Election Day was this Tuesday, Nov 5. Hundreds of students lined up in RPCC to vote, while thousands of residents voted throughout the county.
THE RUN UP
POLITICAL TOWN | Ithaca has voted democratic in every election since 2000. Campaign signs decorated the lawns and windows of many houses in downtown Ithaca. (Nathan Ellison/Sun Staff Photographer)
TRIPHAMMER EXIT | Signs in support of Democratic candidates were planted in the grass next to the Triphammer Rd exit ramp on Route 13. (Stephan Menasche/Sun Staff Photographer)
VOTER REGISTRATION | In the weeks leading up to Election Day, Cornell Votes and other organizations around campus tabled to encourage students to register before the Oct. 26 deadline. (Ming DeMers/Sun Photography Editor)
SHAPIRO | On Oct. 28, Ben Shapiro spoke to a sold-out Bailey Hall. Shapiro made the case for voting for Trump, which began with what he saw as the stakes of the 2024 election — “the preservation of institutions.” (Ming DeMers/Sun Photography Editor)
EARLY VOTING | Early Voting was available in Tompkins County from Oct. 26 to Nov. 3 at the Town Hall and Airport. (Nathan Ellison/Sun Staff)
MAIL-IN BALLOT | In addition to voting in-person, many students casted absentee ballots in their home states before the election. (Rachel Eisenhart/Sun Staff Photographer)
POLL WORKER | Poll workers helped to run voting smoothly in Tompkins County. A poll worker prepares “I voted” stickers at Town Hall on Nov. 3. (Nathan Ellison/Sun Staff Photographer)
EARLY STUDENTS | Many students changed their voter registration to Tompkins County. Tompkins County is part of NY-19, which saw over $35 million in political spending and attracted national attention as both parties fought for control over the House. (Rachel Eisenhart/Sun Staff Photographer)
GET OUT THE VOTE | On Nov 1, New York State Democrats held a “get out the vote” rally, encouraging constituents to vote in one of the most competitive races for the House of Representatives. (Stephan Menasche/Sun Staff Photographer)
JEFFRIES | Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) made an appearance. “We’ve got to always be prepared to fight and defend our democracy,” Jeffries said. (Stephan Menasche/Sun Staff Photographer)
ELECTION DAY
VOTE! | As early as 5 a.m., students were out on Ho Plaza, chalking, placing signs and reminding students to vote. JT Yin ’26, Kaitlin Ganshaw ’25, Lena Cengotitabengoa ’25, and Jacobi Kandel ’25 remind students walking to class Tuesday morning. (Ming DeMers/Sun Photography Editor)
VOTE CHALK | Chalk on the ground told people that voting and abortion rights, among others, were on the ballot. (Ming DeMers/Sun Photography Editor)
VOTE SIGNS | College Democrats for New York planted signs all over campus, including the Arts Quad. (Ming DeMers/Sun Photography Editor)
JUST VOTE | Other posters and signs to vote were placed inside buildings, including Temple of Zeus in Klarman Hall. (Sophia Romanov Imber/Sun Staff Photographer)
RPCC | Robert Purcell Community Center was the sole on-campus voting location. (Ming DeMers/Sun Photography Editor)
THE ROOM WHERE IT HAPPENS | Inside the RPCC voting location, about eight people could vote at a time. 20 more waited in line or completed affidavits to vote. (Ming DeMers/Sun Photography Editor)
BALLOT | Students were instructed by workers to fill in the bubble next to the candidate for which they wished to vote. (Ming DeMers/Sun Photography Editor)
KIOSKS | Students completed their ballots in yellow kiosks. (Ming DeMers/Sun Photography Editor)
INSERT BALLOT | Once finished with their ballot, students inserted their ballot into a voting machine, where the machine would accept or reject the ballot. (Ming DeMers/Sun Photography Editor)
I VOTED | “I voted” stickers were handed out to voters as they left the voting room. (Ming DeMers/Sun Photography Editor)
STICKERS | Outside RPCC, Cornell Votes set up a table where students could draw their own stickers and take photos at a photo booth.
AT CAPACITY | Around 5 p.m., RPCC was packed with students waiting in line to vote. A long line led into a full auditorium, where students had to wait up to an hour to vote. (Sophia Romanov Imber/Sun Staff Photographer)
DEMS WATCH PARTY | Approximately 200 students over time attended a watch party hosted by Cornell Democrats and Cornell Students for Harris later in the evening. The event had live news coverage on a projector, catered food, stickers and pins. When competitive election results were announced, students cheered for Democratic wins and booed for Republicans.
ONLINE | Students juggled between watching the election, schoolwork and following the news and friends’s thoughts on social media.
“Half of us are here doing homework while watching the election. … I think it’s a very different atmosphere than what you would normally get outside of a university setting,” said Eliana Eats ’26, an attendee of the Hillel watch party. “The existential crisis of college students mixed with the existential crisis of American citizens.”
SWING STATE STRESS | As results came in from various states, a sense of worry set in among many students. Josephine DeBellis ’28 was one such attendee. “A lot of people are on edge because we’re all quite vulnerable in this situation politically, and no one wanted it to come to this point where the election is this close and decisive,” DeBellis said. “There’s just a lot of liberties and freedoms for people that are more marginalized that are at risk under the current political climate.”
BSU WATCH PARTY | Black Students United also hosted an election night watch party, at Ujamaa Residential College starting at 9 p.m. Around 65 students attended. (Stephan Menasche/Sun Staff Photographer)
VIEIRA’S VOTE | Seth Vieira ’26 (left), BSU political action co-chair, also emphasized the importance of community, noting that now more than ever, people must come together. “I feel like this election is one of the more consequential when it comes to the Black experience,” he said. (Stephan Menasche/Sun Staff Photographer)
MIDNIGHT HOUR | By midnight, the watch parties dwindled as tired students went to bed. At 5:34 a.m. the Associated Press declared Donald Trump as president elect. (Stephan Menasche/Sun Staff Photographer)
Additional watch parties were held by Cornell Republicans and Cornell Hillel, as well as on West Campus in Hans Bethe House and Carl Becker House, and on North Campus in the Appel Multipurpose Room. Sun Photographers were either unable to attend or blocked from photographing these other watch parties.
Sunbursts is the Photography Department’s weekly photo gallery varying in content from recent happenings. It is written in collaboration by the Photography Editor and Assistant Photography Editors. They can be reached at [email protected]