Ready, willing and able to vote

MATC student reveling in chance to cast a ballot for the first time

Mark Feldmann, feldmam1@matc.edu

October 28, 2022

Stuart Goldsmith

There’s a lot going on out here, especially with racial injustice, and I can’t just sit by and let it happen. I want my vote to matter.

Stuart Goldsmith MATC Audio Production student

MILWAUKEE – Stuart Goldsmith got pretty jazzed in February when he turned 18. 

The first-year Milwaukee Area Technical College student could finally make his voice heard at the ballot box.

“I’m interested in voting to make change,” said Goldsmith, a Wauwatosa East High School graduate who is studying audio production and music occupations at MATC. “There’s a lot going on out here, especially with racial injustice, and I can’t just sit by and let it happen. I want my vote to matter.”

Goldsmith’s interest in the election prompted him to attend a rally on October 25 at MATC to mark the start of early voting in Milwaukee for the November 8 general election.

MATC students and employees who live in the city of Milwaukee can vote early at the Fiserv Forum, located near MATC’s Downtown Milwaukee Campus, on the southeast corner of North Sixth Street and West Juneau Avenue. The arena is across the street from the T Building.

Voters can cast ballots at Fiserv Forum from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday, October 27; Thursday, November 3; and Friday, November 4; and from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, October 29 and Saturday, November 5. 

Voters must use the Johnson Controls entrance at the corner of Sixth Street and Juneau Avenue. Voting is being held just inside the doors in the lobby area.

There will be free parking for voters on Juneau between Sixth and Fifth streets, and for voters who might find it difficult to go into the polling place, there will be full curbside service.

Voters can also register on all the early voting dates except Saturday, November 5. Voters who want to register must bring proof of residence. Photo ID is required to vote.

Get Voting Information Here

Fiserv Forum is one of eight locations in the city where voters can cast ballots during early voting, which started October 25, said Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson, who appeared at the rally.

“I want the voice of every Milwaukeean to be heard in this election,” Johnson said. “Voting is how democracy works. Voting is a participatory sport. You can’t sit on the sidelines and expect things to change. You have got to get into the arena.”

Goldsmith said he is one of the few teens he knows who plan to vote. “Not very many of my friends are interested in politics,” he said. “Sometimes I get them to talk a little bit and they open up a little more.”

When he and friends do discuss politics, the conversation can get heated, he said, but never out of hand. “We can get past those kinds of things because we are friends,” he said. “Right now a lot of people can’t get past those things. We just need to be more friendly and more welcoming.”

About MATC: Wisconsin’s largest technical college and one of the most diverse two-year institutions in the Midwest, Milwaukee Area Technical College is a key driver of southeastern Wisconsin’s economy and has provided innovative education in the region since 1912. More than 25,000 students per year attend the college’s four campuses and community-based sites or learn online. MATC offers affordable and accessible education and training opportunities that empower and transform lives in the community. The college offers more than 170 academic programs — many that prepare students for jobs immediately upon completion and others that provide transfer options leading to bachelor’s degrees with more than 40 four-year colleges and universities. Overwhelmingly, MATC graduates build careers and businesses in southeastern Wisconsin. The college is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.