If you are going outta town next week for spring break, make sure to
vote absentee. It is easy--you just walk into the city clerk's office
down at the City-County Building, ask for a ballot and 2 minutes
later you are done. In fact, in many ways it is easier than the real
thing. (Though for community spirit reasons I prefer the real thing!)
But first, remember to review BTA's list of endorsed candidates here:
http://www.danenet.org/bcp/election2007/
Below is an article about the absentee voting fun.
-Mike
WISCONSIN STATE JOURNAL THURSDAY MARCH 29, 2007
School vacations create run on absentee ballots
By ANITA CLARK
Thousands more voters than usual are seeking absentee ballots from the
Madison city clerk's office as Tuesday's election approaches.
This year's spring election falls during spring break for UW-Madison,
Edgewood College, Madison Area Technical College, Madison public schools
and many suburban school districts.
"Every time I look up we have about seven people voting," City Clerk
Maribeth Witzel-Behl said.
By late Wednesday afternoon, 8,695 people had requested absentee ballots
from the city. The typical spring election draws 2,000 to 3,000 Madison
absentee votes, though the number topped 4,000 in April 2004 when the
ballot included 23 contested County Board seats and three Madison School
Board races.
In addition to vacations, absentee voting is a trend fueled by people who
enjoy its convenience and is encouraged by political campaigns trying to
guarantee that supporters cast their votes, Witzel-Behl said.
On the UW-Madison campus, students dubbed their absentee-voting campaign
"Vote Naked" and publicized it with posters of nude voters, one male and
one female, with strategically placed ballots.
University officials sent an "e-mail blast" to students, staff and faculty
members reminding them that the election falls during spring break, said
LaMar Billups, senior special assistant to the chancellor. Ballot request
forms were provided to all dormitory residents and are available at
Memorial Union and Union South.
"We've tried to make it as easy as possible," Billups said.
The university offers a free shuttle bus from Memorial Union to the
City-County Building from 4 to 6 p.m. this week through today, but Vote
Naked student organizer Adam Lang found only three people climbed on during
its Tuesday shift.
"I'm hoping it's because they've already registered to vote (absentee)
through Vote Naked," said Lang, a senior in political science.
Mayoral campaigns for incumbent Dave Cieslewicz and challenger Ray Allen
remind supporters to cast their ballot early if they plan vacations next
week - or even if they don't.
"We are telling people even if you're going to be in town, sometimes it's
easier to vote absentee," said Semmi Pasha, a spokesman for Allen. "We feel
that the higher the turnout, the more likely we'll win."
Megan McGrorty, a spokeswoman for the Cieslewicz campaign, said workers are
targeting not only students but also university employees and "all of those
young families who are going to be at Disneyland."
One disabled absentee voter in Madison, Steve Holicek, said he started
voting by mail about eight years ago after a transportation problem forced
him into an expensive cab ride to the polls.
"Maybe it's just that I want to control my own destiny when it comes to
something as important as voting - maybe it's just more convenient," he
said. "I do fill out the same ballot the people who go to the polls fill
out - I just don't put it into the reader myself."
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