Voterpalooza took place Tuesday evening at the Sett in Union South. The event was organized by the University of Wisconsin’s Morgridge Center for Public Service and aims to increase student voter turnout in the upcoming Presidential election.
Voterpalooza is a musical festival featuring local musicians and student bands including Jexizis, Boxing Day and Deep Dive.
The event is an opportunity to engage students in music and the arts, encourage community in Madison, support cultural enrichment, and promote civic engagement, according to an email from BadgersVote Intern Vanessa Ivanov.
“Voterpalooza arose from the need to provide nonpartisan voter education and resources in a fun, engaging way. Live music can be a unifying experience, creating community across identities,” Ivanov said.
The City of Madison provided registration opportunities for attendees, as well as general information about the election process. Informative resource tables teach about empowerment and engagement in the democratic process.
“For young voters, especially those participating in their first election, navigating voter registration and the election process may feel daunting,” Ivanov said. “Voterpalooza aims to empower students with the knowledge and resources needed to confidently cast their ballot and foster lifelong civic engagement. What better way to do that than through music and community?”
First-time voter and UW freshman Kai Karawaka explained his view on voter events such as these. First-time voters sometimes lack initiative and need a push in the right direction, Karawaka said.
“People are more likely to vote if you tell them to, rather than if you just trust them to do it,” Karawaka said.
Karawaka agreed students are attracted to things like live music, so holding voting events surrounding the idea of music boosts voter turnout.
Holding numerous voting events around campus helps to reach a broader audience on topics such as civic engagement, according to another UW freshman and first-time voter Chloe Chu.
Events like Voterpalooza have a positive impact on campus voter turnout by taking a more casual, “everyday” approach in their encouragement of election involvement, according to Ivanov.
“Having these events oriented towards the younger voter and increasing their turnout and their engagement makes it so that they feel more comfortable in the voting space,” Ivanov said.
