Election Day 2012

After months of political campaigning, fiery debates and endless TV commercials, voters head to the polls today to determine America’s next president—Democratic incumbent Barack Obama or Republican challenger Mitt Romney.

Northeastern will hold an election watch party tonight from 7 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. at afterHOURS in the Curry Student Center, featuring free food, free t-shirts to the first 100 attendees, and live calling of local and national elections.

William Crotty, the Thomas P. O’Neill Chair in Public Life and a political science professor, said he’s been encouraged by the commitment of his students who have been volunteering on political campaigns.

“They have an intensity of commitment and a belief in the system that bodes well for the nation’s future,” he said.

As for the Tuesday’s presidential election, Crotty said neither Obama nor Romney laid out comprehensive plans for the economy and other important issues throughout the campaign. From a voter turnout perspective, he said,”The success of the Democrats at the congressional and presidential levels will determine the Democratic Party’s success. This is one constant in every election, that Republicans turn out and Democrats may or may not depending on their expectations and the appeal of the candidates.”

For more about the election, NUVotes 2012, the result of a collaboration between student organizations and university offices, is a hub for information and activities on campus.

University Libraries also recently featured a blog post about the scholarly election resources available to the Northeastern community.

Leading up to Election Day, News@Northeastern provided numerous news stories and Q&As with Northeastern faculty about issues surrounding the presidential election, as well as the U.S. Senate race in Massachusetts. Here are some coverage highlights:

Will the first presidential debate tip the election scales?
Nov. 5
According to a trio of Northeastern experts in media and politics, the performances in the first presidential debate may seal the political fate of Gov. Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama on Tuesday.

3Qs: Sandy’s impact on the election
Nov. 2
Michael Dukakis, Distinguished Professor of Political Science, discusses what the devastating hurricane might mean for the presidential race—and how the Electoral College factors into the equation.

Co-op hits the campaign trail
Oct. 31
Two political science students are campaigning on behalf of Massachusetts U.S. Senate candidates Scott Brown and Elizabeth Warren.

Money and memes in politics
Oct. 26
An interdisciplinary team of Northeastern researchers is probing media output, political campaign language and financial data to reveal the invisible networks of language and money in the presidential election.

3Qs: Town hall added drama to high-stakes debate
Oct. 17
Robert E. Gilbert, the Edward W. Brooke Professor of Political Science, analyzes the Oct. 16 debate, calling it “one of the most dramatic and lively TV debates between presidential candidates in the 50 years we’ve had such encounters.”

3Qs: Who won the first debate?
Oct. 4
Alan Schroeder, a professor in the School of Journalism and one of the nation’s foremost experts on presidential debates, offers an analysis of the first of three matchups between President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney.