The Associated Students of Madison’s (ASM) spring election had the highest voter turnout since 2022, with more than double the number of students voting compared to last year.
University of Wisconsin-Madison students elected 38 representatives for multiple colleges and ASM committees between Monday and Wednesday, showing strong support for securing bonding authority for the UW System, lighting the Lakeshore Path and increasing University Health Service (UHS) funding to hire more mental health professionals.
These initiatives came in the form of five non-binding referendums, which also asked whether a sustainability Canvas course should be required for incoming students and whether time should be increased between classes. The referendums, which were intended to gauge student support, acknowledged ASM lacks the authority to pursue these initiatives, though ASM Chair Dominic Zappia told The Daily Cardinal the referenda would help set the agenda and advocacy goals for the next ASM session.
The 6% voter turnout — 2,848 completed ballots out of a total student enrollment of 49,844 — is the highest since 2022. Turnout has hovered around 3% over the past two years, and ASM representatives previously expressed their hope the presence of referendums on the ballot could increase turnout.
After the election, Zappia said the higher turnout was due to “increased energy from candidates and the presence of relevant referenda focused on student issues.”
The referendum on bonding authority received the most support, passing with 87% of the vote. UW-Madison is notably one of only two U.S. flagship schools, and the only one in the Big Ten, that lacks bonding authority, or the ability to borrow money to build projects without approval from the state Legislature. The referendum has ASM “request” the Legislature grant the UW System Board of Regents bonding authority to build more student housing.
When discussing referendums prior to the election, ASM representatives noted “yes” votes on the referendums could be used to put pressure on opponents of the proposals and lend credibility to advocacy efforts. Zappia added his hope campus stakeholders would view the positive referenda results as a sign of strong student support behind these issues.
Elections for The College of Letters and Science (L&S) — the largest college in UW-Madison — and the Student Service Finance Committee (SSFC), which helps allocate over $51 million in student segregated fees, were the most competitive, with over 50 students running for 12 L&S Seats and 24 running for 5 SSFC seats.
Three Young Democratic Socialists of America (YDSA) candidates ran on a campaign slogan of “divest from tyranny, invest in students,” and won election to represent L&S, SSFC, the College of Engineering and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. YSDA candidates ran on resisting rollbacks on diversity, equity and inclusion, refusing compliance with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and demanding divestment from Israel, according to their website.
In past weeks, ASM has discussed campaigns to increase shared governance at UW-Madison and raise the campus minimum wage to $15 per hour.
Multiple ASM committees will meet this week between Monday and Thursday.
Gavin Escott is the campus news editor for the Daily Cardinal. He has covered protests, breaking news and written in-depth on Wisconsin politics and higher education. He is the former producer of the Cardinal Call podcast. Follow him on X at @gav_escott.
