Less than one week remains until Americans head to the polls in what has been a historic presidential election campaign. With former president Donald Trump suffering from two assassination attempts and Vice President Kamala Harris bouncing into the spotlight after what many called a disastrous summer debate performance by President Biden, soon the people will provide the final judgment.
Signs that the election is near are ever present on Marquette’s campus. Each residence hall has put up a poster showing residents where their polling place is. Student organizations have been tabling in the AMU, reminding people to vote and advocating for candidates. Pins and buttons line students’ backpacks, and doors are lined with stickers.
With Election Day inching closer, both the Marquette College Democrats and College Republicans have been working to advocate for their party’s candidates and platforms. From holding meetings with free food to hosting guest speakers, both groups are doing everything that they can to make sure that their candidates win up and down the ballot.
The Marquette Wire had the opportunity to speak with Jasleen Kaur, a sophomore in the College of Arts & Sciences, and Elliot Sgrignuolli, a junior in the College of Arts & Sciences. Kaur and Sgrignuolli are the leaders of the Marquette College Democrats and College Republicans, respectively. They discussed a variety of issues, ranging from student loan debt to foreign policy.
On student loan debt, Sgrignuolli highlighted several concerns, one of them in particular being the question of how student loan forgiveness will be paid for.
“There’s a lot of people that [assume] student loans are going to be automatically forgiven if [they] vote for this person … Where’s the money coming from? Taxes. Who pays taxes? All [college] graduates. If you want free school, here’s another so and so much on your taxes,” Sgrignuolli said.
Meanwhile, Kaur highlighted how she thinks students will be able to contribute more to the U.S. economy when they have debt relief.
“If we use government funding … to lessen [student debt] for individuals, we’re going to make that up through the economy. We’re going to make up for that because we are going into the workforce, and we’re going to spend all of that money that would have gone towards paying back student debt back into the economy through the workforce,” Kaur said.
Several other issues were also brought up by both party groups.
“I would like to see sustained success. I would like to see inflation go down, I would like to see more security in terms of the border and more stability internationally. Right now, we’ve got one war with Russia and Ukraine. There might be another war in the Middle East, and who knows what’s going on with China and Taiwan,” Sgrignuolli said.
The College Democrats also brought up similar concerns.
Kaur said the Israel/Palestine conflict is a main issue on the ballot this year. She also spoke about the topic of climate change and its current impact on the environment.
“We see its effects right now. It’s super warm right now at the end of October,” Kaur said.
Above all issues, both party groups emphasized the importance of students voting and making their voices heard.
“I’ve been telling people that voting is important. Everyone has a vote; you got to use your vote. It’s your civil responsibility,” Sgrignuolli said. “You can register on Election Day here in Wisconsin. I’ve been telling people that if you live on campus, it’s very easy to do.”
Given Wisconsin’s swing state status, some feel that their vote will be more impactful here rather than their home state.
“I’ve personally been reached out by members of the Marquette community to inform them how they can vote as out of state students, provide them, and direct them in those specific resources,” Kaur said.
In-person absentee voting is currently underway in the State of Wisconsin and will conclude on Sunday, Nov. 3. Election Day polls will be open on Tuesday, Nov. 5 from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. statewide. Visit myvote.wi.gov to find your polling place to vote early or on Election Day, as well as other general voting information.
This story was written by Sahil Gupta. He can be written at [email protected].
