Last Tuesday, as the cold temperatures threatened to keep people away from the polls, the students of the University of Wisconsin braved the elements, defied previous expectations and led the campus wards to an impressive 65 percent voter turnout in the Wisconsin primaries.

We must attribute part of this immensely high percentage to the favorable voting laws we have here in Wisconsin. As only one of six states in which people can register to vote on Election Day, Wisconsin has created an environment immensely conducive to student voters.

The results of last Tuesday make the importance of this same-day registration clear. Take for instance the scenario in Ward 44 ? a ward including the dorms of Ogg and Smith, as well as a large portion of off-campus residences in the Dayton Street-Kohl Center area ? where, of the record-breaking 2,200 voters, 1,600 registered to vote on the day they came to the polls. Allow me to pose the following question: If that 73 percent of voters in Ward 44 who registered on Election Day had lived in a state where same-day registration was not allowed, would the overall voter turnout have been so high? Would these 1,600 voices still have been heard?

Ease of voting alone, however, is not enough of an answer for why the campus had close to 6,000 more voters than in the 2004 primary. Therefore, we must ask ourselves, have the youth of America finally found something for which to fight?

Yes, we have. The excitement and dedication of the College Democrats working closely alongside a number of other student organizations during the weeks and days leading up to last Tuesday prove that young people are ready to fight for a say in their government. Contrast the amazing effort of the Democratic groups on campus to what work ? or lack thereof ? the College Republicans put forward to turn out voters on Election Day.

Where were the Republicans around campus in the weeks leading up to the election, when we Democrats were registering first-time voters and those who had moved since the last election? How many were out in the freezing Wisconsin winter into the wee hours of Tuesday morning decorating campus with reminders to vote ? not necessarily to vote Obama, Clinton or even Democratic ? but simply to vote?

Did the College Republicans have a voter information tent in Library Mall on Election Day or volunteers stationed at polling locations helping people register to vote? No, they did not. Their absence and lack of overall excitement are evident. It cannot, therefore, come as a surprise that in the highest-performing campus ward for the Republicans, the three Republican presidential candidates got a mere 254 votes compared to the 1,282 votes Clinton and Obama received in that same ward.

Yet, as young Democrats, as young U.S. citizens, we still have our work cut out for us. For instance, how do we convince the skeptics that, yes, their single vote does count? How do we keep up the level of excitement about voting when it is a privilege for which this generation has not yet had to fight? After all, the 26th Amendment was passed nearly a decade and a half before most of us were even born. We do not have the threat of a draft to scare us into getting our voices heard through voting, and our generation of youth could very easily sit back and take the ability to play an important role in our democratic government for granted.

But we, the students of UW, with the help of volunteers from College Democrats, Students for Obama and Students for Hillary, did not sit back. We did not ignore our right to vote, and we did not simply watch history happen. No, we stood up, we voted, and we made history.

Now that the primary in Wisconsin is over, as the youth of this country it is time to turn our focus to the upcoming elections and show the rest of the world that yes, we can make our voices heard. And we will.

While we cannot change every state’s election laws to be as voter-friendly as Wisconsin’s, we can still make a difference. So, I ask each and every one of you to pick up your phone, call a friend in Texas, Vermont, Rhode Island or Ohio and tell them to vote on March 4. And vote yourselves in the April elections here in Madison because hey, this time, you won?t have to register!

Great job last Tuesday, UW, and let’s keep the impact of the youth vote rolling.

Claire Rydell ([email protected]) is a sophomore majoring in classics and history and is the activities chair of the College Democrats.