During the next year many political groups will be working on various issues across the state of Wisconsin. These groups vary from city council to the State Supreme Court, and their decisions will dictate which route you take to get to work, which voting district you reside in, and even how much you pay for groceries. While presidential elections are incredibly important, state and local elections have direct impacts on your everyday life. This is why citizens must start paying attention and turning out to vote in these local elections.

On Tues. April 3, Wisconsin will elect a new State Superintendent. The State Superintendent will be in charge of the public school system. This includes licensing of teachers, to the disbursement of federal aid to schools, and so much more. This newly elected official is significant and will have a lot of say on these issues. Yet, during the primary in February only 8% of eligible voters made it out to their polling locations to decide who would move onto the general election, and that was, sadly, higher than expected.

In 2016 the state election commission estimated that there are 4,449,170 eligible voters in Wisconsin, so there are (roughly) 4,093,236 Wisconsinites who aren’t even picking their own State Superintendent.

Likewise, there is a school board member race and a city clerk race, but again, only a small handful of La Crosse citizens will vote these candidates into power.

Hunter Lisko, a sophomore at UW-L, expressed the importance of all the races on the ballot and how they affect the State. “I will be voting on Tuesday because I believe that students need to invest in the communities they will be living in because these are the issues that affect citizens on a daily basis.” While the candidates are not well-known and don’t make an outrageous amount of money, our local officials are making some of the most personal decisions for La Crosse residents.

For example, on the ballot there will be a non-binding referendum concerning a county tax that would be applied to various businesses and products in order to repair the infrastructure of La Crosse County. This tax would help fix rusted bridges and crumbling roads, but it also would increase the prices of many everyday items. That is something that the people of La Crosse County should have a say in. They should be able to express whether or not they are in favor of paying more to the County Board.

So when you’re paying 50 cents more for products downtown or bouncing around on pot holes, and want to complain about it, my first question would be: Well, did you vote?

So take a moment on Tuesday to stop into the Rec or wherever your polling place is, and vote!  Polls will open at 7 am on Tuesday morning and close at 8 pm.  You don’t have to vote by 8, you just have to be in line by 8.  To get a sample ballot so you can be an informed voter or to find your polling location, go to www.myvote.wi.gov .

I hear over and over again around campus things like “I’m not interested in politics” or “I don’t like to get political.”  Whether you are interested or not, politics will take interest in you. Whether they make sure you have worker’s rights, or an operating post office, the government is everywhere in your life. You might as well have a say in it.