Politics & Government

Updated: What You Need to Know Before You Cast Your Ballot Tuesday

Tuesday is primary day in Wisconsin's recall elections. Patch has the information you need to head to the polls.

Updated 4 p.m. May 8

City Clerk Jennifer Goergen said the biggest election day issue in Greenfield had nothing to do with the actual elections being decided on the ballot.

According to Goergen, several individuals — at least one at nearly every polling location — collecting nomination signatures for Jim Ward (D-Greendale), a candidate for the 28th District's state senate seat, raised eyebrows throughout the day.

Find out what's happening in Greenfieldwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"A number of voters were complaining and wondering if they were able to do that, and yes, they are because they were getting nominations that weren’t specifically related to this election," Goergen said.

But some of those collecting signatures were committing a no-no, according to Goergen. Party affiliation signage or political messages can not be displayed, according to the Government Accountability Board; one canvasser was asked to remove a “Democrat” sticker from a clipboard and another was asked to remove a “Recall Walker” bumper sticker.

Find out what's happening in Greenfieldwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Signature collectors also were advised to only ask voters to sign the papers after they had voted and not before, and to not interfere with traffic.

Goergen said she also heard of concerns regarding the limited number of parking stalls available to voters at , where a construction project has restricted available parking space.

As for turnout, it’s been a mixed bag.

“As far as I can tell, I had half of the wards tell me they had turnout ahead of April at certain points during the day and some that said it was slower,” Goergen said. “The GAB is estimating a 35-percent turnout, and typically Greenfield turns out greater than that.”

Updated: 10:15 a.m. May 8

Turnout at the for Tuesday's recall primary election has been steady, with a particularly good showing in Ward 18, where 95 people had voted by 9:40 a.m.

Those who vote at the library might be greeted by Kay Frederick of Milwaukee, who is collecting nomination signatures for State Senate candidate Jim Ward (D-Greendale). for the 28th District's senate seat in the November election.

"Somebody being on the ballot with her is a must," Frederick said. "Jim was very, very active in the recall, setting up at every weekend for 8 hours collecting signatures."

Frederick, who had collected 15 signatures for Ward in about 2 hours Tuesday morning, said she was asked to leave the polling place, or stay at least 100 feet away from the library, by on-site election workers. Frederick said she went to the City Clerk's office and got a copy of a letter with guidelines from the Government Accountability Board that stated she was within her rights to be outside the library because the nominations she is soliciting have no impact on today's election.

Original story: Voters across the state will head back to the polls Tuesday to narrow down the field of candidates running for governor, lieutenant governor and, in some cases, state senator in the June 5 recall elections.

Republican Gov. Scott Walker faces recall after opponents turned in hundreds of thousands of signatures in an effort to boot him from office. Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch and four Republican state senators also face recall challenges.

On the ballot in Tuesday's primary election are the Democrats who hope to take Walker on in June and one person running against Walker as a Republican.

Republican candidates are: Walker and Arthur Kohl-Riggs.

Democratic candidates are: Gladys R. Huber, Kathleen Vinehout, Doug La Follette, Kathleen Falk and Tom Barrett.

Wisconsin voters will also have the opportunity to vote for a Democratic candidate to run against Kleefisch, who is not opposed in the primary.

Candidates are: Isaac Weix, Mahlon Mitchell and Ira Robins.

The state Government Accountability Board is projecting that between 30 percent and 35 percent of eligible voters will cast ballots, but Director Kevin Kennedy said turnout is hard to predict because the state has never had an election like this before.

In a traditional primary, voters may only cast ballots for one political party's candidates. That is not the case with the recall election because each race is considered a separate election. On Tuesday, voters may only cast one vote for each office — governor, lieutenant governor and, in some districts, state senator — but may vote in a different party's primary in every race.  

Polling places for all districts open at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m.

Polling locations:

Greenfield — Wards 1-4: ; Wards 5-8: ; Wards 9-12: Community Room; Wards 13-15: ; Wards 16-18: ; and Wards 19-21: .

FAQs about Tuesday's election

The Government Accountability Board, which oversees elections in Wisconsin, provided a list of answers to frequently asked questions about the primary. Here are some of the most important things to know.

Voter photo ID: The law is currently on hold as two lower court decisions stopping voter photo ID are being appealed. Given the normal amount of time appeals take, it is highly unlikely both injunctions would be overturned before the primary or the recall election on June 5. If that somehow happens, the GAB says it will work with local election officials to implement the law.

Crossing party lines: Because each recall primary is a separate election event, voters may cross parties in the recall primary, but they may still only vote once per office. For example, in the governor’s primary, you may only vote for one person, either a Republican or a Democratic candidate. There are only Democratic primaries for lieutenant governor and state senate.

Write-in votes: There have been rumors that the Walker could avoid a final recall election on June 5 if he won the Democratic primary by write-in votes. This is untrue. A person cannot be a candidate in two primaries for the same office. The GAB has instructed clerks not to count write-in votes for anyone who is already a candidate in another primary for the same office. That means any write-in voters for Walker in the Democratic Party would be invalid.

Check your registration – Elections officials urge voters to use the state's Voter Public Access website to make sure that they are registered at their current address.  Additionally, VPA will identify the races voters are eligible to vote in, and will tell voters whether they are eligible to vote within a Senate District that has a recall election. Voters who are unsure about whether they are eligible to vote in a state Senate recall primary or election should contact their municipal clerk’s office directly. If you have not registered to vote yet or you have a problem with your registration, contact your local municipal clerk’s office to check your options. You can register at the polling place on Election Day.

Know what proof of residence to bring: If you are already registered to vote, you will only need to state your name and address to receive a ballot, and are not required to provide any additional documentation. After stating your name, you will need to sign the poll list.

If you are registering at the polling place, make sure you have proof of residence and your Wisconsin driver’s license number. If you do not have a Wisconsin driver’s license, you can use the number from your Wisconsin ID card, or the last four digits of your Social Security number. Proof of residence can be established with a current lease, recent utility bill or other official document issued by a unit of government with the voter’s name and current address on it. A college photo ID is also acceptable if the institution has provided the polling place with a list of students who live in its housing and if the housing list includes citizenship information. 

Avoid bringing undue attention or risk causing a disturbance: The state also is urging voters not to wear campaign paraphernalia such as campaign/candidate buttons, shirts, hats, etc. inside the polling place. Those who wear campaign paraphernalia may be asked to cover it up or leave.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here