With the presidential election right around the corner, it is more important than ever for voters to be educated about the candidates, voter registration, and election day. This is what Voter Education, an event sponsored by Greek Life on Wednesday, Oct. 12, at 1400 Centennial Hall, hoped to achieve.

The event kicked off with a scavenger hunt where participants were given a worksheet that was filled with election questions. Then participants had to make their way around the room to ten different stations where election information was posted on the walls. Participants had to learn about past elections and election facts in order to answer the questions, all while engaging in a friendly competition of who could answer all of the questions correctly (the stakes were high, the winners received candy).

Next, local representatives for the three major presidential candidates (Hilary Clinton, Donald Trump, and Gary Johnson) talked about their candidates, viewpoints on issues and policies, and what to consider when you are choosing a candidate. The representatives were Nick Gorman, from La Crosse county Democratic party, Bill Feehan, from the La Crosse county Republican party, and Ander Baumann, an unofficial representative from the Libertarian party. After each spoke, the audience was allowed to ask the representatives questions. The Q & A covered topics such as immigration, higher education, and other social policies.

After that, the Wisconsin state senate candidates Dan Kapanke (Republican) and Jenifer Shilling (Democrat) took turns introducing themselves, explaining why they are running for senate and what they stand for. After each spoke, the audience was allowed to ask questions. The positions for state senate will also be listed on the presidential ballot November 8.

Finally, Greek Life hosts gave a short presentation on voter education, voting tips, and an interactive “Who Do I Align With?” quiz.

People were able to register to vote before and after the event. If you haven’t registered yet, you can find out how at https://www.usa.gov/register-to-vote.

There was quite the turnout for Educated Voter. Jenna Sullivan, a member of Alpha Phi, and the event organizer said, “For this event, we really just wanted to educate everyone about the election as much as possible, we want people be aware of biases and false information from the news. We also want people to be educated about not only about the presidential candidates, but the other positions that will be on the ballot as well.”

After you’ve made an educated decision on who you want to vote for, here are 5 things to do to prepare for election day. Be registered ahead of time, know who is on the ballot, find out where you vote, bring a form of I.D. (driver’s license is encouraged), and finally, bring a friend!

Another great online resource suggested by Sullivan is Who Do I Align With, where you can read all about the candidates and take a short quiz to see how you match up with each one. You can check it out at https://www.isidewith.com.