WC Wisconsin News

In the final hours before voters went to the polls in mass for the midterm election, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders made it a point of being in Wisconsin, rallying young voters to make sure their voices were heard. 

“Thank you to the more than 600 people who came out this afternoon in Eau Claire,” Sanders posted to Twitter. “It was an excellent way to start the final weekend campaigning before this important midterm election. I say, especially to young people, it is absolutely critical that you vote.”

WQOW.com reports the stop at UW-Eau Claire was one of several Sanders made as part of his “Our Future is Now” tour, which primarily consists of get-out-the-vote rallies on college campuses in battleground states. Organizers say that Sanders, an Independent who was once a Democratic candidate for the White House, was selected to speak on the tour based on his popularity with young voters and college students.

While conceding that the Democratic party is not perfect, Sanders reasoned it can be fixed if more young people do their part, which includes staying engaged.

“I am here to beg of you, for your own sakes, not for me but for your own sakes, to see that young people get a fair shot at the future, and you come out voting in numbers that are representative of your position in the population,” he said.

With Sanders branding the midterm the most consequential of his lifetime, buses were on hand to transport students to the Eau Claire in-person absentee voting location at City Hall after the event ended.