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University of Wisconsin-Madison
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Tuesday, October 21, 2008
County boasts record number of ’08 ballots By Rebecca Holland THE DAILY CARDINAL
With the presidential election only a couple weeks away, local officials are preparing for record voter turnout by delivering the highest number of ballots ever ordered in Dane County to polling stations. Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz and Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk said at a news conference Monday they are ready for the Nov. 4 election. “The city of Madison is carry-
ing out unprecedented preparations for this year’s election,” Cieslewicz said. “City officials are working hard to ensure that Election Day is as smooth and convenient as possible for Madison voters.” The number of ballots ordered is determined by looking at the estimated number of all eligible voters in Dane County. Voter turnout in the county for the 2008 presidential election is estimated by County Clerk Bob Olsen to be around 80 to 85 percent, and 390,000 ballots
have been ordered to guarantee that every eligible voter will be able to do so. Those ballots have been delivered across Dane County to towns, villages and cities to help local officials prepare for the election. “Whether it’s their first time or 50th time taking part in this great democratic tradition, we want to make sure people’s voting experiences are as easy as they can be,” Falk said. “Given the huge interest ballots page 3
LORENZO ZEMELLA/CARDINAL FILE PHOTO
Every Badger home game, students in Camp Randall jump to House of Payne’s “Jump Around” between the third and fourth quarters.
CHARLIE BAKER/THE DAILY CARDINAL
County officials, including Mayor Dave Cieslewicz and Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk, announced Monday they have prepared for the upcoming election by printing enough ballots for all eligible voters.
Football ‘jump’ tradition turns 10 at Homecoming By Kelsey Gunderson THE DAILY CARDINAL
Elections Assistance Commission clarifies polling procedures for first-time voters By Justin Eells THE DAILY CARDINAL
With record numbers of firsttime voters expected to turn out for the Nov. 4 election, the United States Election Assistance Commission held a conference call Monday to clarify election procedures for students. The EAC was established by the Help America Vote Act and serves as a national resource for election information. “We thought that a conversation ... will help ensure that student voters know how to prepare for a successful voting experience and help encourage college students to volunteer as poll workers,”
Rosemary Rodriguez, chair of the EAC, said. Rodriguez said it is important for voters to know the options and voting procedures in their state. She said some states, including Wisconsin, allow early voting, which may be useful for students who do not have time to wait in line at crowded polling places. According to Rodriguez, the busiest times at the polls are when people are going to and from work and the hour before the polls close. To ensure a smooth voting experience, students should verify they are registered and find out where their polling place is and what the
hours are, according to Rodriguez. She also encouraged students to volunteer as poll workers. “We have a need in this country for 2 million poll workers,” she said. Donna Davidson, EAC commissioner and vice chair, said many new volunteer positions will be open as election procedures are changing with new technologies. Anyone registered to vote somewhere other than his or her current residence must request an absentee ballot, which can be done at www. eac.gov, according to Rodriguez. The deadline for applying for an absentee ballot is noon on the day before the election.
Obama cancels Madison rally on account of ill grandmother Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama will not rally in Madison Thursday as previously planned and will instead travel to Hawaii to visit his sick grandmother, campaign officials confirmed Monday. Obama was scheduled to rally near the state Capitol Thursday, but a city employee disclosed Monday
afternoon the campaign had canceled Thursday’s event. Robert Gibbs, a spokesperson for Obama, said in a statement Obama’s grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, has become ill in recent weeks and the illness has grown very serious. He said Obama changed his Thursday and Friday schedules in order to spend time with her.
According to Gibbs, Dunham has helped raise Obama and is “one of the most important people in his life.” “Along with his mother and his grandfather, she raised him in Hawaii from the time he was born until the moment he left for college. As he said at the Democratic Convention, she poured everything she had into him,” Gibbs said.
The UW-Madison gameday tradition of “Jump Around” will celebrate its 10-year anniversary at the homecoming football game Saturday against Illinois. The tradition began at the lowscoring 1998 homecoming game against Purdue when athletic officials played the House of Pain song “Jump Around” between the third and fourth quarters in an effort to pump up the fans. “The students have a tremendous amount of fun, and even those who aren’t jumping enjoy watching it,” former chancellor John Wiley said. “I can tell you from experience that standing up
in the UW Foundation’s box, it really shakes. It feels like an earthquake up there, and people who experience that for the first time get really scared because you can feel it go back and forth.” When “Jump Around” was banned briefly in 2003 for safety reasons, Wiley prevented the tradition from disappearing. With the help of the civil and environmental engineering program, he ensured the tradition’s safety and reinstated “Jump Around” in September of the same year. “[Camp Randall] is now the best studied stadium in the world probably,” he said, “It’s very safe jump around page 3
UW interactive panel discusses 2008 election system and modern media By Cassie Holman THE DAILY CARDINAL
A panel expressed both concern and optimism for social media’s influence on the face of modern politics, in an interactive discussion at the Pyle Center Monday. “Elections & Social Media: Entrepreneurial Paths to Participation,” hosted by Wiscontrepreneur and Project Youthanize, answered questions concerning the collision of the election process and social media. The panel answered questions fielded by journalism school professor Katy Culver and the students in
attendance. Doug Bradley, assistant director of marketing and communications for the Office of Corporate Relations, introduced the evening’s event. “We’ve got an 18th century electoral model here and we’ve got 21st century media … what’s happening when these worlds collide?” Bradley said. The consensus from the panel was the younger generation is politically involved, but in a much different way than previous generations through social networking sites like Twitter, panel page 3
“…the great state University of Wisconsin should ever encourage that continual and fearless sifting and winnowing by which alone the truth can be found.”