In a presidential election, swing states can be the deciding factor for who ends up sitting in the Oval Office.

Louisiana is not a swing state, but despite this, many students say they still value their votes.

Pre-nursing freshman Alexis Fisher said she plans to take her friends, biology freshman Andante Price and education freshman Cashondra Roberson, to vote.

Fisher said even though she votes, she sometimes doubts how much her vote affects the outcome of elections.

“Sometimes I feel like Louisiana folks don’t count as much,” Fisher said.

Roberson agreed.

“We don’t have that many electoral votes — not like Texas,” she said.

In the Oxford English Dictionary, a swing state is defined as a state with similar levels of support for two major-party candidates that is viewed as important in an election.

“We are not in any way, shape or form close to being up for grabs,” said political science associate professor Belinda Davis.

Davis said the number of registered Republicans has recently risen past the number of registered Democrats in Louisiana, reflecting the voting majority.

Certain states have strong ideological positions, and Louisiana is one of those, said political science professor and Director of Graduate Studies James Garand.

“Asking why Louisiana is not a swing state is like asking, ‘Why is there air?’” Garand said.

Louisiana’s votes have gone to the Republican Party in seven of the last 10 presidential elections.

Current swing state Ohio’s 10-election voting history shows a mix of four Democratic Party wins and six Republican wins.

Garand said it is irrational for anyone to vote, citing a 1957 Anthony Downs book entitled “An Economic Theory of Democracy.”

“I’m not saying people shouldn’t [vote],” Garand said. “It’s not a value judgment.”

The point Downs makes in his book is that the benefit of voting — one’s candidate winning — does not outweigh the costs of transportation and uncertainty.

Garand said if a person is of the majority party in a state, his or her vote may not count either.

But Garand said he still believes it is his civic duty to vote, even though it may not be rational.

Davis disagreed with Garand’s logic-based argument, saying it’s always important to vote, regardless of the outcome.

“It affects the popular vote, even if it doesn’t affect the electoral college votes, and votes where the popular and electoral clash create anxiety,” Davis said.

“Asking why Louisiana is not a swing state is like asking, ‘Why is there air?’”