By Chris Spangler
Turnout was brisk Tuesday as Fort Atkinson voters went to the polls in the spring general election.
As of 2:42 p.m., 2,698 electors had cast ballots at the Fort Atkinson Municipal Building. That amounted to 38% of registered voters.
“That’s a great number,” City Clerk Michelle Ebbert said “We have about 970 absentees that have been returned, so that’s a great number also. The most fun we had was at 7 a.m. when we opened the doors and 70 voters walked in. By 7:12, they were all checked in and there were probably 10 left in the booths to finish and go.”
Ebbert said that turnout was continuing to go well, and it would be wonderful if it hit 50% by the time the polls close at 8 p.m.
“The way we are trending now, we certainly could be there. We had about 80 voters per hour the beginning of the day and right now, we have 330 voters per hour,” the city clerk said.
She credited the smooth voting process to Badger Books, the state’s electronic poll book used to check in in voters at the polling places.
“They are just efficient,” Ebbert said. “You can see the voter, and you select the voter and the voter sees their name and knows it’s them. It’s seamless. It updates so nobody can come back later and say they’re that person because they’ve already checked in. And I can tell them down to the second when they checked in.”
Instead of going to specific wards, she added, voters may check in at “any line, anytime. If one line is moving slower, jump to another line.”
The Fort Atkinson ballot is a full one, with state constitutional and School District of Fort Atkinson referendums, as well as races for Wisconsin Supreme Court, Fort Atkinson Board of Education and Fort Atkinson City Council seats.
“It’s a nice variety,” Ebbert said, noting the many different issues being addressed.
There are “a lot of different things they focus on, a lot of things are important to some (voters) and not to others, and that’s OK, but it’s great that they come out and vote,” she said. “And that’s what’s most important.”
Ebbert concluded: “Thank you for voting, as always. I always am impressed; when I think I have a ballot count, I up it a few more because I always am surprised (at the turnout). We have plenty of ballots.”
Jerry and Nancy Price of Fort Atkinson check in with pollworker Becky Tuttle to vote in the spring general election in the city of Fort Atkinson.
Pollworker Kathy Kakuschke hands Chris Church of Fort Atkinson his ballot Tuesday afternoon in the Fort Atkinson Municipal Building.
Bill Cannon of Fort Atkinson places his completed ballot in the ballot scanner in the Fort Atkinson Municipal Building.
Chris Spangler photos.
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