Students encouraged to vote in next Tuesday’s election

Nikki Brahm, Assistant News Editor|October 31, 2018

Johanna Tessier

Reeve Memorial Union will be a voting location for students on Nov. 6.

Citizens in Oshkosh and across the United States will be performing their civic duty and voting in the 2018 fall general election on Nov. 6.

In the 2016 presidential election, about 18 percent of UW Oshkosh students voted on campus and about 15 percent of students voted off campus, with overlap of nonstudents that live close to campus. That equals about 33 percent of students who voted in the presidential election.

For the Nov. 6 general election so far, Election Aide Emily Karl of the City Clerk’s office said 18,038 people have voted by mail and 2,002 have voted in their office since Wednesday, which equals about 30 percent of Oshkosh residents.

Executive Director of Campus Life Jean Kwaterski said she thinks it’s important for students to vote in this election because there are several positions on the ballot that affect issues in their lives.

“For example, the governor,” Kwaterski said. “The governor plays a large role in deciding the funding for public education and the funding of the UW System.”

Not sure where to vote or how to register for Tuesday’s election? We have those answers Registering to vote in Oshkosh can be done in advance and in person at the Oshkosh City Clerk’s office, 215 Church Ave., up until Nov. 2. Wisconsin is also one of 17 states that allows same-day voter registration. In order to register, residents need to provide an acceptable photo ID, such as a driver's license or passport. Residents also need to have proof of their address, which can be found on their ID, utility bill or, for both on-campus and off-campus students at UW Oshkosh, on TitanWeb at the bottom of the home page under “Voter ID enrollment verification.” In order to vote absentee, applications must be received at the Oshkosh City Clerk's office by 5 p.m. on Nov. 1. To find where to vote, students can visit www.myvote.wi.gov/en-us/FindMyPollingPlace and enter their local address. Most UW Oshkosh students who live on or near campus will vote at Reeve Memorial Union. Kwaterski said she believes some students think it doesn’t matter whether they vote or not.

“Recent elections prove that it does matter,” Kwaterski said. “Many elections have been won by a small number of votes.”

UWO junior Rachael Larson said she plans on voting in the election.

“I actually don’t know who I’m voting for yet,” Larson said. “I haven’t really looked into the candidates at all and I need to do that.”

UWO junior Aj Zemke said it’s important to vote because the people citizens vote for are making decisions that affect our daily lives financially, personally, socially and more.

“If you don’t vote, then I feel like you have no right to complain afterward about any of the decisions that are made by those people,” Zemke said. “I will be voting for Tony Evers; I think that he demonstrates a lot of the values that I hold and I think that he would do a great job as governor.”

UWO senior Shane Thomas said citizens have a civic responsibility and obligation to vote, not just a right, and it’s important to vote because the United States is a leader in a lot of international conflicts. Thomas said he will be voting for incumbent Gov. Scott Walker.

“When he came into office at the time there was a big deficit, and he was able to create a big surplus,” Thomas said. “And last August, I believe he was able to create more tax breaks for people with kids who were going into school … As a student, it’s been hurting with the budget cuts at the universities, but I think overall he was able to come in and fix the budget for Wisconsin.”