For some UW-Madison students, the April 3 election will come and go as fast as the tropical fruity drinks in their hands. Still, many of those students who made their way to warmer destinations this spring break remembered to cast an absentee ballot before leaving.
According to the City Clerk's Office, as of Thursday, more than 9,100 ballots had been cast absentee. They said their office is constantly filled with people looking to either cast a vote or bring one in. Thursday was the last day to request an absentee ballot form from the office.
In the 2003 elections, 2,910 absentee ballots were requested, almost 6,200 fewer than this year.
Megan McGrorty, campaign manager for Mayor Dave Cieslewicz, said the student vote played a large role in the 2003 election. She said in wards where predominately students reside, Cieslewicz garnered nearly 61 percent of the student vote in 2003. More than 58,000 votes were cast in 2003 for the mayoral race.
""Clearly the student vote was crucial to Dave's victory last time,"" McGrorty said. ""[Now] he's been doing everything he can to educate the students about how they can vote absentee.""
She said the Cieslewicz campaign has moved to adding volunteers, to give one final push before Tuesday.
""Now we're getting into our final ‘Get out the vote' mode ... we're running a very hard grassroots effort,"" McGrorty said.
District 8 alder candidates and UW-Madison students Lauren Woods and Eli Judge said their campaigns rely heavily on the student vote and absentee ballots. Both candidates said more aggressive campaign tactics would be implemented in the days leading up to the election on Tuesday.
""I'm getting a good response from students,"" Woods said, adding that her campaign has also called upon a few extra volunteers in the final days.
Judge said in addition to more aggressiveness on the campaign trail, ""Vote Naked"" has played a large role in mobilizing his constituents. He said the clever message helped spark the drastic increase in the number of absentee ballots requested this year.
""The absentee ballots have been the name of the game,"" Judge said. ""When it comes to the campaign, it's still trucking along as it's always been.""
The Clerk's Office will be open Friday until 4:30 p.m., Saturday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. and resumes regular office hours Monday. Until it closes Monday at 5 p.m., they will be accepting absentee ballots. After Monday, students and residents are encouraged to vote in their ward.
To find polling locations, go to www.ci.madison.wi.us/clerk/voterWhere.cfm.
