Student government leaders discussed the importance of voting and made new members eligible to register students to vote in a meeting Monday.
The new Associated Students of Madison Legislative Affairs members came from various backgrounds of political involvement. One freshman said he had experience lobbying at home, while another said she had no experience.
ASM Chair Genevieve Carter said she lacked hands-on experience when she first joined UW-Madison’s student government.
However, all the new members expressed interest in getting politically involved.
The new students filed to become special registration deputies in the meeting, meaning they are capable of registering students to vote on campus. ASM currently has 30 to 50 deputies, according to Legislative Affairs Chair Tom Gierok.
Deputies will be available to register students Tuesday, which is National Voter Registration Day.
“This is kind of our first practice big blitz day across campus,” Gierok said. “We haven’t done something like this in a long time.”
ASM members have registered between 2,500 and 2,700 people campus wide, and Gierok said they are aiming for 5,000 registrations.
“That’s a good amount of people on a campus of our size,” Gierok said. “That doesn’t seem like a lot percentage-wise, but we don’t have easy access to a lot of the population.”
Wisconsin residents need some form of state-issued identification to register to vote, such as a valid driver’s license. Out-of-state students will need their social security numbers.
All voters need to be registered at their current address and present proof of residency to the registration deputy.
Students interested in registering to vote can find deputies at 333 East Campus Mall from 12-2:30 p.m. and at Gordon Dining and Event Center from 5-6:30 p.m.
ASM also worked with university administration to extend the hours during which students can obtain a newly available, free voter ID card for National Voter Registration Day.
Gierok said ASM hopes to schedule more days with extended hours to accommodate students’ class schedules.
“The only way [students] will be taken seriously is if we vote,” Gierok said.
