The Badger Herald: News: Get Out the Vote: UW GOP pushes voters to polls early

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Get Out the Vote: UW GOP pushes voters to polls early

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By Elizabeth Mathie
Tuesday, October 28, 2008 2:10 a.m.

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With the presidential election fast approaching, campus political groups at the University of Wisconsin are working tirelessly to get voters to the polls.

Among the groups is Students for McCain, where members will be making a final 72-hour push before the election called “Get out the Vote.”

During the three days before the election, Students for McCain, along with the Republican National Committee and the Republican Party of Wisconsin, will be contacting voters in order to “push GOP supporters to the polls,” according to Students for McCain Co-Chair Dan Hoefs.

Hoefs said the 72-hour program won the White House for the GOP in 2004, and with matched enthusiasm, this program could be as helpful to Republican presidential candidate John McCain as it was to George W. Bush four years ago.

Mark Bednar, also a Students for McCain co-chair, said the effort could benefit from targeting Republicans, rather than simply appealing to the general public. He said the group hoped to reach members of the “Republican base” who may have been turned off by McCain’s more moderate policies.

“If their support for McCain wouldn’t be necessarily as strong because he’s not as conservative, we wanted to still target those people as well, to make sure that every vote counts,” Bednar said.

Students for McCain is looking to reach some of the “undecided moderates” who might still be persuaded, Bednar said.

While Students for McCain is launching its voter contact effort, the College Democrats will also be making a general appeal to Madison residents, asking everyone who is eligible to vote to exercise their right.

“We’re talking to everyone,” said College Democrats Chair Claire Rydell. “That’s kind of the exciting thing about the final week before the election is that we really just encourage every person to get out there and vote.”

College Democrats will be encouraging people to vote by going door to door, making phone calls and setting up information tables where people can learn how and where they can vote.

Rydell said it is important for everyone to participate on Election Day because “voting is what keeps our democracy alive.”

“We’re focusing on making sure that everybody is informed and understands that they can vote,” she said.

Rydell said she is fairly confident that more youth votes would increase the Democratic Party’s chances of success in this election.

“Polls are showing that young people are more drawn to Democrats, meaning that if they do turn out, they will be voting, you know, for the Democrats,” Rydell said.

Bednar said in “exceedingly liberal” areas like Madison, more votes might not mean better chances for McCain, but he still stressed the importance of exercising the right to vote.

“The more people who go out and vote and are involved in the process, the better it is for society as a whole,” Bednar said. “But, as far as the campaign goes, we can only hope to interact with voters and hope that they will decide that John McCain is the best candidate.”

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