Editor’s Note: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that Florida was the first state officially won by Trump.
Surviving two assassination attempts and with a criminal conviction and multiple indictments, former President Donald J. Trump wins the 2024 presidential election, marking a momentous return to the White House.
Also in this year’s general election, the two high-profile amendment initiatives in Florida, recreational marijuana and abortion up until viability, did not pass. Both failed to meet the 60% required to become part of the state’s constitution.
The Associated Press called Trump’s election win at 5:35 a.m. on Nov. 6, with his 277 electoral votes to Vice President Kamala Harris’ 224 votes. As of 1 p.m. after Election Day, Trump has 292 electoral votes, and there are still 20 up for grabs.
Both candidates were neck and neck in the polls up until Election Day, putting pressure on battleground states to tip the favor. Trump was able to flip three of the key battleground states and secure his position as the 47th elected U.S. president. He is now the first-ever convicted felon to be elected president.
Trump also won the popular vote 71.8 million against 66.9 million — something no Republican has achieved since 2004. This is a stark contrast to the last election in 2020, where he lost the popular vote by over 6 million against President Joe Biden.
Trump secured Florida officially with 6,099,686 votes against Harris’ 4,669,481, winning 30 electoral votes. He won almost all of the counties in Florida, Harris only winning in five, Palm Beach and Broward among those.
Florida Atlantic University students and alumni are having mixed feelings about the results of the general election.
Nick Coyte, the president of FAU’s chapter of Turning Point USA, says he and other organization members are content with the final results.
“We at TPUSA FAU are pleased enough with the outcome of Florida’s election and believe Florida and America might be choosing a more conservative approach,” Coyte wrote in a statement to the University Press.
The UP asked FAU students on an Instagram story about their thoughts on the results. Here is what some of them said.
Haley Sciole, a senior criminal justice major, brought attention to the facts: “Trump won the electoral college and popular vote, the people have spoken and the world isn’t ending.”
On the other end of the spectrum, multiple students expressed disappointment, anger and disbelief.
“Crazy that people would rather have a felon as president than a very qualified woman,” wrote Nora Gutzwiller, a master’s student in environmental science.
Aislinn Cruz, a second-year master’s student in geoscience, noted her dismay.
“Disappointed that America can’t seem to move forward no matter how many opportunities,” she wrote.
The final election results do not mirror the projected success of Harris’ campaign, in which a September FAU Polcom Lab survey revealed she had a narrow lead over Trump by 5% and that 54% of voters predicted she would win the election.
It still holds true what FAU political science alumnus Joao Brandao told the UP in regard to that survey: “Polls can say one thing and how elections turn out is a whole different thing.”
At 8 p.m., an hour after the voting polls closed in Florida, Harris was already leading in Palm Beach and Broward counties, while Trump had an early hold on Miami-Dade. The county, which has a heavy Hispanic population, used to vote primarily Democratic — the last time a Republican won over Miami-Dade was in 1988 with George H.W. Bush — so political experts projected its sudden swing to Republican would have a large impact on the outcome in Florida.
The UP reached out to the Latino Hispanic Association at FAU, but members declined to comment.
While Trump won both the popular and electoral votes, not all votes are official. Members of the Electoral College will cast their final votes by Dec. 17, and those votes should arrive in Washington, D.C. by Dec. 25. Election officials also still have yet to count provisional and overseas ballots, and manage any recounts.
Harris, as the sitting vice president, will count the electoral votes on Jan. 6, 2025 during a joint session of the House and Senate. After all electoral votes and total state votes are counted, she will declare the official winner of the election, and the president-elect will take the Oath of Office on Inauguration Day on Jan. 20, 2025, confirming a new presidency.
What’s next for Trump?
Former Manhattan District Attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo recently told CNN that winning the election was Trump’s “get out of jail free card,” as he likely would not face jail time for another four years if he took office.
Trump is still expected to be sentenced on Nov. 26 for his New York hush-money trial, in which a jury convicted him on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to cover up unauthorized payments he made to porn star Stormy Daniels during the 2016 election.
Following the Supreme Court’s presidential immunity ruling, Trump’s lawyers requested to overturn his conviction. If the judge dismisses the case on Nov. 12, his lawyers may then request to delay the sentencing further, but if the sentencing date remains, he could face up to four years in prison for his crimes.
However, legal experts say could potentially receive a lighter sentence or probation since it is his first conviction, the New York Times reports.
Trump also faces other criminal trials, including his election interference case in Georgia. There is currently no trial date set, and his election win “effectively halts the case,” Axios reports.
Florida ballot measure results
The two key issues that were projected to be close races — Amendment 3 for marijuana legalization and Amendment 4 for abortion rights — ended up not meeting the required 60% approval to pass.
Amendment 3, which proposed allowing adults 21 and older to use marijuana recreationally, received a 55.9% and did not meet the 60% required. This result keeps recreational marijuana illegal in Florida, maintaining current restrictions that only allow medical use with proper authorization.
Similarly, Amendment 4, which aimed to establish a constitutional right to abortion up to viability in pregnancy, was also defeated, with 57.1% support. This outcome leaves existing state abortion laws unchanged and the six-week ban in place.
David Linares, a member of Students for Life at FAU, expressed joy soon after the announcement that the amendment failed to pass.
“We are relieved and overjoyed that Floridians decided that we would defend the rights of the unborn,” said Linares.
Brandao believes the failure of Amendment 4 will stir more anger among citizens than excitement.
“Just like in previous years when it came to abortion, we will see a public uproar over the failure of ballot measure #4 within various parts of the state, which could happen anytime,” Brandao wrote in a statement to the UP.
Raymond Adderly, the FAU Boca Raton campus governor, is disappointed for the women in Florida.
“I am mostly heartbroken for the number of women who will grow up in this state without access to healthcare in the area of maternity,” Adderly wrote in an email. “However, despite major losses, there is still hope. Even though the amendments did not pass, there was still majority support for both of them.”
The other amendments had clearer outcomes. Amendment 1, which proposed making school board elections partisan, was rejected by voters with only 54.9% of the vote, and Amendment 2, establishing a constitutional right to hunt and fish in Florida, passed with strong support at 67.4%.
On other issues, Amendment 5, which adjusts the homestead tax exemption to account for inflation, successfully passed with 66% support. This amendment means that property tax exemptions for primary residences will now increase with inflation, offering homeowners relief as property values rise.
Additionally, Amendment 6, a measure to withhold public campaign funding for candidates who adhere to spending limits, failed to pass with 50.4% of the vote.
This story is still developing and will be updated as more information becomes available.
Sofia De La Espriella is the Editor-in-Chief of the University Press. Email [email protected] or message her on Instagram @sofidelaespriella for information regarding this or other stories.
Elisabeth Gaffney is the Editor-at-Large for the University Press. For more information on this article or others, you can reach Elisabeth at [email protected] or DM her on Instagram @elisabethgaff.
