As voters chose Wisconsin politicians including Brett Hulsey and Scott Walker to advance to the general election in November, campus-area poll workers did not report a great change in the number of University of Wisconsin student voters.

As of press time, statewide turnout for both governor’s primaries was estimated at (), a __ on the last midterm election’s turnout.

Ann Waidelich, a polling volunteer at the Memorial Library polling place, said voters passing through the library, whose precinct includes Langdon Street between Park Street and Howard Place and the Lucky Apartments, said there was not a notably high student turnout.

Waidelich said 90 people voted at Memorial Library, while volunteers in the student-only Memorial Union polling place reported a final turnout of 101 students – all of whom live in University Housing halls.

UW sophomore Ellen Wanninger, a Chadbourne Residential College resident who voted at the Memorial Union, said her interest in social equality and ideas taught in classes, as well as her belief in the importance of voting, motivated her to vote in the primary.

“UW students for the most part don’t care,” she said. “I feel like people care about the larger issues, but you kind of have to do research, you have to look for something and not just watch Jon Stewart every night.”

Wanniger added the turnout for Tuesday’s primary likely was not as high because students put less emphasis on state issues and see non-presidential elections as “just a primary.”

The recent return of students from summer vacation may have contributed to the low turnout, Waidleich said.

Waidleich, who began volunteering after retiring, said despite the sometimes slower vote processing in student-heavy precincts because of a higher number of write-in votes, students overall seem serious about voting.

She added student voters seem to vote with one specific candidate in mind and often add write-ins for uncontested candidates.

“They may be serious about voting for a couple of people,” Waidleich said, “But then they get carried away [with write-ins].”