Wisconsin college Republican leaders highlight election security and abortion strategy shift

One college Republican leader in Wisconsin wants elections to “stick to paper ballots.” A party chair at another college said the GOP’s reduced emphasis on abortion is a smart strategy. 

During a panel on WPR’s “Wisconsin Today” recorded ahead of this week’s Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, party leaders at various Wisconsin universities shared optimism over where they see the party going.  

University of Wisconsin-Stout College Republicans Chair Andrew Emerson said border security should be a top priority for the GOP. He called for higher “election integrity” for people to remain confident in the democratic process. 

“Stick to paper ballots. We don’t need these machines. Just get a couple more people out there to volunteer,” he said. “It doesn’t take that long to volunteer. I’ve done it once or twice before … Let’s keep it all on paper and in people’s hands rather than on a computer.” 

This year, the Republican Party’s official platform mentions abortion only once in the 16-page document. This is the first time the party omitted calls for a national ban on abortions in 40 years, the Associated Press reported. 

Dylan Liptack, College Republicans chair at St. Norbert College, said it was a smart strategy for the GOP to come more in line with what former President Donald Trump has said about abortion. Trump has opposed a national abortion ban and said the matter should be left to the states. 

“It takes the issue off the table in terms of what Democrats can run on,” Liptack said. “It’s a very smart, practical decision for the RNC. That’s more focused on winning than anything else. That’s what really matters.”  

On Monday, party delegates elected Trump as the party’s official presidential nominee for the third time in a row, just days after a gunman opened fire at Trump during a rally in Pennsylvania.  

Trump, 78, and President Joe Biden, 81, are the two oldest major political party nominees in American history. Pew Research in 2023 found that just 1 percent of young Americans aged 18-29 prefer to see presidents in their 70s or older. The same research said nearly half of American adults under 30 preferred presidents to be in their 30s or 40s. 

But the College Republicans panel agreed that while they liked the idea of a younger president, they said age mattered less than someone’s ability to do the job.  

Levi Ott, president of the College Republicans at UW-Green Bay, said the June presidential debate where Biden appeared confused and hoarse showed “who was mentally fit and who was not.”  

Since the debate, 19 Democratic members of Congress have publicly called on Biden to withdraw from the race amid concerns about his age. 

In the same debate, a fact check from The New York Times found Trump made 20 false statements and 21 misleading statements. Biden made 11 statements that were either misleading or needed additional context, according to the fact check. 

Before this week’s convention, Ott said he wanted Trump’s vice presidential candidate to remain loyal. Liptack said the vice president announcement was the part of the convention he was anticipating the most. 

On Monday, Trump picked Sen. JD Vance of Ohio to be his running mate. 

Liptack said last week his preferred pick would have been Sen. Tim Scott from South Carolina because other candidates who were reportedly under consideration for the position were more in line with Trump ideologically. Scott had potential to pull in new voters, he said. 

“He covers a lot of loose ends on the political trail,” Liptack said.