The Dane County primary election held April 2 had a turnout of around 35%, with 130,941 votes cast out of the 375,452 registered voters. All information pertaining to election information may be found at the County of Dane website’s Election and Voting Information page.

Elections for 37 Dane County Supervisors were conducted — ten of which had opponents while the rest were uncontested, according to the election website. For the area of the University of Wisconsin campus which includes East Campus Mall westward following Campus Drive, Jay Brower secured the win and will retain his position of District 13 Supervisor for the next two years. In District 5 — the area that covers the majority of the UW campus from the Lowell Center to Picnic Point — Henry Fries ran uncontested as previous supervisor Jeff Hynes will step down.

Races for Circuit Court judges — a role that has been gaining more attention and funding in recent years — were also decided, according to Wisconsin Public Radio. While there were only five elections for Dane County and they all ran unopposed, this position has implications for various areas relating but not exclusive to current political controversies such as abortion access and election rules.

Regarding the presidential election, Dane County’s results were in line with the overall Wisconsin outcome. Within the county, incumbent President Joe Biden received 82.9% of votes and former President Donald Trump received 63.1% for Democrats and Republicans respectively, according to County of Dane.

Out of the Democratic vote, 14.5% of voters choose for uninstructed delegation. This vote signifies a protest of the Biden’s administration’s handling of the affairs relating to the war in Gaza, according to previous reporting by The Badger Herald. Activists involved in the Listen to Wisconsin campaign criticized the administration for funding military assets, and urged Biden to reinstate humanitarian aid in addition to calling for a ceasefire, according to WPR.

While that campaign was a state-wide effort, campus organizations such as The Young Democratic Socialists of America led similar efforts. In the weeks leading up to the election, YSDA held a Palestine Land Day March & Rally in addition to multiple Vote “Uninstructed ” Canvasses. Voters in Dane County helped reach the Listen to Wisconsin campaign’s goal to receive 20,000 votes — the margin that Biden won by in the 2020 election – in the battleground state, according to WPR.

Additionally, Dane County voters decided on passing two state amendments. This prohibits the use of private grants to administer elections and requires that only appointed election officials can carry out election tasks, according to the State Democracy Research Initiative.

Upcoming voting opportunities include a primary for general elections for county clerk, district attorney, register of deeds, and treasurer and an election for county executive Nov. 5, 2024. The filing deadline for the general election is June 3, 2024, according to Ballotpedia.