Dane County (Madison, etc) Clerk says turnout in county could reach 80-88% (posting anecdotes/stats)

[WI_DEM]

Voters and public officials are reporting long lines at many Wisconsin polling places Tuesday — with Dane County Clerk Karen Peters calling the turnout "just wild" so far.

"It ranges from 28 to 42 percent already; it is a huge turnout. We could hit 80 to 88 percent," said Peters, who at midday was just fielding calls wrapping up a status report from clerks around the county.

Sun Prairie's four polling places were steadily busy, logging nearly 5,000 votes through 11 a.m., said Arrin Linzenmeyer, of the clerk's office. There were lines as the day started, the same as many polling places in the county, as voters anticipated extended waits as the day progresses.

In Madison, City Clerk Maribeth Witzel-Behl said turnout was at 26 percent by 11 a.m., which was an orphan number because, she said, "we really have nothing to compare it to." That percentage is the 42,961 votes case of 165,312 registered.

However, she said, "typically the numbers will double from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., and then double again from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m." At 11 a.m., the highest turnout was at Blessed Sacrament in Ward 62, where turnout was already at 51 percent.



Read more: http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/govt-and-politics/elections/article_9eeda132-af21-11e1-8fdf-001a4bcf887a.html#ixzz1wwMMxEGD

[onehandle]

1. Nice. nt

[Robbins]

2. Wow

Great news.Late tonight and tomorrow could be very Intresting.Some out there may have Egg on their faces.The second edition of
the ed show tonight could be very exciting to watch.

I always said this race was about turnout.If reports hold up democrats are not staying home like In 2010.And If Independents break
for Barrett that Is more good news.

Good that many Ignored polls and went out and voted.

[WI_DEM]

3. Milwaukee calls in extra poll workers amid heavy turnout

Heavy turnout in Milwaukee led the city Election Commission to call out the reserves Tuesday.

Extra poll workers were sent to polling places at Becher Terrace, Bradley Tech High School, Keenan Health Center, Morse Middle School, Rufus King International School Middle Years Campus and Cass Street, 53rd Street, Grantosa and Parkview schools, said Sue Edman, the election commission’s executive director.

The backup workers were needed to handle long lines, partly because a significant number of new voters were registering at the polls, Edman said.

“We knew things would be busy, but we didn’t know how busy,” Edman said.

In some cases, poll workers were shifted from less-crowded polling places to busier ones, Edman said. In other cases, she used poll workers who had agreed to be on call or city administrators who had volunteered to help out, she said.


http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/news/157252905.html#!page=1&pageSize=10&sort=newestfirst

[Scuba]

4. The good and decent People of Wisconsin are finally being heard today.

[freshwest]

10. +1

[WI_DEM]

5. some anecdotes from voters from Daily Kos:

I was number 785 in Fitchburg (0+ / 0-)
Just got back from voting at the fire station (I was really curious how many of the firefighters there were pulling for Mahlon Mitchell, but I didn't ask because I know they would have to take on the appearance of neutrality while their location was being used as a polling station and so I wouldn't get a good answer.)

I was given voter ID number 785, which I assume means I was the 785th voter at that location today. This was at 11am. I'm a bit worried about that, because in past elections the number was much higher by this point in the day, which is usually about when I vote, if memory serves me right. I'm a bit worried about that.

Demographics:
This was the location for four of the wards in Fitchburg, WI - a city of 21,000 which is one of those square-on-three-sides township remnant cities you see all over the five states that make up the 1812 annexation area of the US. It shares a border with Madison, and about 1/4 of the area of the village is that is near that border is built up strip malls, suburbs, and apartment buildings, while the southernmost 3/4 of it that is farther from Madison is rural farmland . The rural part tends to be red, the bit near Madison tends to be blue, but a lot of the McMansion style suburbs are going up as farmers sell out to urban expansion. Those neighborhoods tend to attract a redder population.



by Steven Mading on Tue Jun 05, 2012 at 10:19:34 AM PDT

#161 in Eau Claire's 8th Ward around 9:30... (4+ / 0-)
The polling site covers the 8th, 12th, and 13th wards in the city...Total for the three at that time was 550...The 8th and 12th tend to be pretty strong Dem areas (Barrett won both in 2010), while the 13th is more "swingy" and only half the size of each of the other two...

"Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it." ~Mark Twain upnorthperspective.blogspot.com/

by Up North on Tue Jun 05, 2012 at 10:04:59 AM PDT

[longship]

6. Best news I've heard so far today!

This means that the opinion polls are rubbish. Throw them away. They're irrelevant.

[WI_DEM]

7. more anecodotes from Daily Kos

Voted! (0+ / 0-)
In Pierce county, town of 15k. I was 517 at 12:15ish (there are multiple polling places in town). There was a short-ish line and a few people registering. I was pleased with that number for this election.

It's always interesting around here because we're in the Twin Cities metro area and so nearly all of our news comes from MN.


by 123man on Tue Jun 05, 2012 at 10:38:19 AM PDT


I voted early, but I've been hearing (0+ / 0-)
from friends in Madison that turnout is VERY high. That's great news for the statewide race. Go go go, Wisconsin!


by Jon Loomis on Tue Jun 05, 2012 at 10:38:36 AM PDT

[myrna minx]

8. Dane County is a huge factor in this election.

Way to go Wisconsin!

[WI_DEM]

9. Strong Turnout in Milwaukee's Central city (very good news)

A dimly lit, former nightclub at 24th and North is one of several Milwaukee locations that may hold the key to today’s recall election.

The building is at the heart get-out-the-vote organizing by Wisconsin Jobs Now, a non-partisan group that has been using the former Amistad club since May 21 to coordinate the work of hundreds of volunteers.

Tuesday, the building was a swarm of activity — volunteers canvassing neighborhoods to remind people to vote, drivers with 15-passenger vans taking people to the polls, volunteers answering phone calls and relaying names of those needing rides. There was even a mobile billboard driving around the city to remind people to vote.

If mid-morning reports from several central city polling locations are any indication, the efforts are paying off. Turnout was high, with scores waiting in line to both register and vote. In the enthusiasm of the moment, some even compared turnout to Obama’s election in 2008.

While the Walker campaign has clearly dominated in terms of money for advertising, Barrett's supporters have people power and troops on the ground. Unions, churches and concerned citizens, knowing that the City of Milwaukee vote is essential, have focused their efforts on getting out the vote. Months of organizing have come down to this day.

By 8:30 a.m., organizers at the 24th and North site had the names of more than 700 people wanting rides — “and calls are still coming in,” noted Janet Veum, a spokesperson for Wisconsin Jobs Now.

http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/purple-wisconsin/157257775.html#!page=0&pageSize=10&sort=newestfirst

[WI_DEM]

11. more anecodotes from Daily Kos

Hey Wisconsin....how goes Muskego? (2+ / 0-)
Recommended by:mconvente, McGahee220
Here's an ongoing post of what's been happening around the city:

10 a.m. District 1 is the largest in the city, and is showing a robust turnout, with a full parking lot, overflow lot and lines heading out the door. Carol Stillwell, a pollworker said the lines were out the door and around the building at 7 a.m. Their 520th vote was cast while I was there, representing a 20 percent showing.

9:45 a.m. The library also sees traffic for voters coming in to cast ballots in District 2, with about 20 percent turnout already seen (447).

9:40 a.m. 440 voters have already turned out at District 3, (18 percent); lines were also long there, and pollworker Kris Huss said about 60 people were waiting as polls opened.

9:30 a.m. District 5 records a vigorous 350 voters (15 percent turnout). John Engelhardt reminded me that the absentee voters have not been a part of the machine counts at the polls, which will boost everyone's stats. He felt that 65 to 70 percent turnout would be a conservative estimate.

9:10 a.m. District 4, voter #273 (13.5 percent turnout); line of about 15 people stretching into the hallway at City Hall.

9:00 a.m. District 6 is recording the 311th voter, which is about 14 percent of registered voters for that district only two hours into the day. Pollworker Joan Slamann tells me that there was a line for at least the first 45 minutes when the polls opened.

8:45 a.m. District 7, and I'm voter #239. This is about twice the turnout, as I usually vote before 9 a.m. in most elections.

http://muskego.patch.com/...


by keetz4 on Tue Jun 05, 2012 at 10:41:25 AM PDT

[WI_DEM]

12. Kos Diary: Many of the extra poll workers needed in North side of Milwaukee

Extra Milwaukee Poll workers (2+ / 0-)
Recommended by:McGahee220, keetz4
At least 5 of the sites where extra poll workers at being sent to are on the North/Northwest side of the city. I work at King Middle Years campus (School is out for the summer) and that area is at least 90% African-American. Back to Ward 6 on the NW side. My wife voted at 11:30 and was number 460. As I previously posted this is when I usually vote and total vote is between 3 and 4 times 11:30 total. If you take 3.5 you get 1610 voters. There were 1349 in 2010 and 1785 in 2008. If we only see a 10% drop city-wide that would give the city around 244,000 votes- much higher than the 210,000 expected. It is a beautiful day weather day and I hope that turn-out is closer to 244,000 than 210,000. Remember Barrett will win the city by at least 75-25%. 200,000 nets Barrett 100,000. Every extra 10,000 nets Barrett 5,000 votes. Thanks.


by cjhpmh on Tue Jun 05, 2012 at 11:02:01 AM PDT

[WI_DEM]

13. more anecodotes from Daily Kos

I was voter 799, hubby 800 (1+ / 0-)
Recommended by:Byblis
in our Eau Claire polling place. We're now combined with another ward, so I'm not sure what that number represents. But it was busy!


by Naranjadia on Tue Jun 05, 2012 at 11:23:25 AM PDT


Seeing the high turnout in Madison is making (1+ / 0-)
Recommended by:McGahee220
this Badger ecstatic especially because I remember what a PITA GOTV was on campus during the 1992 election. Here's hoping Madison hits 80% turnout.

Thanks for this thread. I've been following the #wirecall hashtag on twitter and seeing lots of reports of low turnout at Memorial Union in Madison and Milwaukee. Glad to see that wasn't true. That's the problem with twitter. You can't separate the teapartiers from everyone else.

President Obama at Madison Rally 9/28/2010 - "Change is not a spectator sport."

by askew on Tue Jun 05, 2012 at 11:18:36 AM PDT


Turnout may be close to 90% in eastern Dane... (0+ / 0-)
...specifically, the SD-13 portion of Dane County where there may be a massive number of "usual non-voters" casting ballots for Lori Compas. In fact, Kathleen Vinehout, a Compas surrogate, reported that Fitz's operatives have wrongly turned away voters in Deerfield, which would suggest to me that the Fitzgerald camp is resorting to disenfranchisement tactics as a last resort.

There haven't been any turnout reports out of Dodge and Jefferson counties, which are the bulk of SD-13. If turnout is above 2008-level turnout in Dodge and Jefferson, Fitz is in deep trouble.


by DownstateDemocrat on Tue Jun 05, 2012 at 11:28:36 AM PDT

[WI_DEM]

14. voting all the rage in Wisconsin

http://maddowblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/06/05/12070198-voting-all-the-rage-in-wisconsin?lite

[Raven]

15. Do you know whether this high

turnout is in Republican areas too?

[WI_DEM]

16. Yes it is.

[Raven]

17. Looks like it's going to be a long

night! Are there any particular areas that you'll be watching carefully tonight?

[WI_DEM]

19. How big the vote is in Milwaukee county--esp city of Milwaukee, how high the turnout is in Dane and

how well Dems do in Western Wisconsin.

[WI_DEM]

18. More Daily Kos voting anecdotes

Voter number 1012 at 1:45 (0+ / 0-)
North Madison wards 35 and 36. Total voting population is 2718 in those wards. So about 37%. Very busy and very very, very blue area.

Fascism: The conservative notion that killing people makes them work harder

by madtowntj on Tue Jun 05, 2012 at 01:12:09 PM PDT


#2053 (0+ / 0-)
at Town of Washington @ 1:30. (Eau Claire and rural)

4 people registering in the 12 or so minutes I was there.

Election workers were recovering from a morning deluge...

Lines were moving along nicely, parking lot full with a bit of overflow onto side roads.

My parents vote on south side of Eau Claire, mom voted early, said it was busy, dad voted around noon, still busy.

I usually vote right at poll opening, so am not sure if being 2053 is amazing for early afternoon.

The walker signs bred in the night..... where there were one or two, now there are ten, sometimes more.

New WI State Motto : Cut It, Gut It, Pave it, Fill It. If A Union Is Involved, Crush It. h/t the political environment

by kdrivel on Tue Jun 05, 2012 at 01:13:27 PM PDT

Another vote for Barrett! (1+ / 0-)
Recommended by:McGahee220
I voted in my small little Republican village near Sheboygan. Voted at 1 pm and there were already 500 paper ballots cast for a total pop of 2000 in town. And there were a lot of people voting electronically, too.

Saw five elderly women come in together and two of them were registering that day. I've voted every election in this town for over ten years and have never seen people register on the day of. This is very strange. Not sure if it's good for Dems or bad, but I'm hoping good.


by kate12345 on Tue Jun 05, 2012 at 01:09:34 PM PDT

I voted at 7:30am this morning (4+ / 0-)
Recommended by:McGahee220, lao hong han, Morgan Sandlin, ybruti
in my small, rural, northwest Wisconsin community and I was voter number 232. We also voted on a senate seat, Dexter vs Moultin.

We lean Repub up here, but I know that its going to be close.

This is all I have time to post today, but I am cautiously optimistic and think that, even if we sweep the recall today, the biggest benefit is going to be a re-energized, committed ground game of democrats, unions, and people power.

Nobody is normal because everyone is different- my eight year old daughter

by left rev on Tue Jun 05, 2012 at 12:50:02 PM PDT


At least 1 vote for Barrett from Waukesha County (5+ / 0-)

Dems are vastly outnumbered here, but I've heard that we still produce the 3rd highest number of Dem votes after Milwaukee and Dane. I'm not sure this is true - Racine, Kenosha, or La Crosse could easily be higher.

But, every Barrett vote counts

kimberly voting (8+ / 0-)

I just came back from my shift working the polls in Kimberly (Outagamie County), we have 4000 registered voters for our village. We had 400 absentee ballots and when I left at 2pm we had just about 1800 people go thru!! That's almost 50%! I also had alot of first time voters go thru. The person registering them was keeping very busy. Very good turnout.


by luvmyprez on Tue Jun 05, 2012 at 12:22:55 PM PDT


Kimberly went 55-45 Barrett in 2010. Good news n/t (2+ / 0-)
Recommended by:Morgan Sandlin, lao hong han


by McGahee220 on Tue Jun 05, 2012 at 12:28:05 PM PDT

40% Turnout at Shift switch at my polling place (8+ / 0-)

Middleton (Dane Cty). Left shift at voter 1613 at 1:30 -- halfway through the election. That represents ~40% turnout in just the morning for the polling place. Waiting times still short but without any breaks. We had people lining up at 6:00 AM.




by walsh2 on Tue Jun 05, 2012 at 12:18:27 PM PDT

[WI_DEM]

20. Janesville City Hall voting heavy, too

JANESVILLE – More than 730 votes were recorded at Janesville City Hall by 2:30 p.m. Tuesday.

“For us, that’s a lot,” said elections inspector Lynn Meyer.

Wards 3 and 4 vote at City Hall. The polling place was moved there this year. Voters used to vote at Wilson School.

Meyer said voter registrations were also heavy, much like in a presidential election.


http://gazettextra.com/weblogs/latest-news/2012/jun/05/janesville-city-hall-voting-heavy-too/