So, you’re a UWM Student who wants to vote.
First, #awesome.
Second, if this is the first election you are voting in, we
have some tips for you regarding polling places and registering to vote.
(actually, these are good tips for anyone, even if you have voted in previous
elections).
How to Register?
REGISTER
AT YOUR VOTING SITE ON ELECTION DAY (valid on election day only)
You may register and vote at your voting site on any
Election Day.
Establishing & Proving Residency
Establishing Residency
To be register to vote with your UW-Milwaukee address, you
need to have lived at that address for at least 28 days prior to the election. If
you have moved within the 28 days prior to the election, you would still be
eligible to vote (possibly via absentee ballot) at your old address.
Proving Residency
To prove your residence, you will need to provide some
documentation, the rules for which are below (taken from City of Milwaukee
Election Commission website):
“2013 Wisconsin Act 182 went into
effect on April 4, 2014. Act 182 requires that ALL voters provide a
document establishing their proof of residence as part of the voter
registration application. The requirement applies to all electors who are
not military or permanent absentee voters. Any document used as a proof
of residence MUST include:
- Your current and complete name
- Your current and complete residential address
- A visible account or document number (if applicable)
AND must be from one of the following
proof of residence document types:
- A current and valid Wisconsin driver’s license.
- A current and valid Wisconsin identification card.
- Any other official identification card or license
issued by a Wisconsin governmental body or unit.
- Any identification card issued by an employer in the
normal course of business and bearing a photo of the card holder, but not
including a business card.
- A real estate tax bill or receipt for the current year
or the year preceding the date of the election.
- A gas, electric or telephone service statement (utility
bill) for the period commencing not earlier than 90 days before Election
Day.
- Bank statement.
- Paycheck.
- A check or other
document or official correspondence issued by a unit of government (this
includes official mail from a public high school or state college or
university, such as MPS or UW-Milwaukee).
- A university, college, or technical college
identification card (must include photo) ONLY if the voter provides a fee
receipt dated within the last 9 months or the institution provides a
certified housing list to the municipal clerk.
- A residential lease which is effective for a period
that includes Election Day (cannot be used when registering by mail)
**Please note: you are able to
redact (black out) private information such as account balances or transactions
on your proof of residence document. However, the last four
(4) digits of your account number (if applicable), name and address must
remain visible.”
As a UWM Student – you have
access to print a document (see: Student Voter Enrollment Letter) via PAWS that
will print your current address to allow you to establish residency.
Student
Voter Enrollment Letter: This letter can be printed off PAWS on a self-service basis,
starting on October 1. The link to generate the letter appears
in Personal Information section on the PAWS Student Center.
Instructions are provided through the self-service process that
informs students on how to update their mailing address in PAWS,
which prints on the enrollment letter and must reflect the student's local
address based on their voting location.
Students who do
not have proof of their current local address can provide the student
voter enrollment letter or another acceptable proof of residency document
(e.g., utility bill, paycheck, bank statement, etc.) with their current
name and address to register to vote, if they are not already registered
to vote.
Where to Vote?
For the purposes of this section, we’ll focus our attention
on University Housing residents. Are you a UWM student who commutes or lives
off-campus? Check out
myvote.wi.gov to see where you should vote.
Cambridge Ward 136 Urban Ecology Center
1500
E. Park Place
Kenilworth Ward 180 Maryland Avenue School
2418
N. Maryland Ave.
Purin Ward
131 Plymouth Church
2717
E. Hampshire Ave.
RiverView Ward
137 Gordon Park Pavilion
1321
E. Locust St.
Sandburg Ward 130 Sandburg Green Room
3400
N. Maryland Ave.
I was born and raised in Wausau, WI where I attended Wausau East High School. My freshman year in High School I accidentally walked in on a tech crew meeting! Little did I know, I would end up being a theatre major. I was set on another university since my sophomore year of high school, but when I finally toured campuses I decided that UWM was worth looking into. Of course I never expected to fall in love with UWM as much as I did. The city has so much to offer, so I got the "feeling" this was the right school, kinda like Say Yes To The Dress. (Yea, I'm obsessed with that show too.) I ended up coming back to visit UWM too many times than I would like to admit and as they say, the rest is history.
Coming from central Wisconsin, I came to Milwaukee not knowing anyone. I might even admit that I was scared. My first year I ended up living in the Honors LLC on floor 13 of West Tower in Sandburg. Living on floor 13 was probably the best decision I ever made. I ended up getting to know all 72 people that lived in my house and to this day, a bunch of us still go out to grab dinner every once and a while, go out running in the middle of a rain storm, as well as go ice skating at Red Arrow Park when the weather is nice. My favorite thing that I have come to love about Sandburg is the fact that I can wake up 15 minutes before class, and most of the time still make it there on time. (Totally not a morning person here.)
