Victoria Duarte of NextGen Wisconsin helps a Marquette student pledge to vote in the upcoming midterm election.
With nearly two months until the midterm elections, voter turnout organizations are making a push to get voters to the polls. NextGen America, a progressive nonprofit political action committee, has been ramping up its efforts to get young people to the polls, working on more than 25 college campuses across Wisconsin.
NextGen Wisconsin held a canvassing event Monday at Marquette University, providing information about the upcoming election to college students, many of whom are first time voters. Marquette is one of 26 Wisconsin college campuses the organization has been working on recently, as they say they have already pledged 15,000 young Wisconsinites to vote in the Nov. 6 election.
“We reduce the barriers for students to help them get out and vote,” said Thomas Fischl, the Wisconsin organizing director. “We meet them on their level… we make sure they have all the information they need.”
NextGen Wisconsin is trying to impact the next election, as they have a presence on 26 Wisconsin college campuses.
Volunteers helped more than 200 students pledge to vote Monday, as they handed out popsicles and ice cream at an event they called “Popsicles to the Polls.” Volunteers provided information about polling places and registering to vote as well. Although the nonprofit, founded by philanthropist Tom Steyer, focuses on progressive ideals such as gun safety and LGBTQ rights, they say they want all young people to vote. Statistics from the last midterm election show that only 23% of people ages 18-34 voted.
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“Young people didn't turn out, they didn't let leaders reflect their values… that’s not going to happen this time,” said Sean Manning, the Wisconsin media manager at NextGen America, regarding the last midterm election in 2014.
Victoria Duarte, a regional organizing director, said she spoke with a Marquette student last week who planned not to vote during this midterm, convincing him that his vote is important. “It really resonated with him… he not only pledged to vote in November, but he volunteered for three hours with us,” she said. “He was into having similar conversations with people.”
Freshman Arin Anderson pledged to vote in her first eligible election as a voter.
Manning said some of the top issues to college students include cost of college, access to affordable health care and gun safety. TargetSmart, a political data provider, found that the share of youth voter registrants in Wisconsin has increased from 8.43% to 14.07% of new registrants since Feb. 14, 2018—the date of the Parkland, Fla. school shooting.
Arin Anderson, a freshman at Marquette will be voting for the first time in the midterm election. “I hope my voice counts towards something. I think if enough people vote, then a change can be made,” she said.
You can learn more about the next election at www.myvote.wi.gov.
