UW-Madison students turn out to vote in important spring election

By Natasha Hicks STAFF WRITER

On April 4, University of Wisconsin-Madison students cast their vote at several polling locations across campus such as Memorial Union, Gordon Dining and Event Center and Dejope Residence Hall.

“I think this is an important election that not a lot of people always turn out for, and I think it really impacts Madison and the Wisconsin community,” student voter Madison Eiler said.

The April 4 election ballot included votes for the Wisconsin State Supreme Court race, Wisconsin State Senate candidates and Madison mayor, as well as referendum questions.

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The most notable results include Judge Janet Protasiewicz winning the Wisconsin Supreme Court Election creating a liberal majority and Satya RhodesConway being re-elected as Madison Mayor.

“This is a really, really important election that will have greater e ects,” said student voter Abigail Nicki. “It’s important to be a young person and have your voice heard because the majority of people who are voting are older it seems.”

Some students and poll workers said voting in this election is important because UW-Madison students are a big part of the greater Madison community.

“It’s an important election — every election is important for students to turn out and have a voice in their local politics because they are just as much a part of this community as they are their home communities,” student poll worker Tabitha Houghton said.

Eiler echoed this sentiment.

“I think there’s so many students on our campus that even a small turnout of our students can make a big difference,” she said.

Student voter William Diaz emphasized how voting is not only important but an easy way to get involved with local politics.

“I think it’s important to do my civic duty,” he said. “It’s easy — there’s really no excuse not to.”

Other students explained that they voted because they were passionate about certain issues and candidates.

“I wanted to protect people’s rights — protecting abortion, LGBTQ rights, gay marriage, all the things like that,” said student voter Lindsey Neumann of her vote in the Wisconsin Supreme Court election.

Student voter, Autumn Hutchens, voted because she was especially enthusiastic about a specific candidate:

Janet Protasiewicz

“One of the Supreme Court candidates is pro-abortion, and I believe that will be very helpful if she does get the place in the court,” she said.

While much attention has been brought to the Wisconsin State Supreme Court race, other races such as Madison City Council could also influence students’ lives.

“One of the candidates — his name is Charlie Fahey — for Madison City Council, he supports affordable housing, especially for students,” said Hutchens. “Considering that housing and rent is going up every single year and some students just can’t afford to live in Madison — that’s some[one] I support.”

While Charlie Fahey did not win the election in District 8, winner MGR Govindarajan also advocated for making Madison housing affordable for students.

Though the election was specific to the state of Wisconsin, its results have national implications. The

“I stand before you tonight with a heavy heart,” Reyes said. “The voters have spoken, and I have not been elected to serve as your next mayor. While I am disappointed with the outcome, I do not consider this a loss.”

Rhodes-Conway said student housing affordability will remain a top priority during her second term. She committed to continuing a partnership with the University of WisconsinMadison to increase affordability for students renting near campus.

“What we’re working on right now is ways to make sure that the student housing that’s being built off campus has an affordability component in it,” she said. “We’re collaborating with campus and with the developers to make sure that some of the rentals are going to be affordable for students, but I’d like to push beyond that and make sure we’re [building] more housing co-ops which are permanently affordable and find other affordable housing solutions for students.”

Outlining her plans for a second term, Rhodes-Conway said she would expand Madison’s CARES program and support Dane County’s efforts to repurpose the Huber Jail Center into a triage center to support those experiencing a mental health crisis.

Wisconsin State Representative Lisa Subeck (D-Madison) said Rhodes-Conway’s reelection marked “a step in the right direction for the city” and expressed amazement at the high voter turnout for the spring election.

“Having served on the city council, I remember the days when I would knock on doors and voters would say, ‘There’s an election?’” Subeck recalled. “I was just so impressed with how engaged people were.”

Wisconsin State Supreme Court has the power to adopt new legislative maps in Wisconsin which have the potential to flip party control for the U.S. House of Representatives.

“I think there’s a lot more that we can do as students and as citizens, but I think that voting is a really important first and essential step,” Diaz said.

The mayor’s victory occurred shortly after the Associated Press called the Wisconsin Supreme Court race for Judge Janet Protasiewicz. The nationally-watched race, which will give liberals control of the court for the first time since 2008, may have helped increase voter enthusiasm in other spring elections in Wisconsin, according to Subeck.

Rhodes-Conway said she would take a “steady approach” to her new term, voicing her intention to first establish relationships with the newly elected Common Council.

“We’ll take a moment to get to know the new council and hopefully form good working relationships with them, and then start to lay on policy priorities,” she said.

The entire council historically goes through a complete refitting every two years when all alders are on the ballot, but a referendum approved on Tuesday’s ballot staggered Common Council terms.

District 17 Alder Sabrina Madison, elected to her first full term after being appointed in October 2022, told the Cardinal she is looking forward to continuing to work with the mayor, a sentiment echoed by newly elected District 2 Alder Juliana Bennett and District 8 Alder MGR Govindarajan, who said they were excited to begin delivering for students.

In her victory speech, Rhodes-Conway expressed her gratitude to the many people who contributed to Tuesday’s election and voiced her excitement to begin work in the “new political climate.”

“Tonight we celebrate,” Rhodes-Conway said. “Tomorrow, we get back to work.”