawrence Debate Union room, students enjoyed chips and kept track of their counties. “Congrats: Bernie Sanders, Phil Scott,” read a white board on the wall.
“My county turned red,” said a concerned debate member, “And it’s Rhode Island.”
Students made plans to purchase more alcohol for later and work on homework.
“You know what I thought in 2016?” said an LDU member, “‘Roblox, haha.’ Now in 2024, I think ‘Kamala Roblox, haha.’”
In a dark dorm room in Wright Hall, a small crowd intently watched CNN coverage of the election. The laptop playing the program precariously balances atop stacks of books.
“I slept through this part in 2020 so it was a lot less stressful.” said a first-year fidgeting with the cuffs of brown corduroys.
The group simultaneously cringed as Harris’ North Carolina lead narrowed and then slipped away.
“Who’s voting for that idiot?” one of the viewers rolled his eyes and his peers murmured agreements.
“I knew I had to wear my patriotic socks. I had to,” said a blonde student with glasses.
The screen switches and the same woman eagerly proclaimed, “That’s me!” when her home county of Washtenaw, Mich. is illuminated blue.
One of the students copes with the election anxiety through humor. She laid out her collection of Sonny Angel dolls, sharing their names and speculating on their political ideologies.
“Pope Innocent the Third did vote for RFK,” she shared, shaking her head disappointedly while clutching the scantily clad figure.
One student lamented that Florida’s amendment proposal to legalize recreational weed fails.
Despite his peers’ humorous quips, an anxious brunette sat close to the computer, silently observing.
“Any sense of humor I have disappears on election night,” he said.
In Harris Hall, YDSA briefly switched to watching Fox News. One of the co-chairs said he wonders why Fox News is only showing people voting at the polls.
A YDSA co-chair said she thinks local and municipal politics are more important.
“He has 666,600 votes right now,” a student said and people sitting around them chuckled.
Students described how they thought there would be a shift in North Carolina politics after the hurricane, but unfortunately Trump is still leading there, according to MSNBC.
A co-chair of YDSA expressed disappointment in the Vermont legislature race, saying that it isn’t looking good for Democrats. They switched to watching the election results for Vermont representatives.
“Why did Williston vote no on a parking lot?” a YDSA co-chair asked as they watched analysis of local elections coming in. A student in a floral shirt laughed at the comment and the screen displaying the parking lot that was voted down.
8:30 p.m.
A large majority of the tables in Brennan’s Pub are occupied.
Two students appeared to scan the room for empty seats with their Halal Shack bowls, but decided to leave.
“I think we should make every candidate do like an American Ninja Warrior type thing and if they don’t make it they die,” a man in a black sweatshirt said to his friends at a table in the front of the room.
The group swapped commentary on the electoral process and the candidates, occasionally meandering into other unrelated topics.
“I wanna see what’s gonna happen to inflation and the housing market,” one of them in a black hoodie said.
On the first floor of Old Mill, about 10 members of the Lawrence Debate Union circled around a table, quietly watching NBC’s election coverage.
One student, earbuds in, was instead listening to The Cure’s new album, she said.
“We are calling the election off of 2,000 people,” a LDU member joked.
They wondered whether Steve Kornacki spends every other day of his life memorizing every U.S. county, they said. Students continued to stream into the room over time, some leaving for cigarette breaks.
The UVM Wellness Environment is hosting a non-watch party event in the lobby of Central Campus Residence Hall.
“I came down to take a break from the news cycle by meeting up with some friends. I also liked that food was offered,” said a woman with brown curly hair and pink headphones.
The event provided soda, pizza and various group video games.
“We decided to run this event because we noticed a lot of the events are centered around watching the election coverage which comes with a lot of dread […] so we decided to put on the opposite of that,” said the host. “This event has zero coverage in the room to provide a great distraction filled with pizza and fun.”
Young Democratic Socialists of America is hosting a watch party which began around 8:02 p.m., following their general member meeting. There are about 10 students scattered around the room watching MSNBC.
A student in a flannel shirt voiced their dissatisfaction when the screen showed a projected win for Trump in Georgia.
“Massachusetts is a real toss-up,” a student joked.
A student mistook the vote count in Dallas for the entirety of Texas and shouted, “Blue Texas!”
One of the co-chairs said that they got the idea to do a watch party after Vermont Public reached out and asked them if they were hosting a watch party.
A student in a beanie played election bingo on their iPad.
“I find a lot of solace in the fact that I’m a New Yorker, so my vote doesn’t count,” a student in a leather jacket said.
Trump is the projected winner in Alabama, according to MSNBC. A student sarcastically yelled, “Dammit!”
A student in YDSA opened new tabs on the projector to Fox News live and The Onion live.
8 p.m. saw the closing of polls in Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Illinois, Missouri, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Alabama, Mississippi and Florida.
West Virginia, Florida were called for Trump as the winner, according to C-PSPAN.
7:30 p.m.
The line for Halal Shack and Jamal’s Chicken runs into the Davis Center tunnel as students settle into Brennan’s Pub with their dinners and UVM Civic Engagement sets up their presidential election watch party on the projector.
Civic Engagement is showing C-SPAN’s 17-hour live coverage of the election results.
A group of students said they are both in Brennan’s Pub for dinner as well as to watch the election coverage. About a third of heads are turned toward the screen and most students are in groups of two to four.
A few students clap when Harris’ win in Vermont is announced. The current crowd is around 50 people. A student in a purple sweater tries to take a photo of Harris’s win in Vermont but misses the screen and laughs.
Two students take a posed photo in Civic Engagement’s Election Day frame cutout in front of the live coverage on the stage.
Trump is projected to take Indiana, Kentucky while Harris is projected to take Vermont, according to CSPAN.
4 p.m.
“I have terrible news,” said junior Kate Lightle, sitting on the Howe Library steps. “I accidentally signed up for the ‘blind/mentally disabled’ ballot for an absentee ballot for my state, but I didn’t find out until today. I don’t want to register in Vermont, just a little disappointed that I don’t personally get to vote.”
Lightle said she intended to vote in Connecticut, a non-swing state, so she’s not worried about the electoral outcome.
Her friend Aaron Yue, a junior, didn’t cast a vote either.
“If there’s stuff that I haven’t done any of my own research on, then I feel like I shouldn’t vote because if I’m going to vote for something, it should be for something that I really stand for,” he said.
Although he didn’t vote in the election, he still plans on watching tonight’s news coverage.
“We’re probably going to go to a bar or something and watch it on the TV,” he said. “Some of my buddies have parlays on it.”
Sitting next to them, junior Peter Nicholson did cast his vote, citing the environment as one of his major concerns.
“I was keeping up with the climate policies when Trump was in office and I didn’t really mess with a lot of the stuff that was going on,” he said. “Just because of that alone, I’m voting for Kamala. I know a lot of people have other reasons that matter a lot more to [them].”
Junior Claire Jenkins, who lives in Michigan, also is concerned with climate policy.
“I’m an environmental studies major and Trump’s climate policies are, like, non-existent, so I think that’s something that really drove me to vote,” she said.
Jenkins will be phone banking for Run on Climate later in the day, but said she will not be utilizing any University resources.
Sophomores Maria Schafer and Olivia Larow were walking towards the Davis Center after voting.
They were wearing Vermont “I voted” stickers, with a drawing of the state surrounded by trees and stripes of the American flag.
“Women’s rights are important to me for the presidential part of it,” Schafer said. “Women’s rights and then the environment, which is something that I care a lot about as well.”
Junior Campbell McClellan, a middle-level education major, is concerned about the fate of this election on her future career.
Trump has claimed he will eliminate the Department of Education, and give the money spent on the department directly to parents, according to The New York Times.
“Right now I’m feeling terrified. I don’t know […] it’s scary. It’s going to be a big change for the country either way it goes and as an education major, I think there is only one choice that is going to help my future career and my future students,” McClellan said.
She attended her first class, but skipped her second class due to stress.
McClellan said her professor, Kathleen Brinegar, a senior lecturer of middle-level education, addressed Election Day nerves at the beginning of class.
“Right away she held space for it and sent out a lot of resources on campus for election stress,” she said.
McClellan said she plans to spend the rest of the day making cupcakes and watching the news, and she advises other stressed students to rest as well.
“Just go out and vote,” she said. “Do your part, and make time for yourself today.”
3 p.m.
Abby Stevens, a junior political science major, was having a discussion in the halls of the fifth floor of Old Mill, home of her major’s department.
Stevens is taking a seminar called “The Struggle for Democracy” and sees parallels between the class content and the 2024 presidential election.
“This election is very closely tied in with what I’m covering in that class right now,” she said. “Especially in regards to when countries do experience democratic backsliding, and the implications for the state of our democracy following this election.”
Stevens said it’s important to understand the intricacies of the American electoral system.
“We can expect that there’s going to be a very, very long series of challenges to the results of this election,” she said.
Jonathan “Doc” Bradley, a lecturer in UVM’s political science department, said he feels very stressed as a citizen, but is not stressed in his capacity as a political science lecturer, as he’s not having students talk about the election today in class.
“I think there’s a general sense of anxiety,” he said. “The race is too close for some students’ comfort.”
Bradley, who held discussions on the election with all of his classes prior to the election, said he thinks that there is much apprehension among students, no matter what candidate they support.
“There’s a sense of some students not feeling like they can speak their mind, who may be more supportive of the Republican candidate and just don’t feel that they can speak it here,” he said.
2 p.m.
The UVM chapter of Young Democratic Socialists of America is tabling in the Davis Center today to pass out fliers and promote issues on campus, said sophomore and member Samuel Wentzell.
YDSA Co-Chair Trey Cook, a senior, said he is dissatisfied with both presidential candidates’ stances on the Israel-Palestine conflict, an issue he said is very important to him.
YDSA is hosting an election night watch party in Harris Hall 115 after their 7 p.m. general meeting. State Sen. Tanya Vyhovsky (P/D-Chittenden Central), will be in attendance at the watch party, said Cook.
UVM’s Civic Engagement Program is tabling in the Davis Center from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. with celebratory items such as a “UVM Civic Engagement Election Day” picture frame and “I voted” stickers.
Aimee Alexander, assistant director for Civic Engagement, said they wanted to give students who mostly vote by mail the in-person voting experience of receiving an “I voted” sticker.
“We are celebrating the election,” Alexander said. “So many students are voting for the very first time, or at least in their first presidential election, so that’s exciting.”
Senior Bee Wilson, Civic Engagement’s social media marketing assistant, has been working with the program for three years, even coming in two months before fall semester to start work for this election.
“There’s a big consensus of people who have just kind of lost faith in the system,” he said. “[Students] wish they felt more confident about candidates. Because this is such a close election, so we won’t know for a while, there’s a lot of restless energy.”
Civic Engagement can also help students get involved between national elections.
“In previous years, Town Meeting Day is always a big push,” Wilson said. “That’s more about educating students on what they’re voting for. A lot of them are living in a new area and aren’t as versed in local politics, they just don’t know how to research those issues, especially in a bipartisan way.”
Wilson emphasizes the importance of ballot workers and local county offices.
“Your biggest supporters are going to be people who are doing the voting work,” he said. “The language is outdated and can be scary, these people are paid to show up every day to help you vote and get your ballot in.”
12 p.m.
UVM Program Board is hosting an Election Chill Zone in the Spruce Room on the 4th floor of the Davis Center, said Ella Prast, a senior UPB production member.
The Chill Zone aims to create an atmosphere free from election-related stress with snacks, puzzles, Play-Doh and mellow music, Prast said.
“I personally decided to work this entire shift today because I didn’t want to talk to people about election stuff,” Prast said. “It’s all a bit too much, and so I would rather just sit here and chill and make a nice chill vibe.”
The Chill Zone is open until 4 p.m. today and will be open for the rest of the week, Prast said.
Ella Leding, a first-year from Maine, said she plans to attend the cookie baking event hosted by the WAGE center for stress relief at noon.
“I’m probably the most concerned about women’s rights and education,” Leding said.
Senior Leo Rabinovich, who was smoking a cigarette on the steps of Howe Library, said abortion is a main issue he is voting on.
“I don’t know how it’s going to go. I’m nervous,” Rabinovich said. “I think that this impacts certain demographics of people significantly more than it impacts me.”
Sophie Miller-Grande, a senior who was interviewed as she was leaving her 8:30 a.m. class in Lafayette Hall, said she was blocking out the election.
“I feel like there’s been this eternal campaigning cycle for the past four years, and I’m kind of done with it,” she said.
Miller-Grande, a Wisconsin resident, said she submitted her absentee ballot in mid-October.
“Now that the actual day has come, I’m feeling a lot of anticipation towards the results,” she said. “I also might just have a glass of wine tonight, get in bed and just wake up tomorrow and see what happens.”
November 5, 10:00 a.m.
The Davis Center was empty earlier this morning, save for the few students with 8:30 a.m. classes passing through. In the Rosa Parks’ room, however, junior Avery Hamill, UVM Students Demand Action president, is phone banking for gun violence prevention.
Students Demand Action, a national organization of young people campaigning to end gun violence, is phone banking in swing states today, Hamill said. The organization is advocating for candidates who it deems “gun sense candidates” at both the state and national levels.
“We have an all-day plan,” they said. “We also have people down at the polls trying to do voter turnout in swing states and vote tripling at the polls.”
SDA will be phone banking until 6:45 p.m., Hamill said.
“I think it’s going to be a tight election,” they said. “If you want the flashy part, you’ve got to do the ugly phone banking.”
Polls across the country begin closing at 6 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, the last of them closing around 1 a.m.
“We think Vermont needs a kick up the ass in terms of being politically active,” Hamill said. “We like to say we are, but students and people don’t want to turn up to do the actual hard work it takes to get somebody elected.”
There are 261 polling locations in Vermont, according to the Vermont Secretary of State.
Hamill, a Pennsylvania resident, said they voted in October and that the process was difficult.
“The Republicans made it super difficult to vote by mail, vote in general,” they said with a laugh.
Tracking your mail-in ballot varies by state: find your state information with this ballot tracker.
Editor’s note: This article was updated at 3:33 p.m. to include additional information regarding the candidates SDA is advocating for.
The following contributed to this staff report:
Sophia Balunek, Editor-in-Chief
Maxine Thornton, Managing Editor
Zoe Bertsch, Copy Chief
Noah Diedrich, News Editor
Addy Budliger, Cynic News Reporter
Jacklyn Giles, Cynic News Reporter
Andrew Gould, Cynic News Reporter
Tallulah Lintern, Cynic News Reporter
Jessie Pennington, Cynic News Reporter
Erika Tally, Cynic Culture Staff
Maya Surrenti, Cynic Culture Staff
Larissa Scaffidi, Copy Staff
Hannah Daneau, Copy Staff
Alex Strand, Photo Editor
