If college students in Madison come out to vote, they could rule Madison city and county politics, according to Ald. Tom Powell, District 5. Powell said that in a city of 200,000 people, students make up 60,000 to 70,000 and could be a powerful voting bloc.
However, according to Powell, student voter turnout for city and county elections has typically been low.
In the spring 2002 primary, Eagle Heights was the only primarily student voting ward that surpassed 1 percent in voter turnout.
Sup. Echnaton Vedder, District 8, said students need to know that issues like parking tickets, drinking laws and liquor licenses are all decided at the local level.
\A lot of momentum for social change has traditionally come from campus,"" Vedder said.
UW-Madison political science and women's studies Professor Virginia Sapiro said young people, and students in particular, historically have had the lowest voter turnout. She said people vote when they feel a connection to the community where they live and that things like having jobs, paying taxes, living in a neighborhood and having children in school encourage that connection. Because students are not involved in these activities, they do not feel compelled to vote.
""In general, it's very hard to get people who are students to really hook in and pay attention, to read the daily newspaper and watch the local news,"" Sapiro said. ""If that does not happen, people tend to not know the issues.""
Powell said that despite these roadblocks, he believes many students do not vote because they do not know where to vote and are confused as to who is eligible.
Dane County Clerk Joe Parisi said any student who has lived in Madison for 10 days is eligible to vote in the area. Parisi also said students do not even need to register ahead of time; they can bring proof of residence, such as a piece of mail or a lease, that shows they have lived in a Madison residence for at least 10 days, to the voting poll.
To combat confusion about where a student can go to vote, Parisi said the city's Web site has a page where a students can type in their addresses and receive information about where to cast their ballots.
UW-Madison sophomore Doug Minahan said he did not vote because he did not even know that primaries took place, and had not made plans to vote on April 2.
Powell said he and other City Council members tried to canvass the voting area and send out mailings to remain visible. However, these tactics have failed to get the notice of UW-Madison students.
""I wasn't really interested and did not really know the primaries were occuring,"" said UW freshman Erin Harvey. ""I have heard about the [April 2] elections and will definitely vote in them.\
