Low turnout expected for Waukesha primaries

Published on: 2/11/2014

While there's a mayoral primary on the ballot, City of Waukesha Clerk-Treasurer Gina Kozlik doesn't expect waiting lines at the polls on Tuesday.

Kozlik said last week that if the primary from four years ago is any indication, there will be less than a 20 percent turnout.

"The last time was around 17 percent," Kozlik said. "That primary was not a good turnout in 2010. We're hoping for more, so I ordered more ballots."

Besides the mayoral race, which features four candidates, City of Waukesha residents will vote in the city attorney primary. And residents in Wards 1 and 2 (Aldermanic District 1) 6 and 8 (Aldermanic District 3) and 29 (Aldermanic District 11) will also vote in a Waukesha County Board primary.

It features Michael Wandrey, Mark Myers and incumbent David Swan. The top two vote-getters advance to the general election April 1. Voters can vote for one candidate.

Kozlik said absentee voting is available until 4:30 p.m. Friday at City Hall, 201 Delafield St. She said there haven't been many requests for absentee ballots.

Kozlik said voter turnout should jump closer to 30 percent during the general election.

Despite an expected low turnout, Kozlik has still been getting all her poll workers ready for the start of election season.

"There's a lot of new ones," Kozlik said. "I worked with them and trained them for two days (last week)."

She said this will be beneficial for those who return for the large crowds in November during the fall election cycle, which features a gubernatorial race.

Kozlik said poll workers are paid $7.50 an hour. There are about five to seven poll workers at each of the 15 city locations. For the bigger elections (state and presidential), that can increase to seven to nine workers, Kozlik said.

"I always welcome new ones," Kozlik said. "It's a long day, especially at some of the bigger locations."

Regardless of the number of voters, Kozlik said the preparation hasn't changed.

"It's just as much preparation if we have one voter or if we have many," Kozlik said. "We're ready for the voters."

For results of the city attorney and mayoral elections, see waukeshanow.com on Tuesday night.

Polling places

Polling places are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. To see a breakdown of each aldermanic district, see the city's website at www.ci.waukesha.wi.us/pollingplaces. To find where to vote, see MyVote.WI.gov.

For people voting on election day, here is a list of the polling places in the City of Waukesha:

·Elks Lodge, 2301 Springdale Road, Wards 1 and 2 in Aldermanic District 1

·Waukesha City Hall, 201 Delafield St., Wards 3, 4 and 5 in Aldermanic District 2

·Rotary Building, 1150 Baxter St., Wards 6, 7 and 8 in Aldermanic District 3

·Hawthorne Elementary, 1111 Maitland Drive, Wards 9, 10 and 11 in Aldermanic District 4

·Meadowbrook Elementary, 3130 Rolling Ridge Drive, Wards 12 and 13 in Aldermanic District 5

·E.B. Shurts Building, 810 W. College Ave., Wards 14 and 15 in Aldermanic District 6

·Prairie Elementary, 1801 Center Drive, Wards 16 and 17 in Aldermanic District 7

·St. Mary's Church, 225 S. Hartwell Ave., Wards 18 and 19 in Aldermanic District 8

·Heyer Elementary, 1209 Heyer Drive, Wards 20 and 21 in Aldermanic District 9

·Waukesha South High School, 401 E. Roberta Ave., Wards 22, 23 and 24 in Aldermanic District 10

·E&R UCC Church, 413 Wisconsin Ave., Wards 25, 26, 27, 28 and 29 in Aldermanic District 11

·Waukesha West High School, 3301 Saylesville Road, Wards 30 and 31 in Aldermanic District 12

·Bethesda Elementary, 730 S. University Drive, Wards 32, 33 and 34 in Aldermanic District 13

·Fire Station No. 5, 3051 Summit Ave., Wards 35 and 36 in Aldermanic District 14

·Blair Elementary, 301 Hyde Park Ave., Wards 37 and 38 in Aldermanic District 15