With Election Day looming, many students are planning to cast their votes and make their voices heard. While finding nearby polling places can be difficult, UW-Whitewater students have an option on campus.
The University Center will be the site of on-campus voting on Election Day. This change will be beneficial to students who may not have the time or transportation to find a polling place.
Orin Smith is the Whitewater Student Government’s Director of Intergovernmental Affairs. Smith is also a member of the Common Council for Aldermanic District 2.
Smith had a significant role in bringing on-campus voting to UW-Whitewater and pushed for a memorandum of understanding to be passed.
The memorandum, which passed, allows all on-campus students and some off-campus students to vote in the UC.
“I helped push for that to be brought up again,” Smith said. “The memorandum fell to the wayside in the transition between clerks and as COVID affected how polling places worked.”
Smith stated that there was frequent collaboration between the UW-Whitewater Chancellor’s Office, the city and, the Common Council regarding on-campus voting.
Alongside collaboration, Smith credits student advocacy for bringing on-campus voting to fruition.
“There was a lot of student comment at council meetings,” Smith said. “A lot of students showed up to express their feelings on why it was important to have on-campus voting.”
After more deliberation, the memorandum was signed. Although this was a huge step in the movement, much more work remained to be done.
Smith listed that gathering poll workers and registering voters were among the tasks that need to be completed before Nov. 5. Smith also stated that turnout at the UC is likely to be high on Election Day.
Smith cited survey responses that stated that many students were going to register at the polls on Election Day. Smith also reported that in 2020, Warhawks Vote registered over 1,000 students on Election Day.
“We’re anticipating much more turnout,” Smith said. “It’s also been noted that the turnout of younger voters this year in comparison to 2022 has been exponentially higher.”
Notably, the signed memorandum did not have an expiration date. Thus, any elections conducted between September and May are eligible to be held on-campus for the foreseeable future.
City Clerk Heather Boehm reported that voter turnout was already high at her office, with hundreds of individuals showing up to vote early. Boehm also expressed her support for on-campus voting.
“A lot of [students], they can’t go to other polling locations,” Boehm said. “Everybody should have the opportunity to cast their vote.”
Smith emphasized that students live on campus for nine months out of the calendar year, and although they do not pay traditional taxes as residents do, they are still deserving of a say in their government.
“I think it’s important that students are able to access the civic issues that affect them,” Smith said. “I am a firm believer that students, and the faculty and staff who work and live here, have a very big impact on the City of Whitewater.”
On-campus voting is not going away any time soon, and it is a crucial resource for students who have no other method of voting in elections. More voting information can be found on the Warhawks Vote website.
