As the uncertainty surrounding Tuesday’s presidential election keeps the nation in suspense about President Bill Clinton’s successor as the country’s top executive, ISU students are becoming aware of the power of one vote.

The outcome of the election hinges on a recount of Florida ballots, as the state’s 25 pivotal electoral votes will decide between Democratic candidate Al Gore and Republican candidate George W. Bush for the next president.

With polls across the country closed for more than 24 hours, Gore and Bush were in a deadlock with 260 and 246 electoral votes, respectively. In Florida, Bush held onto a slight lead with 19 of the 67 counties reporting in the recount, as less than 1,750 votes separated the two mainstream candidates, according to CNN.com.

“I think this is a historic moment that, ironically, we’re all pretty fortunate to have lived through,” said Andy Tofilon, junior in journalism and mass communication. “I think this will revive the enthusiasm and place of politics in the United States.”

The too-close-for-comfort election returns convinced some ISU students to leave the comfort of their dorm rooms to cast their votes in hopes of tipping the scales in the election.

“I was kind of busy, and it was pretty cold out. But when I saw it was so close, I decided that I better make time to vote, so I booked it out there,” said Andy Muff, sophomore in management information systems. “Anybody who didn’t vote, I guess they can’t [complain] about the president for the next four years.”

Debbie Kattenhorn, president of ISU Democrats and Students for Gore, monitored the election from an Embassy Suite ballroom in Des Moines in the company of some of the state’s top Democratic officials, including Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, Lt. Gov. Sally Pederson and Secretary of State Chet Culver.

“We were really excited last night — it was a great experience,” said Kattenhorn, senior in political science. “The students were very important in this election. I would love to talk to students who did not vote and see what they’re thinking now and if they regret [not voting]. They tend to be the first group to say their vote doesn’t matter, and obviously, that’s not true.”

Some ISU students put studying and sleeping on hold, staying up all night into early Wednesday morning to see the progress of the vote-tallies.

“I had CNN.com going all night long, and I was watching CNN on TV,” said Andy Collmann, freshman in management information systems. “I finally hit the sack around 5:30, when I figured they weren’t going to announce a winner.”

Collmann, a Bush supporter, said the air-tight race may make voters realize the importance of every vote.

“I’m glad it was a close election,” he said. “Maybe now the people with a ‘don’t care’ mentality will realize their vote counts for something.”

However, other students said it will take much more than a close election to increase voter turnout.

“I think there will be just as much apathy in the next election, unless there is a stronger challenging candidate,” said Aaron Fahrenkrog, sophomore in chemical engineering.

Tofilon said voters were not motivated enough by the candidates to significantly increase turnout. “I don’t think it boosted turnout any higher, because there was not a really amazing candidate,” he said.

The initial vote counts that still are under scrutiny in Florida raised questions among some ISU students about the voting process in the United States.

“There are just so many components to this; it seems like so much went wrong,” Kattenhorn said. “I question if there is any way for this all to be figured out and for it to be fair.”

Megan Peavey, sophomore in animal science, said a voting procedure should be standardized for the entire country to cut down on the confusion.

“I think each state should have identical voting procedures to avoid ballot confusion and to be able to determine the results in a timely fashion,” she said.

Still, Peavey said, the country must unite and support the new leader — no matter who it is.

“However this election turns out, I have confidence in the citizens of our country, that they will accept the president-elect and come together, regardless of party affiliation,” she said.