Tim Ryan, tryan@wolfrivermedia.com
Early voting in November’s general election is already underway in most Shawano County municipalities, with several additional townships also coming aboard in about a week.
In addition, the pace of new voter registration has been strong, according to local election officials.
Shawano County Clerk Pam Schmidt said new registrations have increased over previous presidential elections.
In the presidential race, Democrat Hillary Clinton faces Republican nominee Donald Trump, who carried Shawano County in the August primary while losing the state overall.
Other races likely to draw heavy voting this year include the senatorial contest between Republican incumbent Ron Johnson and Democrat Russ Feingold; the 8th Congressional District race between Republican Mike Gallagher and Democrat Tom Nelson; the state Senate District 2 race between incumbent Robert Cowles (R) and John Powers (D); and the 6th Assembly District contest between incumbent Gary Tauchen (R) and William Switalla (D).
The surge of new registrations don’t provide any clues as to how those races might shake out. Unlike some states, voters in Wisconsin don’t have to specify a party preference when they register.
In-person absentee voting has already started in all but 10 county municipalities.
Voting in the town of Belle Plaine begins Saturday, and on Monday in the towns of Red Springs and Washington and the village of Gresham.
Voting will begin Oct. 24 in the towns of Aniwa, Birnamwood, Germania, Maple Grove, Wittenberg and the village of Aniwa.
Some towns have regular office hours and others are by appointment. Contact your local clerk for information.
In the city of Shawano, where voters have been able to come in an cast absentee ballots since Sept. 26, there has been “a steady flow” of voters,’ according to City Clerk-Treasurer Karla Duchac.