Surge in early voting fuels prediction of big turnout

If early voting is any indication, turnout for next Tuesday’s midterm elections in the City of Port Washington will be significant.

City Clerk Susan Westerbeke said Tuesday she wouldn’t be surprised to see turnout in the city between 70% and 80%, noting that in-person absentee voting has been “very busy.”

“We’re at close to 200 people a day,” Westerbeke said. “It’s been a steady flow of voters.”

In five days, she said, 925 ballots had been cast.

“We’ve got four days left. We’ll see what happens,” she said, but added that the last days of early voting tend to be the busiest. Early voting continues from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. through Thursday, Oct. 29, and from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 30.

“I’m sure election day will be busy as well,” Westerbeke said.

Westerbeke estimated that about 20% of the city’s vote would come from absentee ballots and early voting.

In a city with more than 8,200 registered voters, that’s a significant number of votes.

Westerbeke noted that the city has issued more than 1,800 absentee ballots, and by Monday there were 200 that hadn’t been returned yet.

As long as they arrive by the time polls close at 8 p.m. on Nov. 3 — election day — the votes will be counted, she said.

“We’re still mailing out a number of them every day,” Westerbeke said, noting that the city had mailed 12 ballots over the last few days.

Absentee ballots may be mailed back or dropped off at city hall until election day or polling locations on election day.

Westerbeke noted that quite a few people have been registering in advance of the election, and many of those individuals have also cast their ballots early.

But while early voting has been busy, Westerbeke said that the city has mailed out fewer absentee ballots than she expected in part because of concerns that their votes may not be delivered in time. 

“Frankly, at this point I’ve not had issues with the mail,” she said.

Voters can check to see if their completed ballots have arrived at city hall by calling or checking the MyVoteWI.gov website, she said.

“If there’s an issue, we can cancel the first ballot and reissue it by mail or at the polls,” Westerbeke said.

Turnout for the midterm election is expected to be high statewide, led by the contentious race for governor between Republican Tom Tiffany and Democrat David Crowley as well as the race for attorney general between Republican Eric Toney and Democrat Josh Kaul.

Voters will also choose between Republican Jay Schroeder, Democrat JoCasta Zamarripa and the Green Party’s Pete Karas for secretary of state and Republican John Leiber and Democrat Yee Leng Xiong for treasurer.

There are also three state referendums on the ballot. If approved, one would ban any future governor from using their partial veto power to raise taxes or fees while a second would keep government from ordering places of worship closed  because of a state of emergency — including a public health emergency.

The third would bar any governmental entity from discriminating against or giving preferential treatment to certain groups in contexts including contracting, employment and education.

Incumbent U.S. Rep. Glenn Grothman, a Republican, is facing challenges from Democrat Brad Smith as well as Wisconsin Green Party Candidate Matthew Arndt and independents Elizabeth Fitzgibbon and Mike Thurow.

In the State Assembly, there are races between incumbent Paul Melotik, a Republican, and Democrat Dana Glasstein in the 22nd District; incumbent Deb Andraca, a Democrat, and Republican Aleaner Pabonnie in the 23rd District; newcomers Bernie Newman, a Republican, and Democrat Dennis Degenhardt in the 58th District; and newcomers Bradley Petersen, a Republican, and Democrat Jack Holzman in the 59th District.

Polls open at 7 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 3.