Me? I’m a rising senior that transferred to UW from a small college in OR my sophomore year, now paying bills with my own checkbook. You? A rising freshman with very little “adulting” experience, about to begin living in the “real world”. Take a breath! If there’s anything I’ve learned about being a college student, it’s that nobody really know what they’re doing. It’s all trial and error and a bit of floundering around Madison until you soar into success in the later 20’s and 30’s. But there’s one very important “adulting” step that often gets overlooked at the dawn of college life…
That’s VOTING!
We all enter college (unless you’re very smart and skipped some grades or were homeschooled) at 18 years old or soon to be 18-year-olds, which means that in the eyes of our country, we are at age to be law-participating citizens. Therefore registering to vote and following through with every election can be considered a critical step in the forging of adulthood.
Are you registered to vote in Wisconsin? You can check by name here. If you have a valid Wisconsin drivers license, you can register online here.
If you came out of state like me, you’ll first have to stop at a Wisconsin DMV to update your information in order to be eligible to vote in location. There are two DMV locations in Madison on the East and West side of town, both accessible by bus. If you’d rather keep residency in your home state and vote via absentee ballot, you can find more information about the process here.
Do you know the closest polling place? Madison has a few options for voters that are assigned based on your address. Find that information here.
Finally, stay informed about the next elections! I think we’re all aware of the upcoming presidential elections, but there’s smaller elections that tend to happen every six months and intermittently.