In six days, Dan Suhr will have time to breathe again, at least for a little while.

Like other students involved in this year's presidential campaign, the chairman of Marquette's Students for Bush has been occupied by various preparations for Tuesday's general election.

"At this point in the campaign, it's bigger names and bigger events," said Suhr, a junior in the College of Arts & Sciences. He said Students for Bush is currently focusing on going to off-campus events, which include a greater number of people.

Students for Kerry is also focusing on involving more people and urging Democrats to vote, according to Noelle Gilbreath, chair of the organization.

"On election day we'll be doing a lot of visibility trying to show Kerry support on campus," said Gilbreath, a junior in the College of Arts & Sciences. "We'll have a table between McCormick (Hall) and the (Alumni Memorial) Union to answer questions people have about what's going on."

Marquette's College Democrats are also enveloped in pre-election day preparations.

"We've been vamping the early vote, running people from the Union to City Hall," said Meredith Salsbery, chair of the organization. She said College Democrats encouraged people to vote early to avoid long lines at the polls on Election Day.

The College Republicans have been busy encouraging students to vote as well. Working closely with Students for Bush, chair Brandon Henak said the group will continue efforts to get young Republicans to the polls by driving students there if necessary.

Henak, a junior in the College of Business Administration, said College Republicans will be busy in the five days immediately preceding the election and on Election Day.

"We'll have runners who try and make sure Republicans get out and vote," Henak said.

The group has volunteers who will make phone calls to voters and escort them to the polls, he said.

Both College Republicans and College Democrats expressed satisfaction with how their campaigns have progressed at Marquette.

Salsbery said she believed Marquette's College Democrats had about 200 members during the 2000 presidential election, and now the organization currently includes around 900 people.

College Republicans at Marquette have also experienced growth in their membership, according to Henak. He said since school began this fall, membership has grown from about 300 to 1,000 members.

Students for Bush has 298 members at Marquette, Suhr said, and is one of the group's largest branches.

On Election Day, Students for Bush plan to attend the Republican Party of Wisconsin's party at a downtown location Tuesday night.

"We'll go and be with students from all over and volunteers from the Milwaukee area," Suhr said.

Salsbery said College Democrats will also be participating in a city-wide event Tuesday evening.

"We'll be at the Kerry Victory Party in Milwaukee," she said.

Like Marquette's College Democrats, the Democratic Party of Wisconsin has made efforts on behalf of Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass).

"On Election Day we do millions of calls across the country," said Leah Frank, Milwaukee Regional Deputy Press Secretary with the party's Wisconsin Victory '04 campaign.

The Republican Party of Wisconsin will push for Bush on and leading up to Tuesday.

"People at the polls will be there to recruit those who support the president and make sure they vote," said Chris Lato, communications director for the Republican Party of Wisconsin. "We had 54,469 volunteers across Wisconsin as of Oct. 20."