The Madison Common Council adopted legislation establishing an additional early voting site on the UW-Madison campus for the November general election at its Tuesday meeting.
The legislation, presented by Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, will establish early voting at the Student Activity Center’s Caucus Room on the 4th floor, weekdays Oct. 24 through Nov. 4. According to Verveer, the specific hours for early voting at the SAC have yet to be determined.
This additional location will supplement Union South and Edgewood College, which Common Council approved as early voting sites two weeks ago. Students can cast their ballot at any early voting location prior to Election Day.
Early voting will also begin at Union South and Edgewood College Oct. 24. Verveer said he hopes to add more space to the Union South location, which is set to have just six voting booths.
Outside of campus, early voting will begin in Madison Sept. 26, including locations at every public library, the city clerk’s office and a location on the east side. According to Verveer, finding early voting space on campus was more of a challenge.
“In the rush to find building locations and a lack of assistance on campus getting space we were only able to confirm one week of early voting at Union South in time for the last city council meeting,” Verveer said. “Through the assistance of ASM, we were able to quickly secure another early voting location on campus.”
In response to Verveer's comment, UW-Madison spokesperson Meredith McGlone said the university complied with what the city clerk's office requested regarding early voting space, which was space for one week.
Since these comments Verveer confirmed the university added an extra week of early voting at Union South, moving the starting date from Oct. 31 to Oct. 24.
The city held a press conference at the Central Madison Public Library Wednesday to announce the early voting locations and dates around Madison.
According to Associated Students of Madison Chair Carmen Goséy, students will be able to both register and cast their early ballots in the same trip at the SAC. Students can also register to vote through a series of voter registration events hosted by the Associated Students of Madison throughout the next month at Memorial Library, Gordon Commons, College Library and Dejope Dining Hall.
Update Sept. 21 5:20 p.m.: This article was updated to include a response from university spokesperson Meredith McGlone, as the university was not given chance to comment on the original article.
