Next November, thousands of Dane County citizens will flock to the polls to cast their vote for president. Amongst them are many first-time voters who feel stranded, unaware of who they should support. Currently, Wisconsin is a swing state, meaning that it could reasonably be won by either the Republican or Democratic party.
Living within a 30-minute drive from our state’s capitol, many citizens have already been overwhelmed with election hype. Here in Dane County, both the Republican Party of Dane County and the Dane Dems have similar goals: get their agenda heard and send voters to the polls to vote for their respective candidates.
Brandon Maly, chair of the Dane County Republican Party, Dane County’s stresses the importance of the upcoming election.
“This is the most consequential election of our lifetimes, and that’s something normally older generations say. For first-time voters, of course, you haven’t been inundated with this kind of election talk yet, but I think it’s true,” Maly said. “Republicans don’t invest enough here as they should. […] Republicans, we just need to turn out.”
With no shortage of candidates running for their party’s nominations, it can be confusing to decide who to support. Alexia Sabor, chair of Dane County Dems, encourages young voters to find the most well-suited candidate for them. Ways to accomplish this could be through identifying important issues or joining organizations that can help you become more involved in politics.
“At the end of the day, you have to ask yourself, which of these two people aligns more with my values?” Sabor said. “I would encourage people to really think about voting because you’re not going to stop a president from happening because you didn’t vote.”
Both Maly and Sabor believe that abortion will be a key issue for young Dane County voters in 2024. Besides abortion, Maly also listed the economy and foreign policy—specifically the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine—as what he believes to be key issues for young voters. Sabor also mentioned climate change.
Although neither party has officially declared their nominee, several favorites are reflected in polling. For Democrats, the front runner is current president Joe Biden. For Republicans, it’s former president Donald Trump.
“Now we have the extraordinary circumstance of the immediate previous president running in the Republican primary, so of course he’s the runaway favorite,” Maly said. “But anything can happen, and it will happen over the next few months.”
Maly also noted that many young voters may favor someone other than Trump to represent them, a candidate closer to their age.
“Vivek Ramaswamy, out of the Republican candidates, probably has the most [support from young voters]. He’s just turned 38 and has the most youth-centered campaign all about […] social media. He’s very savvy. Being younger helps
him to connect,” Maly said.
Regardless of party affiliations or other demographics, one trend is hard to ignore when it comes to elections—young voters don’t vote as much as their older counterparts. According to the U.S. Census, 48.7% of Wisconsin citizens under 25 voted in the November 2022 election—less than half.
According to Sabor, this is a missed opportunity for young voters to have their voices heard.
“I really want to encourage high school students who might be about to vote for the first time to recognize that they’re leaving their own power on the table if they don’t vote,” Sabor said. “[Young voters] shouldn’t miss an opportunity to weigh in on decisions that affect the rest of their lives.”
Next November, a president will be elected, and who that president ends up being is in the hands of the voters. To register to vote, visit myvote.wi.gov