(The Center Square) – A Wisconsin group is calling for an audit into the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s BadgersVote Coalition and if it violated a state law that restricted private funds being used to conduct an election.
The Institute for Reforming Government said that the group uses donations to fund a plan and partner with the Madison city clerk to increase voter turnout amongst students.
The group cited a 2023 survey where nearly 60% of undergraduates at the school said they are very liberal or somewhat liberal and, if it included self-identified moderates, that total becomes 80% of undergraduates.
The group also breaks down the requirements for voting in the state as students who come from another state, showing that BadgersVote explains students must “reside in Wisconsin for at least 28 consecutive days be‐fore Election Day,” but does not say that the law states that temporary habitation is not residency.
“A university’s program that combines private sponsorship, public resources, and partnerships with election officials warrants full public accounting,” Jake Curtis, IRG Director of the Center for Investigative Oversight, said in a statement. “Voters have made themselves clear: they don’t want private funding near public voting officials.”
The IRG report says that BadgersVote sends information to the Madison clerk, who then sends voter registration information “to all eligible students living in campus residence halls” along with hosting registration reminder events.
The number of UW-Madison students registered to vote rose from 10,666 in 2014 to roughly 17,600 in 2022 with 80.2% of eligible UW-Madison students registered and 55.8% actually voting.
This post was originally published on The Center Square.