Voter Turnout at Port, Saukville Locations Tops State Predictions

7:45 p.m. Tuesday: Port Washington Deputy Clerk Susan Westerbeke said that voter turnout is at about 70 percent "at some locations, if not all."

6:45 p.m. Tuesday: A roundup of local polling locations shows Port Washington and Saukville voters have stepped up their game, and the municipalities are on par to surpass the state Government Accountability Board's prediction of a 65 percent turnout.

The towns of Port Washington and Saukville are ringing in with the highest percentages. As of about 7 p.m. Tuesday, the town of Port had 76 percent turnout, while the town of Saukville was at 82 percent.

As of 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, the village of Saukville reported a 66 percent voter turnout; that's with lines crowding the doors at the polling location, the American Legion Post 470, and an hour and a half of voting left to go.

As of about 6:15 p.m. Tuesday, the city of Port Washington as a whole was at about a 62.5 percent voter turnout, but some polling locations had much higher percentages.

, where Wards 2 and 3 vote, the turnout was at 67 percent. At , which includes Wards 1 and 7, voter turnout was at 65 percent, with the line wrapping around the school's library — where voting takes place.

, which includes Wards 4, 5 and 6, had the lowest turnout as of 6:15 p.m. — 58 percent — but because the location has more wards than the others Port Washington Deputy Clerk Susan Westerbeke said the location may not have entered all of the city's 700 absentee votes. The Dunwiddie polling location also had close to 200 new voter registrations during Tuesday's election.

3:47 p.m. Tuesday: Port Washington Deputy Clerk Susan Westerbeke said things have been steady at the city's three polling locations all day, with only a few "spurts of lines."

"I was expecting longer lines earlier today, which tells me the longer lines are still coming," she said in an e-mail. "We are anticipating that we will hit 60 to 65 percent by the end of the night."

The Wisconsin Government Accountability Board had predicted a 60 to 65 percent voter turnout in the race, according to the Huffington Post, which is near presidential race turnouts.

Port City Administrator Mark Grams agreed that the city is on track to hit 60 to 60 percent turnout; he also said that it looks like some district's in Port will exceed the 65 percent turnout, while others will fall short — but the average should meet state expectations.

—Lyssa Beyer

3:40 p.m. Tuesday: Hundreds of voters have called the Election Protection Hotline during the Recall Election on Tuesday seeking information and reporting a number of problems at poll locations throughout the state, according to a press release from the Election Protection organization. Among the reported issues are questions about the residency requirements needed for Election Day Registration, poll workers improperly asking voters to present ID in order to vote, and deceptive robocalls suggesting voters that who signed petitions or voted in earlier elections did not have to vote today.

—Lyssa Beyer

3 p.m. Tuesday: Voters in the towns of Saukville and Port Washington are coming out in full force as well.

As of 3 p.m., the town of Port Washington reported 557 voters out of about 1,050 registered voters — about a 53 percent turnout. Town officials said 35 new voters had also registered with the town.

In the town of Saukville, officials said they are approaching their 600th voter; out of 1,291 registered voters, this puts the town at about a 46.5 percent voter turnout.

—Lyssa Beyer

2 p.m. Tuesday: Polls started out busy on Tuesday morning, according to Saukville village official Mary Baumann, and voting has been steady ever since.

As of 1:15 p.m. Tuesday, Baumann said the village had about a 33 percent turnout; after polls closed.

"So, it's been a really good day," Baumann said.

In Port Washington, Deputy Clerk Susan Westerbeke was not immediately available for comment about city-wide turnout, but workers at the said that polling place — which represents 2,103 voters of Port's roughly 7,000 voters — was already at 42.8 percent turnout as of 2 p.m., as voters continued to flow in. During the May 8 primary,

Patch spent about 15 minutes conducting an exit poll at the American Legion Post 470 where all Saukville village residents vote; though some people declined to answer, of the five that did — three voted for Gov. Scott Walker and two for Tom Barrett.

A Saukville resident who voted for Walker said she did so because of what he has accomplished since taking office.

"I think he's doing a wonderful job for our state," she said.

But voters on the other side feel the ways that Walker has changed the state were the wrong moves.

"I don't like Walker, I think there's a lot of things (he did wrong)," he said.

—Lyssa Beyer

9 a.m. Tuesday: When the polling site opened at 7 a.m., the voters were waiting. Ten minutes later, there were 30 people inside the gym waiting to vote and another 20 in the hallway.

"I've never seen anything like it," said an eight-year veteran poll worker.

As voters continued to stream in unabated, Susan Westerbeke, the city's deputy clerk, said early voting was smooth.

"We spend a number of weeks preparing so we're ready to go for the day," she said, adding that the early lines were typical for a gubernatorial or presidential election.

Westerbeke said about 700 absentee ballots were distributed, in a city of about 8,000 voters.

Mike and Rachel Zweck were two of the early crowd of voters at Dunwiddie, and estimated they waited 15 minutes. Mike said the city distributed voter registration cards in the primary election to remind people where to go to vote, which helped.

He and his wife voted for Tom Barrett. "I think he's the right person for the job," Mike Zweck said.

— Matt Schroeder

Monday: Voters across the state will head back to the polls Tuesday to choose between Gov. Scott Walker and challenger Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett.

Republican Gov. 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.

Races on the ballot Tuesday are:

Governor: Scott Walker, Tom Barrett and Hari Trivedi

Lt. Governor: Rebecca Kleefisch and Mahlon Mitchell 

Registered voters can find information about their polling place and the races on the ballot at the Wisconsin Voter Public Access website. To see the details, enter your name and birthdate in the fieds provided and then click your name to get to the voter information page.

The state Government Accountability Board is projecting voter turnout of between 60 and 65 percent, but Director Kevin Kennedy said turnout is hard to predict because the state has never had an election like this before.

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

Polling locations:

In Port Washington, voting takes place at three different polling places. Click on the links below to see a map of each of the seven wards to find out where you should vote. Also, see the city's website for more information about voting in Port.

• Ward 1:
• Ward 2:
• Ward 3: Port Washington City Hall
• Ward 4:
• Ward 5: Dunwiddie Elementary School
• Ward 6: Dunwiddie Elementary School
• Ward 7: Thomas Jefferson Middle School

In Saukville, there are also seven districts (map), but all residents vote at the American Legion Post 470, 601 W. Dekora St. Polls are open from 7 a.m. until 8 p.m.

FAQs about Tuesday's election

The Government Accountability Board, which oversees elections in Wisconsin, provided a list of answers to frequently asked questions about voting in Wisconsin. 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. 

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.