How Wisconsin's Youth Vote Will Shape the 2024 Election

Frederica Freyberg:
In a tight election, every group of voters can make the difference and student voters are no different. But college students, especially those from out of state, face a few more obstacles to voting. “Here & Now” student journalist Jane McCauley reports.

Emily Treffert:
California does not need your vote. New York does not need your vote. Illinois does not need your vote. Wisconsin needs your vote.

Jane McCauley:
Emily Treffert is a junior at UW-Madison and part of the Wisco Project, a liberal group engaging students to vote. 2024 is her first time voting in a presidential election, and she’s urging out-of-state students to put their vote where it matters.

Emily Treffert:
This time, it’s much more instead of telling them that they can vote, it’s telling them that they should vote.

Jane McCauley:
Students can vote where they attend college or at their permanent address. But what is needed to vote in Wisconsin? In-state students need to register and have a valid ID.

Emily Treffert:
For out-of-state students, it’s the same registration form, but instead of doing your driver’s license number, you do the last four digits of your Social Security number, as well as a proof of residence.

Jane McCauley:
But there’s one more piece. Students who are not from Wisconsin also need a state-issued voter ID at nearly all two- and four-year campuses. Wisconsin campuses like UW-Madison have numbers that could flip razor-thin margins. In 2020, UW-Madison’s turnout rate was over 70%, or nearly 25,000 students. Donald Trump and Joe Biden won Wisconsin in 2016, and 2020, respectively, with just over 20,000 votes each time.

Emily Treffert:
We have over 40,000 undergraduate students. So if you think that if every single student were to go out and vote, the insane impact that could have.

Jay Heck:
Every vote really, really does matter.

Jane McCauley:
Jay Heck, the executive director of Common Cause Wisconsin, sees a generation that’s already voting at higher rates than previous ones, creating voting habits now that will carry on past this election season.

Jay Heck:
You know, young students, whether they’re conservative or progressive, tend to be very highly motivated. And that’s important because you generally establish your lifetime voting tendencies when you’re in school.

Jane McCauley:
But he warns of factors that could prevent students from even getting to the polls. As early voting is underway, reports of intimidating texts are addressing students saying if they vote where they are not eligible, it could result in fines or jail.

Meagan Wolfe:
Every general election, we see mailings. We see text messages from third party groups that just don’t get it right. It’s just about pointing people to the official source of information.

Jane McCauley:
And that official source of information would come from going to the Wisconsin Elections Commission website. According to its administrator, Meagan Wolfe. Heck says fear of intimidation at polling locations should not scare students away.

Jay Heck:
We worry about whether there will be people that will be standing, trying to tell people that they can’t vote. You have every right to vote.

Jane McCauley:
But it’s not just Madison. The national spotlight is on Wisconsin and all its youth.

Emily Treffert:
Yes, UW-Madison is the largest university and obviously is impactful. But I think we also need to focus on the UW schools, private schools, tech schools across the state.

Jane McCauley:
Especially as presidential campaign stops have been more frequent in smaller cities.

John Zumbrunnen:
I think that is just a really strong signal that those campaigns know that Wisconsin matters and that, you know, it’s not just Madison. It’s Milwaukee, it’s Green Bay.

Jane McCauley:
John Zumbrunnen is the vice provost of academic affairs at UW-Madison and faculty co-chair of Badgers Vote. He says up until November 5th, candidates will continue their Wisconsin campaign stops, bringing energy and attention.

John Zumbrunnen:
And those campaigns know that they need to connect with Wisconsin and encourage people to get out.

Jay Heck:
Your own voice and your own ability to be able to vote, particularly in Wisconsin and I can’t say this enough, is probably louder here than in almost any other state in the country.

Jane McCauley:
Treffert cast her ballot on October 22nd, the first day of early voting in Wisconsin. She will continue to canvass until November 5th.

Emily Treffert:
That’s why when people are like, “Oh, well, politics doesn’t really impact me.” Doesn’t impact you? You mean the future of the world, like the future of our Earth, like the planet we live on?

Jane McCauley:
For “Here & Now,” I’m Jane McCauley in Madison.