Local voter turnout up significantly in state Supreme Court primary

Feb. 22—EAU CLAIRE — Voters turned out in far higher numbers for Tuesday's state Supreme Court primary in the Eau Claire area than they did for similar races in prior years.

Eau Claire County reported 17.3% of eligible voters went to the polls this week. Wisconsin Supreme Court primaries in February 2020 and 2018 had 12.6% and 10% voter turnout, respectively, in the county.

County Clerk Sue McDonald believes the increased turnout is due to more attention being cast on the races, especially while the state's high court is closely divided between conservative- and liberal-leaning justices.

"People are just so much more aware of a February election," she said.

County elections officials were surprised at the significantly higher turnout this month, but there were plenty of ballots available for voters, McDonald said. The high voter participation in the primary has elections officials taking a look at potentially upping their orders for ballots in the April 4 election, which will decide Wisconsin's next Supreme Court justice.

Eau Claire City Clerk Nicholas Koerner said Tuesday's voter turnout was on the high end of what he'd predicted.

"Yesterday's turnout was exceptional," he said Wednesday in an email to the Leader-Telegram.

Leading up to the primary, Koerner had forecast a turnout of 8,000 to 10,000 voters. When all the ballots were counted Tuesday night, there were 9,625 ballots cast in the city.

Younger voters in Eau Claire participated in much greater numbers than ever for a February primary, according to a news release from the UW-Eau Claire College Democrats.

In Eau Claire's Ward 20, which encompasses the university's on-campus dormitories, there were more ballots cast there on Tuesday than any other voting ward in the city.

Furthermore, the 310 votes made in this week's primary in Ward 20 was more than double the 127 who turned out to winnow the field of judicial candidates in February 2020.

Statewide, liberal Milwaukee judge Janet Protasiewicz and conservative former Justice Dan Kelly won Tuesday's primary with 46% and 24% of the vote, respectively. Waukesha County Judge Jennifer Dorow, another conservative candidate, placed third with 22% and Dane County Judge Everett Mitchell, who is viewed as liberal, came in last with nearly 8%.

County clerks in the Chippewa Valley posted unofficial results from Tuesday's primary, showing differing support for candidates in the area.

Protasiewicz handily won Eau Claire County, capturing 57% of the vote on Tuesday. Kelly followed with nearly 27%. Dorow and Mitchell split the remaining 16%.

Kelly narrowly took first in Chippewa County with 3,213 votes there compared to 3,207 for Protasiewicz. Both of the two leading candidates garnered just over 42% of the vote. Dorow placed third with about 11% and Mitchell took last with 4%.

In Dunn County, Protasiewicz took first there with 47% of the vote, followed by Kelly's 38%. Dorow placed third with 8%, followed by Mitchell with 7%.

Local primaries

Tuesday's primary also set April 4 ballots for a few hotly contested local races in Chippewa, Dunn and Eau Claire counties.

Menomonie school board: The field of seven candidates was narrowed to six as challenger Stephen Machesky received the lowest amount of votes and will not advance to the spring election.

Coming out on top in the primary were incumbents Amy Riddle-Swanson and Dale Dalke, who got 20% and 19% of the vote, respectively. They were followed by challengers Amber Kersting, Brittany Weiker and Scott Parker, who received 16%, 12% and 12% of the vote, respectively. Incumbent Charlie Schneider's 11% of the vote was enough to edge out the 10% who cast ballots for Machesky.

Three seats on the school board are up for election this spring.

Fall Creek school board: The race for two spots on the board has been trimmed from five hopefuls down to four.

Challenger West Bennett came in last in Tuesday's primary with about 10% of the vote, eliminating him from appearing on spring ballots.

Incumbent Jill Geske garnered the most votes with 28%, followed closely by challenger Amy Kurtz with nearly 27%.

Next was incumbent AnnMarie Anderson getting 19% and challenger Jessica Mattson's 15%.

Wheaton town clerk: Incumbent Scott Deutscher will face challenger Nicole Gardner in April's election.

Deutscher took a commanding first-place finish in this week's primary, capturing over 66% of the vote. Gardener received about 20% while third-place finisher Cindy Pulver was eliminated by scoring just over 13% of the vote.