The University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents approved new policies that would cautiously ease access for political campaigning in residence halls in their February meeting by allowing greater door-to-door campaigning.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison would limit campaigns to tabling in Carson’s Market, Chadbourne, Dejope, Gordon, Holt, Lowell, Ogg, Sellery, Smith, Waters and Witte residence halls. These events would be allowed only during the academic year and between the hours of 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. on weekdays. The posting of political literature in dorms would only be allowed in specific areas that do not impede doorways, and door-to-door campaigning would be permitted so long as the campaigner is accompanied by a hall resident.
The current rules on campaigning in dorms have been in place since 1988, with each university in the UW System adopting its own rules after the Legislature passed a law that year ordering the Board of Regents to regulate campaigning in residence halls. Each university currently has rules similar to Madison’s and many are requesting increased freedom for literature posting and door-to-door canvassing.
Madison District 8 Ald. MGR Govindarajan, whose district includes the UW-Madison campus, told the Daily Cardinal he felt the old rules were an infringement on the First Amendment rights of students.
“As a person, I have the right to engage in political speech and talk to my constituents,”Govindarajan said, “and my constituents that I was trying to get their vote at that time have a right to receive political information from me as a candidate running for office.”
Govindarajan won his election in spring 2023 while still a student at UW-Madison, having come into conflict with the Board of Regents for conducting campaign activities in residence halls. He said he expressed his concerns about the unconstitutionality of the existing rules during a meeting with the Regents.
Campaigning under the 1988 rules limited distribution of literature to information tables in the entrance lobbies of dining halls and strictly prohibited door-to-door canvassing to speak to students.
Govindarajan said he suggested the elimination of a $100 per week tabling fee and added the provision that non-student campaigners must be accompanied by a student for door-to-door canvassing to the Board of Regents as reasonable compromises to their concerns. Both policies will now be implemented on campuses systemwide.
For Govindarajan, the changes in the rules are “a big win for democracy” that will enable more students to become civic leaders.
“Students, when running a campaign, should be stressed about running a good campaign and managing their coursework, not whether the university is going to punish them,” Govindarajan said. “More importantly, students who live in the dorms can now receive the information they’re supposed to about their candidates.”
The Board of Regents previously considered changes to campaign rules in a June 2024 meeting, but discussion of the changes was postponed out of concern it was too close to that year’s elections.
The District 8 seat is up for grabs this April as Govindarajan is not seeking reelection. Two UW-Madison sophomores — Bobby Gronert and Ellen Zhang — are currently vying for the seat in the April 7 election. Both candidates are running on progressive platforms, championing affordable housing and speaking against perceived police overreach on campus.
