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Thursday, November 6, 2008
Election draws national youth voter increase By Callie Rathburn THE DAILY CARDINAL
DANNY MARCHEWKA/THE DAILY CARDINAL
An estimated 700 students crowded State Street Tuesday night to celebrate Barack Obama’s victory in the presidential election, then stormed Bascom Hill in a demonstration reminiscent of past activists.
Students show shades of ’60s activism By Alexandra Bream THE DAILY CARDINAL
The enthusiastic atmosphere of the celebration on State Street Tuesday following the 2008 presidential election has illicited comparisons to the political activism that dominated the UW campus four decades ago. The gathering on State Street was spontaneous and grew in number as many UW-Madison students headed toward the Capitol and eventually stormed Bascom Hill. University of Wisconsin Police Department officials estimated approximately 700 people took part in the celebration. Zachary Zaban, a UW-Madison sophomore, said he heard shouts and screams of excitement from his open balcony window on Gorham Street while watching the election with his roommate. “I haven’t for a long time seen people so passionate about the country. People were so excited and happy,” Zaban said. Sophomore Jessica Jordani said she felt a similar sentiment.
“It was one of the most lifechanging experiences … to be part of this liberal campus and to see after the elections all these students congregating on State Street, which is such a central part to Madison,” Jordani said. The crowd banged pots, pans and drums as they marched toward Bascom Hill, where students jumped the concrete ledge at the foot of the hill to walk directly to the top. Sophomore Whitney Conen said the celebration on State Street left her with a sense of involvement like that of student activists in the Vietnam War era. “I thought about how cool it was to compare the protests from the ’60s to what happened [Tuesday] night,” Conen said. “In the ’60s all these people were protesting for the anti-war movement and what they believed in. Now we can show our support for what we believe in a different way.” Senior Charles Berens, a member of the student-led nonpartisan Project Youthanize, filmed the event
with co-workers for an upcoming documentary on student activism. He said that Tuesday night’s election demonstrated activism in its purest form. “This election has shown the power of the youth vote and the power of organizing a large group of people and getting the results that [students] want,” Berens said. “I hope people will continue being active and push any elected official to the results they want.” Political science professor Dennis Dresang said he thought the celebration on State Street differed from the protests seen in the 1960s. “What happened [Tuesday] night on State Street from my understanding was a wonderful, spontaneous, positive demonstration of feeling,” Dresang said. “When we look at the other activism from another era it wasn’t in favor for something, it was against something.” Former chancellor John Wiley attended UW-Madison in the ’60s state page 3
As citizens across the nation cast their vote for a new president Tuesday, young Americans turned out at the polls in record numbers, and experts think web technology may be the reason. The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement projected that 21.6 million to 23.9 million young Americans voted in Tuesday’s election, an increase of about 2.2 million since the 2004 presidential election. Declare Yourself, a national nonpartisan, nonprofit campaign that encourages youth voting, attributes the increase to the widespread use of technology in today’s world. “Young people have access to the news and what’s dramatic about this election more than anybody else,” said
Diana Nguyen, associate director of Declare Yourself. “[The presidential race] was unfolding in real time over the Internet and the youth population is just so on top of it.” The web gave youth voters the resources to have questions about the elections answered that can be overwhelming and hard to find. Nguyen said technology made it easier for youth to express their voice about the race, calling it the “YouTube” election. “YouTube gave people the venue to go out there and be very public about their opinion,” Nguyen said. “Everyone knew that was the way to get attention, you made a viral video, you made a statement on video and who knows better to do that than younger people.” According to Nguyen, Obama and youth page 3
Wisconsin voter turnout under 3 million, lower than expected While the exact amount of people who cast their ballots in Tuesday’s election is still unknown, there are early indications that voter participation in Wisconsin was not as high as previously expected. Government Accountability Board Director Kevin Kennedy said Wednesday he expects Wisconsin voter turnout to be just under 3 million, or roughly 70 percent of the population. Although these totals are high, they are not record-breaking. He said the turnout was lower than the previously anticipated 3.2 million because President-elect Barack Obama held a significant lead over John McCain in polls in the final stretch of the campaign and citizens felt their vote counted less if the race was not close.
“When you’re looking at polls that show double digit leads for one of the candidates … that really is the difference,” Kennedy said. The presidential races in 2000 and 2004 had higher voter turnouts, according to Kennedy, because the races were more highly contested in the state. Kennedy said even though this factor prevented Tuesday’s turnout from breaking records, the historical nature of the election kept the turnout high. “In this case it was a very historic election, I think that’s what kept our turnout as high as it was,” he said. Kennedy said the high amount of absentee votes cast this year, which totaled about 550,000, contributed to shorter lines at the polls. —Megan Orear
UW professors analyze tactics of Obama’s presidential victory Hannah Furfaro DAILY CARDINAL
As President-elect Barack Obama awaits inauguration this coming January, people all across the nation will contemplate the many factors that contributed to his election and what comes next on America’s political playing field. Three UW-Madison political science professors analyzed these topics Wednesday night at “The Day After: Who Won the 2008 Election and Why” panel discussion, held at Memorial Union. Unprecedented high youth turnout and increased voting among black and Latino voters contributed
to Obama’s victory, according to professor David Canon. “In many states, 18 to 29 year old voters actually turned out at a rate that was comparable to their level of population … which is something that has never happened before since 18-year-olds got the right to vote,” Canon said. Shifts in voting behavior among voters in higher income brackets also contributed. Canon said voters in the $200,000 income bracket overwhelmingly voted for Obama. “The wealthiest actually voted for Barack Obama … that doesn’t happen anymore … wealthy people tend to vote for Republicans,” Canon said.
Professor Byron Shafer discussed the rarity of electing a “northern Democrat,” another factor that marked this history-making election. “You couldn’t do it for 50 years, and we just did it [Tuesday],” Byron said. The transformational nature of this election begs the question of whether Obama, who ran on a platform of change, will produce all the policy changes he promised during the campaign season. Professor Kenneth Mayer described the pressure Obama will face from both parties after his inauguration. profs page 3
LORENZO ZEMELLA/THE DAILY CARDINAL
UW-Madison political science professor Kenneth Mayer (above) participates in a panel on the results of Tuesday’s election.
“…the great state University of Wisconsin should ever encourage that continual and fearless sifting and winnowing by which alone the truth can be found.”