A poll of ISU students’ stances on the presidential election shows more support for Democratic candidate Al Gore than Republican candidate George W. Bush, which mirrors national trends one day before the election.

According to an Iowa State Daily poll of 307 ISU students, 41.5 percent favored Gore while Bush snagged almost 37 percent of the support. Ralph Nader, who is running on the Green Party ticket, received 5.5 percent support and Libertarian candidate Harry Browne garnered less than 1 percent.

The poll, which was conducted by Daily newsroom staff via telephone, showed Gore with 97 votes, Bush with 86, Nader with 13 and Browne with one vote. Undecided voters made up 8.5 percent of the votes, and 7 percent of the voters chose not to disclose their votes.

Of the 307 students polled, 234 students said they plan to vote or already have voted by satellite or absentee ballot, which was 76 percent of those polled. The remaining 24 percent said they will not vote.

Kristen Greiner, freshman in pre-journalism and mass communication, said it is important for students to vote, because “it determines the future of our country.”

Even though she plans to vote Tuesday, she said she is having trouble selecting a candidate she would like to see in office.

“It’s hard — nobody’s really qualified,” she said. “I have a lot of thinking to do before I make a decision like that.”

However, Greiner said she has narrowed her choices to exclude Texas Gov. Bush, because he is an advocate of the death penalty, and he has “killed more people a year in Texas than cancer.”

Brent Schrader, junior in civil engineering, said he voted by absentee ballot so he could have a say in the local elections in his hometown of Mt. Pleasant. He said he supports the death penalty and agrees with many of the stances Bush has taken.

While he agrees it is important for students to vote, Schrader said he does not think the candidates have done an adequate job of reaching out to students.

Meredith Nelson, freshman in civil engineering, said she identifies more closely with Vice President Gore’s views.

“I agree more with Gore’s support of education,” she said. “I guess I just like his stand on the issues better. I don’t feel like Bush has made his stance on the issues very well.”

Greg Schrad, junior in chemical engineering, said he does not plan to vote in the election because neither of the mainstream candidates have caught his eye.

“For some reason, there’s just something about the race this year that’s just not appealing to me at all,” he said. “The only ones I’ve actually heard their opinions on have been Gore and Bush, and to tell you the truth, I just really don’t like either one. I wish more of the other candidates would have had their opinions out more. I don’t know how they would have done it, but I wish it were more easily accessible.”

Nelson said she would encourage students to cast their ballots for president because “if they want to have a voice, they should go vote.”