Stevens Point News

Main Menu

  • Covid 19
  • Sports
    • Sports News
    • High School Sports Scores
    • Wisconsin Rapids Rafters
  • Crime
  • Arts & Entertainment
  • Opinion
  • Obits
  • Contact
    • Subscribe
  • Classifieds
    • View Ads
    • Place Ads
  • Legal Ads
    • Our Legals
    • Statewide
  • E-Edition
    • Stevens Point City Times

logo

Stevens Point News

  • Covid 19
  • Sports
    • Sports News
    • High School Sports Scores
    • Wisconsin Rapids Rafters
  • Crime
  • Arts & Entertainment
  • Opinion
  • Obits
  • Contact
    • Subscribe
  • Classifieds
    • View Ads
    • Place Ads
  • Legal Ads
    • Our Legals
    • Statewide
  • E-Edition
    • Stevens Point City Times
Commentary
Home›Commentary›County should be proud of voter turnout again

County should be proud of voter turnout again

By STEVENS POINT NEWS
November 15, 2018
1296
0
Share:

By Gene Kemmeter

Voters in Portage County and elsewhere in Wisconsin deserve praise for getting out to vote Tuesday, Nov. 6, during the midterm elections, when more often than not, many voters decide to stay home. They sure didn’t in Wisconsin.

Wisconsin Elections Commission officials said more than 2.67 million people in Wisconsin voted in the midterm elections – a record turnout, with 59.38 percent of the voting age population casting ballots. Every vote counts.

Portage County Clerk Shirley Simonis said county voters did even better, with 68 percent. Stevens Point City Clerk Paul Piotrowski said the city had 85.97 percent of its estimated eligible voters casting ballots, including 2,704 who registered at the polls. Other percentages in the county included village of Plover, 65; town of Hull, 59.38; village of Amherst, 69; village of Junction City, 85; and Rosholt, 72.

State elections officials said the number of votes cast was the largest ever for a mid-term election in the state and the percentage was also the highest for a mid-term compared to 55 percent in 2014, 58 percent in the 2012 recall election and under 50 percent in 2010. The turnout in presidential elections usually ranges between 67 to 73 percent.

Wisconsin was among the leaders nationally in turnout, and its voters are traditionally in that position, showing that state residents take the right to vote seriously.

Whether their candidates won or lost, the best thing about the election is that area residents went to the polls and exercised their right to vote, an opportunity helped by laws that enable residents to vote by absentee ballot ahead of the election. That allows voters to avoid potential long lines or delays at the polling place by voting ahead of time at their convenience.

Wisconsin residents took advantage of that program, with 565,591 absentee ballots received statewide for Tuesday’s election, according to the Wisconsin Election Commission’s website.

So congratulations Wisconsin voters on getting out to vote. You set an example that a lot more residents of other states need to follow. And congratulations also to local election officials and workers who help voter precincts run so smoothly.

Tagskemmetervoter turnout
Previous Article

Almond-Bancroft’s Keith Bradley will be inducted into ...

Next Article

Commentary: Legends of the fall, Thanksgiving, and ...

0
Shares
  • 0
  • +
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

Related articles More from author

  • CommentaryNewsTop Feature

    Residents need to work together to end discrimination

    June 8, 2018
    By STEVENS POINT NEWS
  • Commentary

    Roundabout construction will keep north side bottled up for months

    June 14, 2018
    By STEVENS POINT NEWS
  • Commentary

    Celebration of nation’s independence offers local spin

    June 29, 2018
    By STEVENS POINT NEWS
  • CommentaryNewsTop Feature

    Will parking solutions cause neighborhoods to dissolve?

    July 5, 2018
    By STEVENS POINT NEWS
  • CommentaryTop Feature

    Commentary: Voters need to know who they’re voting for Aug. 14

    August 2, 2018
    By STEVENS POINT NEWS
  • Commentary

    Commentary: Social Security remains outside government’s attention

    August 9, 2018
    By STEVENS POINT NEWS

Leave a reply Cancel reply

High School Sports

Go to High School Sports

Free SP Newsletter

  • Sports

  • Commentary

  • Chargers sneak by Amherst with goal-line stand

    By Jacob Heid
    September 18, 2023
  • Cardinals use second half to pass by Rosholt

    By Jacob Heid
    September 15, 2023
  • Nicolet National Bank senior spotlight: Sam Carpenter, Pacelli cross country

    By Jacob Heid
    September 15, 2023
  • Cardinals rally to beat Hornets in conference thriller

    By Jacob Heid
    September 13, 2023
  • Kazda nets two to put Falcons past Pacelli

    By Jacob Heid
    September 8, 2023
  • Pat Wood

    From the publisher: Christmas and Hanukkah

    By Kris Leonhardt
    December 24, 2022
  • Ice fishing contest Reels in $1,500 for Portage County Literacy Council

    By Taylor Hale
    March 17, 2022
  • Kemmeter Column: County celebrates year after quarantine

    By Taylor Hale
    July 12, 2021
  • Isherwood Column: Great engineering projects two

    By Taylor Hale
    July 11, 2021
  • Shoes News Graphic

    Show Column: Odd Jobs

    By Taylor Hale
    July 9, 2021

About Us


The Portage County Gazette is published every Friday by Multi Media Channels. It is locally-owned, locally-operated and locally-written. Subscriptions are $64 annually, delivered via the U.S. Postal Service.


To subscribe, go www.shopmmclocal.com/product/portage-county-gazette or call 715-258-4360

  • PO Box 408, Waupaca WI 54981
  • (715) 343-8045
  • News editor: [email protected]
Copyright © 2022 Multi Media Channels LLC.
All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied, modified or adapted without the prior written consent of Multi Media Channels LLC.
×