Every election year, Marquette University works to improve voter engagement and increase voter participation across campus through cross-campus collaborations, robust volunteer efforts, civic engagement initiatives, and providing transportation to polling locations.
Marquette is also committed to civic dialogue. The Lubar Center for Public Policy Research and Civic Education recently hosted a presidential debate event, “Battleground Wisconsin: Debate and Conversation,” featuring panelists Dr. Philip Rocco, an associate professor of political science at Marquette; Wisconsin State Senator Julian Bradley; and State Representative Robin Vining. The event was moderated by Lubar Center Director Derek Mosley.
“Prior to the debate, we set the stage for what we expected to hear from the candidates and what the debate might mean in the context of a closely contested election campaign,” Rocco explains. “We then watched the debate and concluded with a brief wrap-up on what happened and what we expect the debate’s consequences will be for the election. It [was] a great way for students and other members of our community to watch the debate together and to get some context from both elected officials and a political scientist.”
Student and Staff Involvement
Senior Melanie Leyva knows the importance of making her voice heard during an election season. The political science major is the student director of the Arrupe Center and a Democracy Fellow through the Campus Vote Project. Leyva actively posts articles and links, such as MyVoteWI, on social media to encourage more students to register.
This year, she’s leading student volunteers to promote voter registration and will also help educate students on where to find their polling locations. Leyva says she is passionate about her civic duty and encourages others to do the same.
“It’s very important for me to make my voice heard during the election season because we need more representation of the young voting population,” Leyva says. “I think it’s also crucial to be civically engaged in our community and demonstrate the importance of exercising one’s right to vote. In my family, I am the only person who has the constitutional right to vote, so voting is more than checking a box: it’s a right that represents my community.”
Just as students are doing their part to encourage others their age to vote on Election Day, Lisa Weber, an instructor of practice in accounting in the College of Business Administration, is lending her time as a volunteer. She last helped Marquette during the Fall 2022 elections as a nonpartisan voter registration ambassador.
“On the day of the election, I assisted in providing information and giving directions to individuals who came to cast their ballots at the voting location inside of the campus Alumni Memorial Union [AMU],” Weber explains. “I was surprised to learn that the voting location in AMU was not just for our students, but also for community members.”
Campus-wide Effort
Marquette typically employs around 100 trained nonpartisan volunteers to assist students with the documentation they need to vote and, if needed, to register to vote at their polling location. Students living on and off campus in the Marquette area vote in seven wards at five polling locations, including:
- Alumni Memorial Union
- Central Library, Centennial Hall; 733 N. 8th St.
- Wisconsin Conservatory of Lifelong Learning School, 1017 N. 12th Street
- Highland Gardens, 1818 W Juneau Ave.
- Milwaukee Academy of Chinese Language, 2430 W. Wisconsin Ave.
“In previous years, the City of Milwaukee Elections Commission has noted that Marquette’s robust volunteer efforts, through helping both students and community members, is unique, and they wish other polling locations replicated such efforts,” says Mary Czech-Mrochinski, senior director of public affairs in the Office of University Relations.
In 2021, Marquette was recognized as a “Voter Friendly Campus” from a partnership program between NASPA (Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education) and the Fair Election Center’s Campus Vote Project.
Marquette also plans to use community service vans to transport students to various polling locations on Election Day so that they can feel confident and safe when traveling to cast their vote. Students can learn more by viewing the “voter information” tile on the CheckMarq homepage.
By Melissa Barclay, Senior Communication Specialist, Marquette University