Tim Syth

Some students had something to celebrate after Tuesday’s elections. For Republicans, it was the new control of the U.S. Senate. For Democrats, it was the election of Wisconsin’s first Democratic governor in 16 years.

For Student Senate, it was seeing a high student voter turnout.

“It’s really encouraging that students did turn out at UW-Eau Claire,” Senate President Sarah Schuh said. “When lobbying for issues, it will be a lot easier to talk to our legislatures now.”

Although exact numbers on the percentage of student voters are not available yet, Kristen McMullen, president of College Democrats, said there was 150 percent turnout from what she anticipated.

City ward boundaries have changed since the 1998 gubernatorial election. Schuh compared an on-campus area this year to a similar one from 1998 when 786 people voted. It increased Tuesday to the city officials’ count of 1,091 voters.

Senate’s campaign encouraging students to vote, close races, a live debate on campus and Election Day reminders to students all contributed to the turnout, Schuh said.

“Students knew there was a lot at stake,” she said.

The on-campus poll site was understaffed in comparison to other voting sites in Eau Claire, Schuh said.

This could have deterred some students from voting, she said.

“Hopefully we can work with the city to improve some of those situations so students won’t have such long lines in the future,” Schuh said.