Early voting for the presidential election began last Tuesday in Wisconsin. On that day alone, nearly 100,000 people turned out statewide, with steady lines continuing throughout the week.

Last Wednesday, despite the cold and wind, about 30 people lined up in front of the Zeidler Municipal Building 30 minutes before it opened, waiting to cast their votes in this year’s presidential election. As more voters arrived, I asked them what motivated them to vote early, ahead of Election Day.

For 79-year-old Milwaukee resident Sam Carr, the answer was simple: he wanted to take advantage of the opportunity.

“If you can do it early and get it over with, do it early,” Carr says. “That’s what I did.”

For other voters, like Robyn Schultz, voting early was a matter of convenience. She’ll be working on Election Day, so early voting works better with her schedule.

“I have an opportunity. I won’t have one in person on Election Day, and the sooner we start, the sooner we finish,” Schultz says. “Work is a constant challenge. I work in live entertainment, and they schedule events regardless of what else is on the calendar.”

Eighty-year-old Carol Dorau voted early because she’ll be volunteering at Central Count on Election Day.

“Zeidler is one of the best places to vote at too. They’re very efficient here. Nobody seems to come and then walk away because it’s not moving,” Dorau says. “But I’m so excited to see so many people voting. This is so important. This is just a monumentally important time. It’s critical.”

Twenty-four-year-old Aidan Frazier and 28-year-old Griffin Oleszczuk also mentioned how critical they feel this year’s election is.

“It was a priority to just do my, do my civic duty as early as possible. There’s a plethora of issues on the table right now. I think right now the freedom of choice is very important,” Frazier says. “These elections produce the outcomes for the community that I live in. It’s important to be an active participant in those decisions and make sure I’m helping to create the community I want to live in.”

“I think there’s a lot of issues on the line that are important and need to be handled, like the economy,” Oleszczuk says. “Inflation, high prices, groceries, gas, all of those combined I think are way too high. I think my vote is going to help bring those down.”

Schultz, the early voter mentioned previously, says her vote is her way of protecting her livelihood.

“As a trans person who is involved with labor unions, my life depends on this working out the way that we need it to. The threats posed by Project 2025 or Agenda 47, however you want to color it, are threats to my existence,” Schultz says. “It’s threats to all the things I hold so dear that I’ve worked so hard to build and protect. It’s not a spectator sport. We’re all very tired of saying it and hearing it, that this is the most important election ever, but this might really be the most important election ever.”

Seventy-two-year-old Robert Barnett says he has voted throughout his life, since he was 18. He says for this year especially, a vote has a lot of power.

“I do believe in a democracy. Your vote really matters, and knowing the situation that we’re in, or the current climate I would say that we’re in, I think it’s very important that everyone gets out and exercises that vote, that political power that we really have, and if we come together as a community, collectively, as long as we all express our desires, then I’m fine with it.”

Carr, who we heard from at the beginning, also believes in the power of voting. He says it’s a way to honor those who came before him and also shape our future.

“I do vote in every election I can. It’s very important because people have died for us being able to vote, and I want to carry on that tradition. They did it for me. I want to carry on for the future generations that come after me,” Carr says. “It’s very important to vote. That’s where your voice is heard. Even though it’s written down on a piece of paper, it’s still heard.”

Early voting in Milwaukee will continue through Nov. 3. To find your nearest early voting site, visit myvote.wi.gov.