Vitto Brown, university officials urge students to cast their ballots as early voting begins

Students began casting their first votes in the 2016 election Monday, as early voting began at two campus locations.

Leading the way was UW-Madison men’s basketball star Vitto Brown, who voted today for the first time in Wisconsin.

At Union South, Brown urged his fellow Badgers to go out and exercise their right to vote in the upcoming election before registering and casting a vote of his own.

“I think it is important for us students to go out and vote because we all have ideas. So by voting, we get a chance to support the candidate who believe supports those same ideas,” Brown said at a Monday press conference.

As an Ohio native who grew up performing with his family’s singing group, “Shades of Brown,” Brown wrote lyrics for a song encouraging students to vote and directed a short video. The video, shot in front of the Abe Lincoln statue on Bascom Hill, shows Brown singing his own rendition of the 1963 hit, “It’s My Party.”

Dane County Clerk Scott McDonell said he partnered with Brown for this public service announcement to utilize Brown’s visibility on campus. McDonell hopes Brown’s message resonates with students, especially out-of-state students like Brown, and that it shows them how easy and accessible early voting is.

“Voting has never been easier for students. Early voting at Union South, for example, allows students the opportunity to make sure they have the proper photo identification and update their voter registration all in one location,” McDonell said.

Due to recent regulation requiring photo IDs to vote, the Wiscard office on the first floor of Union South supplies students with compliant photo IDs.

Kipp Cox, the assistant dean in the Division of Student Life, said that nearly 5,500 students have received their compliant photo ID issued by the Wiscard office so far this year. As an out-of-state student himself, Brown went down to the Wiscard office after the press conference to receive his own photo ID.

With today being the first day the two campus locations are open to students for early voting, Municipal Clerk Rachel Rodriguez said the flow of students she’d seen come through the Union South location has been “steady.”

“There is definitely something different about this election cycle,” Rodriguez said. “There’s a higher interest in people voting earlier than they normally would have.”

One UW-Madison senior, Kristen Cherney, came out to vote early today during a lunch break in between classes. She said she came because “it was very convenient.”

Students and anyone in the city of Madison can come register and vote at the second floor of Union South Monday thru Friday from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. or at the the fourth floor of the Student Activities Center Monday thru Friday from 10 a.m until 4 p.m. Early voting ends Nov. 4.