Blue mock-satin curtains protected the privacy of student voters who cast their ballots in computerized, transportable voting booths in David Rittenhouse Laboratories yesterday.
A slow but steady stream of students made their way to DRL to support their preferred gubernatorial candidate and vote for several state and local positions.
Many said they had voted for Democratic candidate Ed Rendell, who went into the day as the odds-on favorite.
"I'm a big fan of what he did for Philadelphia... I'm interested in seeing what a big city mayor can do as governor of a state," College junior Evan Smith said, adding that he had also volunteered for Rendell's campaign.
Many students said they used Rendell's track record in Philadelphia -- he served as mayor from 1991 to 1999 -- as a major factor in their decision, although not all students said they supported what Rendell had done for the city.
"I'm a Republican, and from what I heard, Rendell was mayor of Philadelphia for a long time and the city was still in a bad situation," Wharton senior Adam Groveman said, citing the need for a crackdown on crime and improvement in the Philadelphia School System. "If he can't run the city of Philadelphia, how can he run Pennsylvania?"
Yet, others said they found Rendell's education reputation attractive.
Alissa Weiss, a College freshman, said Rendell's "commitment to working on education is really important to me."
Another handful had chosen Rendell because of his economic policies.
"He is going to basically do what he did for Philadelphia for Pennsylvania," said Penn staffer James Zale. "He's not afraid to take a risk. The main issue is economic development, and Pennsylvania would stay in a lower tier if we kept on doing the same old thing."
Wharton junior Zack Michaelson echoed that sentiment.
"I really like what [Rendell] did as mayor of Philadelphia," he said. "I think in terms of the tax policy and revitalizing the budget that he really showed that he understands the fiscal policy necessary for development."
While students said they cared about the issues, many also said their priority was to support their party of choice.
Rama Pratiwadi, an Engineering junior, said he voted for all Democrats because he wanted to "support the party platform."
College junior Peter Veldman also cited his overall political outlook as a reason for choosing Republican candidate Mike Fisher, saying Rendell didn't fit his idea of the perfect governor.
"Rendell's just a little too liberal for me, and I'm pro-life as well," Veldman said.
He also had a party-oriented reason for voting in Pennsylvania and not voting by absentee ballot.
"I switched so I could vote in Philadelphia," Veldman said, though he added that he slightly regrets that decision for this election because of a close race at home. "I'm from Indiana, and this is more of a swing state."
Other students said they registered to vote in Pennsylvania when they arrived at Penn because they would be living here for four years.
"When I came to school, I figured I was a resident of Philadelphia now," said Michaelson, originally from St. Louis. "If a student is spending an extended period in another area, they have a real vested interest in being an educated and outspoken consumer of public services in that area," he added in an e-mail.
