Press Clipping: University of Wisconsin - ASM spring election sets new low for voter participation

ASM spring election sets new low for voter participation

March 26, 2024
By Tarun Vedula

The University of Wisconsin's Associated Students of Madison, which serves as the university's student council, drew only 2.6% voter turnout to the spring 2024 election. Out of UW's 48,557 students, 1,273 casted ballots for in the 2024 election.

In 2023, 1,530 votes were cast out of a student body totaling 47,830 — a 3.1% turnout.

American Student Government Association Executive Director Butch Oxendine told The Badger Herald in January that at public colleges and universities, voter turnout it student council elections usually rages between 10-15%.

The elections concluded March 13 after two days of polls being open virtually, welcoming 33 new members into ASM for the 2024-2025 school year. UW students could vote for representatives for their school or college, as well as representatives for the Student Services Financial Committee, which delegates a portion of the Student Segregated Fee.

Newly elected College of Letters & Sciences representative Amelia Alvarez said low turnout is indicative of the lack of connection between students and ASM.

"I think ASM's connection with the overall school population is pretty weak," Alvarez said. "It seems like not a lot of people know about it or understand what they do. And I especially see that in the election."

ASM is responsible for distributing nearly $50 million in segregated university fees every year toward direct action campaigns that have notably advocated for 24-hour libraries, mandatory pre-exam study days and caps on tuition increases.

Alvarez was clear about her plans to enhance ASM's visibility and impact. Through a more open dialogue and frequent conversations with the student body, Alvarez hopes to increase her outreach and engagement efforts.

As a freshman, this was Alvarez's first time running for a seat, a factor she thought may hold her back. But after taking advantage of social media and student organizations to campaign, Alvarez was able to garner attention and votes.

"I would tell anybody who would listen, and I felt like at some point, ‘Wow, a lot of people said that they'll actually vote for me," Alvarez said. "So I felt like going into it. I feel like I maybe have a chance."

ASM also includes seven seats for graduate students. Of the seven elected seats, five of the elected seats went to write-in candidates, receiving anywhere from three to eight votes. Ryan Ring, one of the two candidates who ran for a graduate school seat, agreed with Alvarez and attributed the number of running candidates and votes to a lack of information about the importance of student government.

Ring's interest in ASM stems back to his undergraduate experience at UW-Eau Claire, where he served UW System Board of Regents as one of two student representative from 2017-2019. Student representatives are appointed to the Board of Regents by the Governor and are able to vote on decisions, along with the other members.

Ring plans to use his Board of Regents experience and finance background to concentrate on the use of segregated fees.

"I have a finance background, and so my main focus is really going to try to be on the segregated fees — understanding those and and how upcoming votes and stuff will impact that — because one of the most important parts or aspects of student government, especially in Wisconsin, is the true influence that ASM has on how segregated fees are spent but also what those levels are," Ring said.

Of the 33 elected seats, only six incumbents ran, with Ayush Jadhav being one of the four incumbent winners. A junior at UW's College of Engineering much of Jadhav's work on ASM last term revolved around transparency and differential tuition for students.

Jadhav received the largest number of votes for an College of Engineering seat and attributed his access to campaigning for more voter participation in comparison with to his opponents.

"A lot of my outlet was going around in class, trying to meet new people, get to know how they're doing, try to be what they would like to see in a rep. and then encourage them to vote," Jadhav said. "I asked them to please read everyone's statements and vote for whoever you like. My main goal campaigning was just to get people to vote."

In his second year, Jadhav plans to focus more on using differential tuition dollars to increase accessibility to research funding, specifically for engineering students.

Currently, students in the engineering, business and nursing schools must pay differential tuition for expanded curriculum and additional faculty, according to the Bursar's Office. Last semester, Jadhav helped negotiate a Memorandum of Understanding with the College of Engineering that established a formal agreement for student involvement in decisions related to differential tuition.

For Jadhav, it's important ASM provides the changes students are looking for.

"I didn't want to be the person complaining about the problem," Jadhav said. "I want to be more of the person who wants to solve the problem and find solutions for people on campus. And try to be someone who can support other people or other students and try to get them access to any or all resources they want."

Editor's Note: This article was updated to reflect the correct title of the American Student Government Association.