With just under a month left until voters across America will head to the polls to decide who the next President of the United States will be, it seems as though the election is all over. Newspapers with bold headlines proclaim who is currently in the lead. Comedians on Twitter make fun of the latest dumb thing the candidates have said. People on your dorm floor have plastered their doors with posters of their candidate of choice. You might be wondering… What the heck is going on?
We at Her Campus Wisconsin decided to come up with an easy to-do list for those of you who just aren’t quite sure what to think of this tumultuous election season, or for those who don’t know how to go about voting on campus.
1. Check out isidewith.com. If you still aren’t sure who to vote for in November, check out this easy website. You take a quiz, saying how you feel about different issues. At the end, the website tells you how closely you agree with each candidate. For example, you might agree with Hillary Clinton 67% and Donald Trump 92%.
2. Watch the debates. Debates are a perfect way to compare the two party nominees, but don’t believe everything you hear! Make sure to do a little post-debate research to see if they actually knew what they were talking about.
a. Sunday, October 9th – The nominees are back at it again in a town hall style debate, which means you can submit questions if you’re so inclined! Just go here.
b. Wednesday, October 19th – The final debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.
3. Register to vote. If you are a first-time voter, you will need to register to vote. If you have moved to a new address or changed your legal name since the last time you voted, you will need to re-register to vote. You can easily register to vote online here.
4. Know where to go on Election Day. This is where it gets a little complicated. Where you vote depends on where you live on campus.
- If you live in Adams, Barnard, Chadbourne, Waters, Slichter, or Tripp, your polling place is the Red Gym.
- If you live in Bradley, Cole, Dejope, Humphrey, Jorns, Kronshage, Leopold, Phillips, or Sullivan, your polling place is the Frank Holt Center.
- If you live in Sellery or Witte, your polling place is the Gordon Dining and Events Center.
- If you live in Ogg or Smith, your polling place is Ogg Hall.
- If you live in Zoe Bayliss Co-op, Merit, or Davis, your polling place is Porchlight.
5. VOTE. It’s your civic duty. Plus you get one of those cute “I Voted” stickers. Does it get any better than that? ‘Merica.
Whether you’re staunchly affiliated with a specific party or have no interest in politics whatsoever, it’s important to be informed about politics, especially in an election where we are choosing between such polarized candidates. Happy voting!