Students turned out in large numbers to vote Tuesday at Sandburg Hall, the voting location for many UWM students. Others voted at the Urban Ecology Center and the Gordon Park Pavilion.
The university made a strong effort to get students registered in advance to help avoid the long delays that occurred in previous elections as voters tried to register on election day. More than 1,200 students registered in the weeks before the election, and others took advantage of shuttles to Milwaukee City Hall to vote early. A UWM website gave students step-by-step instructions for how to vote.
“The coordinated effort was critical,” said Laurie Marks, executive director of UWM’s Center for Community-Based Learning, Leadership, and Research. “Having the CCBLLR working alongside University Housing, the Library, the Student Association, and the Student Success Center created the start of a campuswide culture of voter engagement. The faculty and staff at UWM embraced this initiative with full vigor.”
Turnout was reported to be strong citywide. About 20 to 30 percent of registered voters cast ballots in the first two hours polls were open, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
