Former Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes visited the University of Wisconsin-Madison Thursday to talk about the importance of the student vote in the April 4 election.
Barnes, who founded “The Long Run” PAC last month to support “diverse and groundbreaking” candidates for political offices following his unsuccessful bid for U.S. Senate in 2022, urged UW-Madison students to make a voting plan before next week’s Wisconsin Supreme Court election.
“If we flip the ballots of the court on April 4, we can change the trajectory of this entire state,” Barnes told student canvassers at the event, hosted by youth voter engagement organization NextGen America. “We can change our own collective future. We can make life better for so many people.”
The UW-Madison student vote has proved to be heavily influential in recent election cycles. In the 2022 midterm elections, student voting increased by 30% compared to the 2018 midterm election.
With Supreme Court candidates floating abortion rights and redistricting in recent debates, progressive organizers believe strong student turnout in 2023 could dismantle Wisconsin’s 1849 near-total abortion ban and break over a decade of conservative political dominance in the state.
“Young people are really going to make the difference,” said David Sanchez, vice president of campaign strategy at NextGen. “Choice is the most important issue on the ballot.”
Barnes said those in power are not expecting people under 35 to show up and vote on Tuesday, highlighting the hidden influence students could have.
“I can tell you that they are counting on young people to not show up. They are counting on people under the age of 35 to not show up, to not make your voice heard,” Barnes said. “They don’t think you take it seriously.”
This year's judicial race in Wisconsin has captured the attention of organizers nationwide. According to The New York Times, $30 million have been spent on the election so far as groups from all parts of the country rally behind conservative former Justice Daniel Kelly or liberal Milwaukee County Judge Janet Protasiewicz.
“I live in Texas, and I came all the way down here to support our lead organizer, Jason Riveria, because all eyes are on Wisconsin across the country,” said Ambalika Williams, national organizing director at Rise. “Particularly, all eyes are on UW-Madison students to really do their part and let their voices be heard in this election.”
Barnes went on to highlight the importance of showing up to vote despite 2023 not being a national election year.
“The future is ours. This state is ours. The motto of Wisconsin is ‘Forward’ for a reason. That is the direction that we are going to go,” Barnes said. “I’m excited, I’m pumped up, I never thought I’d get this pumped up about a judicial race, but here we are.”
Features editor
