MADISON, I'M ZAC SCHULTZ, FOR
"HERE & NOW." >> Frederica: SO
GOVERNOR EVERS DANCED THE
ELECTION NIGHT AWAY AND HIT THE
CODE FOR A VICTORY TOUR OF K-12
SCHOOLS ACROSS THE STATE.
STUDENTS VISITED THIS WEEK WERE
MOSTLY TOO YOUNG TO VOTE, BUT
OUR NEXT GUEST SAYS THE YOUTH
VOTE THIS PAST TUESDAY WAS A KEY
TO EVERS' WIN.
AMBER WICHOWSKY IS PROFESSOR OF
POLITICAL SCIENCE AT MARQUETTE
UNIVERSITY AND DIRECTOR OF THE
MARQUETTE DEMOCRACY LAB.
THANKS VERY MUCH FOR BEING HERE.
>> THANKS FOR HAVING ME.
>> Frederica: SO YOU GOT A LOT
OF OTHER TAKEAWAYS FROM
TUESDAY'S ELECTION, BUT THE
YOUTH VOTE STANDS OUT FOR YOU.
WHY?
>> YEAH.
ABSOLUTELY.
THERE'S A QUESTION HEADING INTO
TUESDAY ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT THE
HIGH TURNOUT AND DEEP CIVIC
ENGAGEMENT SEEN AMONG GEN-Z
VOTERS WOULD CONTINUE THIS
ELECTION.
THERE'S POLLING DATA SUGGESTING
THAT YOUNGER VOTERS WERE NOT AS
ENTHUSIASTIC THIS TIME AROUND,
BUT TUESDAY, WE SAW THAT IN MANY
PLACES LIKE WISCONSIN, YOUNG
VOTERS TURNED OUT AT RELATIVELY
HIGH RATES.
I SAY "RELATIVELY" BECAUSE
YOUNGER VOTERS VOTE AT LOWER
RATES THAN OLDER VOTES, BUT IT'S
ESTIMATED APPROXIMATELY 27% OF
18-YEAR-OLDS TO 29-YEAR-OLDS
VOTED ON TUESDAY IN STATES LIKE
WISCONSIN, PENNSYLVANIA,
MICHIGAN, AND THESE ARE STATES
WHERE THERE WERE ISSUES THAT
VERY MUCH ARE BEING DEBATED, ON
THE BALLOT IN SOME CASES, AND
THESE ARE ISSUES THAT ANIMATING
YOUNG VOTERS, AND WE ARE SEEING
THEM CONTINUE TO TURN OUT.
>> Frederica: SPEAKING OF THE
ISSUES, WHAT WERE THE ISSUES
THAT BROUGHT YOUNGER PEOPLE TO
THE POLLS COMPARED TO OLDER
VOTERS?
>> YEAH.
ONE ISSUE THAT STANDS OUT IS
ABORTION.
IF YOU'RE LOOKING AT PUBLIC
OPINION DATA HEADING INTO
TUESDAY, ABORTION WAS MORE
LIKELY TO BE IDENTIFIED AS A TOP
ISSUE FOR YOUNGER VOTERS, AND
YOUNGER VOTERS ARE ALSO MORE
LIKELY TO CITE CLIMATE CHANGE AS
AN ISSUE OF PRESSING CONCERN FOR
THEM.
THEY ARE SLIGHTLY LESS LIKELY TO
SAY THINGS LIKE INFLATION, AND,S
THAT TEND TO BOTH ADVANTAGE
REPUBLICANS AND TO ANIMATE OLDER
VOTER, AND SO THAT THE ISSUE
WITH GEN-Z IS NOT JUST THEIR
RATES OF PARTICIPATION, WHICH
THEY ARE CIVICALLY ENGAGED
GENERATION, BUT THIS IS A
GENERATION BREAKING FOR
DEMOCRATS, SO THEY ARE VOTING
3-1 FOR DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATES,
AND THAT TOGETHER, DELIVERS
VOTES FOR EVERS HERE IN
WISCONSIN.
>> Frederica: SO IF THE YOUTH
VOTE WAS A KEY TO EVERS' WIN,
WHY NOT LIFT BARNES TO THE SAME
EXTENT?
>> YEAH.
FIRST, I WANT TO QUALIFY YOUTH
VOTE.
THERE'S SOME REALLY IMPORTANT
DISTINCTIONS WITHIN THE YOUTH
VOTE.
ONE IS THAT YOUNG VOTERS OF
COLOR ARE MORE LIKELY TO VOTE
DEMOCRATIC COMPARED TO THEIR
WHITE GEN-Z VOTERS, SO THERE'S A
RACIAL AND ETHNIC DIFFERENCE.
WE HAVE A GENDER GAP AND A
COLLEGE DIVIDE AS WELL.
SO, IT IS NOT THAT JUST ALL
YOUNG VOTERS TURN OUT, BUT IT IS
THOSE IN COLLEGE OR COLLEGE
EDUCATED.
NOW, IF WE LOOK AT THE MAP HERE
IN WISCONSIN TO UNDERSTAND WHERE
WERE THE PLACES, AND WHERE ARE
THE VOTERS WHO WERE SWITCHING
THEIR TICKET, SPLITTING THEIR
TICKETS, EXCUSE ME, BETWEEN
EVERS AND JOHNSON?
THESE TENDED TO BE PLACES WHERE
REPUBLICANS DID BETTER.
IT'S NOT A PERFECT CORRELATION,
BUT IN PLACES OF THE STATE WHERE
REPUBLICANS DID BETTER, YOU WERE
MORE LIKELY TO SEE VOTERS SPLIT
THEIR TICKETS.
PLACES THAT HAVE BEEN THE
DEMOCRATIC STRONGHOLDS,
MILWAUKEE, DANE COUNTY, YOU SAW
LESS TICKETS, BUT YOU SAW SOME,
BUT ADD THE VOTES TOGETHER, THAT
MEN BARNES HELPED CLOSE THE GAP,
BUT NOT ENOUGH TO WIN ON
TUESDAY.
SO, 2022 IS GOING TO COME DOWN
TO AN ELECTION WHERE WE DON'T
HAVE A CLEAR NARRATIVE COMING
FROM THE ELECTION.
THERE WERE SO MANY FACTORS AT
PLAY ACROSS BOTH THE STATE AS
WELL AS THE COUNTRY.
>> Frederica: WELL, AS
DIRECTOR OF YOUR DEMOCRACY LAB,
YOU ENGAGE WITH MARQUETTE
STUDENTS ON THE KIND OF
RUDIMENTS OF VOTING, LIKE, WHAT
YOU NEED TO DO, WHERE TO GO,
ISSUES.
DID THAT HAVE AN IMPACT IN THE
LAST ELECTION, HAVE YOU FOUND?
>> ABSOLUTELY.
SO, WE'RE STILL DIGGING INTO THE
DATA, BUT IF YOU LOOK AT WARD
LEVEL DATA HERE IN THE MILWAUKEE
COUNTY, TURNOUT IN MILWAUKEE
COUNTY WAS DOWN A LITTLE BIT
COMPARED TO 2018.
PLACES WHERE WE SAW TURNOUTS, IN
SOME CASES, THE PERCENTAGE OF
REGISTERED VOTERS INCREASED WERE
ACTUALLY NEAR COLLEGE CAMPUSES
INCLUDING HERE IN THE WARDS
AROUND MARQUETTE, SO SOME OF THE
THINGS THAT WE DO ARE JUST
EDUCATING STUDENTS ABOUT WHAT
THEY NEED TO VOTE, WHAT IS THEIR
PROOF OF RESIDENCY, WHAT PHOTO
ID DO THEY NEED, AND WHERE'S
THEIR POLLING LOCATION?
IN MILWAUKEE, IN A CYCLE, OUR
POLLING LOCATIONS SHIFTED
SOMEWHAT BECAUSE OF
REDISTRICTING SO WE MADE SURE
STUDENTS KNEW WHERE THEIR
POLLING LOCATIONS WERE.
IF STUDENTS MOVED IN THE LAST
TIME THEY VOTED, STUDENTS NEEDED
TO KNOW THEY NEEDED TO
RE-REGISTER.
YOUNG VOTERS OFTEN HAD SOME
ADDITIONAL HURDLES TO OVERCOME
IN TERMS OF VOTING, AND SO WE
WANTED TO MAKE SURE STUDENTS
WERE INFORMED AND EMPOWERED TO
EXERCISE VOTING RIGHTS TUESDAY.
>> Frederica: WITH LESS THAN A
MINUTE LEFT, YOU'VE ALSO SAID
THAT TUESDAY'S RESULTS SHOW THIS
IS NOT A STATE WHERE DONALD
TRUMP CAN COME IN AND RECREATE
2016.
WHY NOT?
>> WELL, ABSOLUTELY.
LOOK AT THE SUBURBAN COUNTIES
OUT OF MILWAUKEE.
THESE USED TO BE THE REPUBLICAN
STRONGHOLDS, AND EVERS, WE SAW
IT IN 2018, 2020, AND THE
QUESTION WAS CHOMPING OUT ON THE
BALLOT, AND TRUMP NOT IN THE
RACE, WITH THOSE VOTERS CONTINUE
TO VOTE DEMOCRATS, AT LEAST AT
SOMEWHAT HIGHER MARGINS THAN
HISTORICALLY, AND FOR THOSE
REASONS INCLUDING AREAS AROUND
GREEN BAY, THE NUMBER OF VOTES
COMING OUT OF DANE COUNTY, OUT
OF MILWAUKEE, THOSE SHIFTING
MARGINS, IT'S JUST NOT A STATE
THAT TRUMP WILL LIKELY BE ABLE
TO WIN.
>> Frederica: ART, AMBER