Starting on Tuesday, UW-Madison students and city residents can vote in-person at three locations on the university’s campus.
Poll workers will be stationed at: East Campus Mall, Memorial Union and Union South. If weather does not permit, Madison residents and students will still be able to vote inside the Memorial Union. The tents will operate from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day until Oct. 30, when in-person absentee voting ends on campus. Absentee in-person voting concludes on Nov. 1 for the state of Wisconsin at large.
A UW-Madison news release emphasized the simplicity of the voting process in an effort to increase voter turnout. Prospective voters will be given the option to register if needed and cast their ballots in one trip to a designated polling location.
UW-Madison will be participating in the Big Ten Voting Challenge again this year. Initiated by the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge initiative, the Big Ten Voting Challenge strives to identify which of the 14 universities among the Big Ten Conference will have the “Greatest Increase in Voting Rates” and “Greatest Overall Turnout” at the impending presidential election. According to the Big Ten Voting Challenge web page, “the winning universities will be presented with trophies.”
The National Study on Learning, Voting and Engagement (NSLVE) will collect data to determine the results of the voting process among Big Ten institutions. The NSLVE report on student voting rates for the 2018 midterm elections indicates that UW-Madison placed second in terms of voter turnout, losing only to the University of Minnesota.
In-person absentee voting in Madison is not limited to the UW-Madison campus locations. A list of drive-up and walk-up locations, as well their operating hours, can be found through the Madison City Clerk’s Office.
Almost 100,000 absentee ballots have already been mailed out by the City Clerk’s Office.
“Remember, voting doesn’t just decide who the President is — it determines how our communities provide important services such as transportation, public safety and education; support affordable housing; and address the impacts of climate change, among other things,” said ASM Chair Matthew Mitnick and Dean of Students Christina Olstad in a letter addressed to UW-Madison students last week. “By voting, you participate in planning your future. So don’t delay, get ready to vote today.”
Resources for voters, such as @BadgersVote on Twitter and Instagram, strive to educate and inform in preparation for the ballot casting process. The Wisconsin voter helpline can also be reached at (608) 285-2141.
UW-Madison voting-compliant I.D.s are being issued by the university and can be downloaded here. The Wiscard Office located in Union South typically supplies voting-compliant identification cards, but students can now download and print them as a result of COVID-19.
More voter information can be found here.
