G.A.B. Certifies Primary Results, Turnout Was 12.7%
For the City-Times
Approximately 12.7 percent of eligible voters turned out for the August 12 Partisan Primary, according to results certified Tuesday by the Government Accountability Board.
There were 552,342 votes cast in primaries for governor, which is 12.7 percent of Wisconsin’s 2014 voting-age population of 4,348,307, according to Census estimates.
Judge Gerald Nichol signed the canvass certification on behalf of the Board Tuesday for all races except those with recounts: the 87th Assembly District and the 17th State Senate District. The 87th Assembly District Republican Primary recount was completed today, and the Board will certify results in five business days after the deadline for appeal has passed. James Edming was the winner.
The recount in the 17th State Senate District Democratic Primary began Monday and is continuing. Updates on the status of recounts are available on the Board’s website: http://gab.wi.gov/elections-voting/recount.
While unofficial results are available on Election Night, it generally takes about two weeks to go through the canvass process. During the canvass, local election officials verify the results, including late-arriving absentee and provisional ballots. The 1,852 municipal boards of canvassers report their results to 72 county boards of canvassers, which report their results to the Government Accountability Board, which verifies and certifies the final results.
The G.A.B. uses the top two vote-getting races in an election to estimate turnout. However, an accurate measure of turnout was not available on Election Night because the news media did not collect vote totals in the uncontested Republican primary for governor. The final turnout number will be based on statistical reports from local election officials that show the total number of ballots cast in the election.
There were 312,101 votes in the contested Democratic primary between Mary Burke and Brett Hulsey. Gov. Walker received 238,713 votes and there were 1,387 write-ins in the Republican primary. The Constitution Party, which does not have a gubernatorial candidate, had 141 write-ins.
A copy of the official canvass certification and report can be found at http://gab.wi.gov/elections-voting/results.