Record Turnout Expected At Polls Tuesday

Melissa McCrady

MILWAUKEE- College students are your non-traditional voters.

"I've always been too busy [to vote] and never really thought about it," Elizabeth Hollmann, UW-Milwaukee student, said.

This Tuesday, Elizabeth Hollmann will make the effort.

"I think it's important to be apart of deciding who my leaders are," Hollmann added.

She's not alone. Many fellow UW-Milwaukee students agree.

"This is my first time voting and I'm very excited to do so, " Josef Lesniewski, UW-Milwaukee student, said.

The City of Milwaukee elections commission anticipates a huge voter turnout. Currently, there are 300,000 registered voters. The commission anticipates at least half that to vote on February 19th. That would be unprecedented for a primary. Also on Tuesday, the commission expects to register several voters.

"We anticipate exceptionally high election day registration," Neil Albrecht, Elections commission deputy director, said.

Elections workers insist they're ready. They claim all 1,500 inspectors have been trained. More than 200 city managers have been assigned to the city's busiest polling sites.

They say all equipment has been tested and will be operating at 100 percent.

They insist claim they've ordered more than enough ballots.

The work is far from over for U-W Milwaukee's student public interest research group, "WISPIRG." The campus organization is using a Valentine's Day theme to remind students to vote on Tuesday.

"We know if we make contact with students and remind them to vote we know they'll get out there on the primary election day," Katy Walter, WISPIRG organizer, said.

It's too late to register to vote, but you can register at the poll.

Make sure to bring along a valid Wisconsin driver's license or I.D. card.