"I requested my absentee ballot on the day of registration, when the Institute of Politics (IOP) was signing up all those people to vote," she said. "Then the election board in my county sent me a notice reminding that I hadn't yet sent in my ballot. But by then it was only two days before the election, and it was too late."
"I'm disappointed in the IOP, especially now that I see how significant my vote would have been," Bedoya said.
In an election that will most likely be decided by a few thousand votes, situations like this could prove crucial. This explains why so great a focus is being placed on the possibility that some Floridians may have voted for Pat Buchanan instead of Gore because of ballots they called unclear.
Whatever the deciding factors and the differences between Republicans and Democrats, however, both Stad and Brinton acknowledge that everyone's hanging in the balance. But, they both acknowledge, Florida must take the time it needs to call the election fairly and accurately.
"This election needs to be decided correctly, and it needs to be decided quickly," Brinton said.
But until the final count is made official, the College Democrats aren't the only ones who have been left, as it were, "in a state of twilight and suspense."