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TBE volunteers spend many hours to help others vote

12/24/2018 10:20:15 AM

Dec24

The City of Madison and Dane County both saw record high turnout for the most recent midterm election. The City Clerk of Madison estimated that almost 93 percent of registered voters turned out for the election. Temple Beth El members played an important part by facilitating voter registration and early voting. Some members received training offered by Wisconsin Faith Voices for Justice, and volunteers were on hand to register voters on Yom Kippur morning and at other Temple events.

A few members went above and beyond, devoting dozens of hours to registering voters and training voter registrars.

Sue and Vic Levy have served as elections officials for many years. This last election they helped at least 200 people register at Thoreau School. Sue also volunteered with the League of Women Voters to register university students who were voting early on campus. In addition, Sue volunteered to train canvassers to get out the vote. These canvassers made sure that potential voters knew how to register and when and where to vote.

Sue is enthusiastic about the experience: “There is nothing that can give you more hope for the future of our democracy than registering a student or a new citizen to register to vote for the first time. I was lucky enough to do both this year!”

Jim and Nan Youngerman also spent many hours registering voters and helping with early voting. They focused their efforts on University of Wisconsin student registrations at various locations across the Madison campus. During the 10-day early voting period on campus, Jim registered students at Union South for six hours every day. A total of 2,591 early votes were processed there, almost half of which were same-day registrations. Jim personally registered over 700 student voters during that time!

For people who would like to help with the spring elections, Jim suggests signing up through the office of the City Clerk or through the League of Women Voters. These organizations offer training, provide support at registration and polling locations, and send emails each week w specific times and locations where volunteers are needed. Sue notes that the need for help with early voting will be even greater in future elections, since the Legislature has recently shortened the early voting period.

The URJ Religious Action Coalition Civic Engagement Campaign encourages URJ members to vote, work with their legislators, and make their voices heard in the public arena. Looking forward to the 2020 elections, we hope our members will continue to provide voter registration and advocate for improved voting opportunities and access.

“We both feel so grateful to live in a community where the City Clerk invests heavily in educating volunteers such as ourselves, where the League of Women Voters offers tremendous leadership for volunteer opportunities, and where together our community strives to maximize voting opportunities for all people.” – Nan and Jim Youngerman
April 25, 2024 17 Nisan 5784