Election officials have concluded the 100 votes cast by students at Gordon Commons in Tuesday’s spring primary were submitted by accident, as students believed they were taking a poll on their favorite University Housing meal.
While the 0.85 percent turnout in Madison electoral District 8 was a record for the undergraduate-dominated area, the recipients of the 100 votes for a Dane County Circuit Court race clued election officials in to the miscommunication.
Exit polls indicated that write-in candidate “Buffalo Shrimp” held a slight lead over “Make Own Waffle.” “Make Own Waffle w/ Whipped Cream” was a close third. “Stealing dishware,” a write-in candidate, came in fifth.
Ald. Scott Resnick, District 8, said he was disappointed students prioritized food over Dane County Circuit Court elections.
“I just wish we could live on a campus where students care about who they elect to vote on so many integral decisions that affect our lives, like traffic citations and small claims and all those other things they do all the time.”
Sally Smith, a Witte residant, was disappointed “Make Own Waffle” came in second, because it was “what she hoped for every morning.”
Resnick is now starting a media campaign around campus to raise awareness about what Dane County Circuit Court judges do. Look for his editorial in next Wednesday’s edition of The Daily Cardinal once he figures out what that is exactly.
—B.S.
