The City of Madison set up five voter registration sites Tuesday to celebrate National Voter Registration Day, including at the University of Wisconsin Engineering Mall, Library Mall and the Red Gym, according to an announcement from the City of Madison.

Nearly 4.7 million voters have registered on the holiday since 2012, according to the National Voter Registration Day website.

A Wisconsin ID or proof of address is required for the registration process, which can take the form of a driver’s license, gas or electric bill, UW student document, passport, identification card and more, according to the City of Madison Clerk’s Office website. For an address to be valid, voters must reside at the same residence for 28 successive days before an election.

While it’s not required, it is easiest to register in advance, BadgersVote intern and UW sophomore Laine Bottemiller said in an email to The Badger Herald.

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“In Wisconsin, you can register at your polling place on Election day,” Bottemiller said in the email. “However, I would definitely recommend people register in advance because that ensures they are prepared for election day and can avoid any long lines.”

Voters can register several different ways, including in person at one of the centers across the city or online. They may also register through the mail by printing out a voter registration form, completing it and mailing it to their municipal clerk.

Despite the options for registration, some students like UW sophomore Rachel Van Hefty still hesitate to take the steps to register.

“I guess I haven’t registered to vote because it seems like such a hassle,” Van Hefty said. “I’m not sure I’m passionate enough about politics to go through that process.”

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But voter turnout among UW students has been on the rise, according to an article from UW News. Voter turnout among eligible students increased 7.4% between the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections.

Campus organizations such as BadgersVote, a partnership between campus and city organizations, work to increase voter turnout, according to the UW article.

The registration process shouldn’t take longer than five minutes, Bottemiller said.

“My message for anyone yet to register is to remember that voting is a privilege that not everyone has,” Bottemiller said. “We wield a lot of power with our vote, and it’s a shame not to use it.”