Three UW-Madison student groups were out on Library Mall Tuesday trying to educate and rally voters in the final hours of the presidential election.
Wisconsin Student Public Interest Research Group members had a tent and tables with signs that read, Make politicians pay attention."" A nonpartisan organization, WISPIRG members were out to inform students of where and how to vote.
""Most people know the information, but there's definitely been some people who've come up and asked us where to go,"" said Samantha Gibb, campus organizer for WISPIRG.
She said WISPIRG had registered 6,000 students to vote prior to the election.
""We're really just focused [on] making the student voice heard and making sure that students get out there and vote so that politicians will pay attention to us.""
The Obama campaign also set up camp on Library Mall, calling it ""Election Day headquarters"" for the campus. With a large tent, many large campaign signs and the most volunteers of any of the groups, energy was high.
Eric Eagon, intern for Barack Obama and staging location director, said he has high hopes for this year's voter turnout.
""People have been saying for a long time, 'this is going to be the year that the youth vote makes the difference.' I really hope that this is the time that the youth turns out and makes a big difference in the political process,"" he said.
Eagon also commented on the exceptionally intense youth involvement in this election.
Among yard signs posted around the lawn, Students for Ralph Nader also campaigned for the Independent candidate
""I support Nader because I think he's the best anti-war candidate, a candidate who supports universal health care, cutting corporate crime and welfare, and because he was opposed to the Wall Street bailouts. He stands for everything I believe in,"" said Caleb Kulfan, one of the group's leaders.
Though many students are sympathetic to their cause, Kulfan said he also encounters many different attitudes. ""A lot of students seem apathetic,"" he said. ""Some people call us spoilers, yell at us, thank us for Bush.""
""In the long run, we're not going get anywhere if we keep voting for the least worse.
