Spring General Election, presidential primary is tomorrow; Here’s a look at what’s on the ballot

By Kim McDarison

Voters across Wisconsin, including Jefferson County, will be heading to the polls tomorrow to cast their votes in the 2024 Spring General Election.

For voters in Fort Atkinson, Koshkonong, and a portion of Whitewater residing in Jefferson County, several offices and issues are placed on the ballot.

The ballot also serves as Wisconsin’s presidential primary.

Polling places are open Tuesday between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m.

The polling place for city of Fort Atkinson residents is in the gym in the city’s municipal building: 101 N. Main St., Fort Atkinson.

Presidential primary

At the federal level, voters will be asked to cast a single vote for one of several candidates vying for nomination within the Democratic and Republican parties.

The top vote-getters within each party nationally will run for President of the United States in November.

Those voting within the Democratic Party primary will choose between President Joe Biden, and a challenger: Dean Phillips.

Those voting within the Republican Party primary will have five challengers from which to choose, including, listed in ballot order: Chris Christie, Vivek Ramaswamy, Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley and Donald Trump.

Spring general election

At the state level, voters will be asked two referendum questions, they are:

Question 1: “Use of private funds in election administration. Shall section 7 (1) of article III of the constitution be created to provide that private donations and grants may not be applied for, accepted, expended, or used in connection with conduct of any primary, election, or referendum?”

Voters are instructed to answer ‘yes’ or ‘no.’

Question 2: “Election officials. Shall section 7 (2) of article III of the constitution be created to provide that only election officials designated by law may perform tasks in the conduct of primaries, elections, and referendums?”

Voters are instructed to answer ‘yes’ or ‘no.’

Courts

Within the judiciary, the name of a single candidate running to fill a District 4 Court of Appeals Judge’s seat, JoAnne Kloppenburg, will appear on the ballot. Additionally, Robert F. Dehring, Jr., is running unopposed for his seat as circuit court judge, Branch 3.

County Board of Supervisors

All of the County Board of Supervisor seats are up for reelection.

Supervisory districts including wards within the  communities of the cities of Fort Atkinson and Whitewater, and the town of Koshkonong, and their candidates, are as follow:

City of Whitewater

Residents living within the city of Whitewater will find a race in District 25 between incumbent Matthew Foelker and a challenger Jaime Steffen.

Within the city of Whitewater, residents living within city wards 11-13 are included within the following Jefferson County Board of Supervisors districts:

District 25

City of Whitewater, Ward 11

Incumbent Supervisor Matthew Foelker is running against challenger Jaime Steffen.

An earlier story in which each of the two candidates were offered an opportunity to return questionnaires to Fort Atkinson Online is here, although only one candidate has to date returned the questionnaire: https://fortatkinsononline.com/county-board-of-supervisors-district-25-candidate-shares-views/.

District 24

City of Whitewater, Wards 12 and 13

The incumbent is Roger Lindl.

There are no challengers running for this seat. 

(City of Whitewater wards 1-10 are found within Walworth County. A story about races for Walworth County Board of Supervisors seats is here: https://whitewaterwise.com/walworth-county-board-whos-running-to-represent-city-town-of-whitewater-richmond/.)

City of Fort Atkinson

Within the city of Fort Atkinson, residents living within wards 1-13 are included within Jefferson County Board of Supervisors districts.

According to the Jefferson County website, there is a race in Jefferson County Board of Supervisor District 29 between incumbent Mary Roberts and challenger Wyatt Cooper. The same two candidates vied for the seat in 2022, with then-incumbent Roberts retaining her seat.

In 2022, unofficial tallies reported to the county clerk’s office on election night showed 270 ballots cast in support of Roberts and 135 votes received by then-challenger Cooper.

Additionally, according to Jefferson County Clerk Audrey McGraw, while the website lists a “vacant” ballot within District 26, Fort Atkinson resident John Donohue has registered with the county as a write-in candidate.

The open seat’s incumbent, Joan Fitzgerald, is running in April for a seat in State Assembly District 46, which includes Fort Atkinson. Information about the newly formed Assembly districts, including those encompassing the Whitewater and Fort Atkinson area, is here: https://fortatkinsononline.com/evers-signs-into-law-new-legislative-maps/. 

City of Fort Atkinson voters living within each of the remaining Jefferson County Supervisor districts will find the name of the incumbent candidate on the April ballot.

Within the city of Fort Atkinson, residents living within wards 1-13 are included within the following Jefferson County Board of Supervisors districts:

District 26

City of Fort Atkinson, Wards 1 and 2

Listed on the county’s website as “vacant,” a write-in candidate, Fort Atkinson resident John Donohue, has registered with the county to run for the open seat. The incumbent, Joan Fitzgerald, is running for a seat in State Assembly District 46.

Fort Atkinson Online has received some endorsements, through submitted letters to the editor, for a second write-in candidate: Amanda Golson. 

District 27

City of Fort Atkinson, Wards 3 and 4

The incumbent is Joan Callan.

There are no challengers for this seat. 

District 29

City of Fort Atkinson, Wards 5 and 6

Incumbent Supervisor Mary Roberts is running against challenger Wyatt Cooper.

An earlier story, including candidate questionnaires submitted by both candidates, is here: https://fortatkinsononline.com/county-board-of-supervisors-district-29-candidates-share-experience-views/.

District 28

City of Fort Atkinson, Wards 7, 9 and 13

The incumbent is Anthony Gulig.

There are no challengers running for this seat. 

District 23

City of Fort Atkinson, Wards 8, 10, and 12

The incumbent is George Jaeckel.

There are no challengers running for this seat.

District 30

City of Fort Atkinson, Ward 11

The incumbent is Walt Christensen.

There are no challengers running for this seat.

Town of Koshkonong

Residents living within the town of Koshkonong will find the names of incumbent Jefferson County supervisors on the April ballot. There are no races within two of the three county districts which include wards in the town, Nos. 23 and 30. Residents living within District 25 will find a race between incumbent Matthew Foelker and a challenger Jaime Steffen.

Within the town of Koshkonong, residents living within town wards 1-6 are included within the following Jefferson County Board of Supervisors districts:

District 23

Town of Koshkonong, Wards 1 and 2

The incumbent is George Jaeckel.

There are no challengers running for this seat.

District 25

Town of Koshkonong, Ward 3

Incumbent Supervisor Matthew Foelker is running against challenger Jaime Steffen.

An earlier story in which each of the two candidates were offered an opportunity to return questionnaires to Fort Atkinson Online is here, although only one candidate has to date returned the questionnaire: https://fortatkinsononline.com/county-board-of-supervisors-district-25-candidate-shares-views/.

District 30

Town of Koshkonong, Wards 4, 5 and 6

The incumbent is Walt Christensen.

There are no challengers running for this seat. 

Council, town board members

At the municipal level, in the city of Fort Atkinson, voters will find the names of three incumbents running unopposed. They are Eric James Schultz and Bruce Johnson, each of whom is running at-large for two-year terms, and Davin Lescohier, who is running at-large to fill a one-year term. Lescohier was appointed last year to fill the first year of a two-year term vacated by then-incumbent Megan Hartwick who announced in 2023 that she was no longer interested in running. Her announcement came too late for her name to be removed from the printed ballot. The then-incumbent won the seat at the polls, but resigned immediately after. Council members appointed Lescohier to serve in her stead and with the condition that his seat would be placed on the next available ballot. 

Also in Fort Atkinson, Judge Charles Frandson is running as a write-in candidate for the seat of municipal judge. A story about his decision is here: https://fortatkinsononline.com/incumbent-municipal-judge-says-he-will-run-as-a-write-in-candidate-in-april/. 

In the city of Whitewater, voters will find uncontested challengers running in Aldermanic Districts 2 and 4, and one race for an at-large seat. Voters living within the Jefferson County portion of the city of Whitewater are including within the city’s wards 11-13, all of which are found in Aldermanic District 5. The council is a seven-member board with two at-large seats, one of which is included on the April ballot. In Jefferson County, voters will find a race for the open at-large seat between two challengers: Greg Majkrzak and Keith Staebler.

An earlier story in which the two candidates shared some of their views is here: https://whitewaterwise.com/staebler-majkrzak-both-candidates-running-for-an-at-large-council-seat-in-april-respond-to-tuesdays-vacancy-applicant-questions/.

In the town of Koshkonong, voters will find two candidates each running unopposed for two seats on the town board of supervisors. They are Erik J. Hoffman, running for a seat in Supervisory District 3, and Matthew Hill, running for a seat in Supervisory District 4.

The polling place in Koshkonong is at the town hall: W5609 Star School Rd., Fort Atkinson.

An “important announcement”  regarding the election published by the town clerk on the community’s website is here: https://koshkonongwi.gov/clerks-office-election-details/.

School District of Fort Atkinson

Voters within the School District of Fort Atkinson will find the name of one challenger, Matt Loup, running unopposed for an open at-large seat. Board member Rhona Buchta opted against defending her seat late last year. 

District residents also will be asked to weigh in on an operational referendum question, which states:

Be IT RESOLVED by the School Board of the School District of Fort Atkinson, Jefferson and Rock Counties, Wisconsin, that the final school district budget beginning with the 2024-25 school year shall include an amount not to exceed $6,500,000 each year on a non-recurring basis for a period of three years through the 2026-27 school year in excesss of the revenue limits imposed by Section 121.91 of the Wisconsin Statutes for the purpose of paying District operating costs. Question: Shall the School Board of the School District of Fort Atkinson be authorized to exceed the revenue limit under Section 121.91 of the Wisconsin Statutes beginning with the 2024-25 school year by an amount not to exceed $6,500,000 each year on a non-recurring basis for a period of three years through the 2026-27 school year for the purpose of paying District operating costs as provided in the foregoing resolution?

Voters are instructed to answer ‘yes’ or ‘no.’

A complete list of sample Jefferson County ballots is here: https://cms4files.revize.com/jeffersoncountynew/county%20clerk/Election/SAMPLE%20April%202024%20Ballots.pdf.

Residents within the School District of Fort Atkinson

The School District of Fort Atkinson includes voters living in the following municipalities: In Jefferson County: the towns of Cold Spring, Hebron, Jefferson, Koshkonong, Oakland, Palmyra, and Sumner, and the city of Fort Atkinson, and in Rock County, the town of Lima.