Tim Ryan, tryan@wolfrivermedia.com
If the pace of early and absentee voting is any indication, municipal clerks and their poll workers in Shawano County will be dealing with some pretty heavy voter turnout for Tuesday’s presidential election.
County Clerk Pam Schmidt said 2,200 absentee ballots had been cast in the county as of Wednesday, and that was two days before the absentee voting period ended on Friday.
There were 1,600 absentee ballots cast countywide in the 2014 governor’s race.
The county has already printed out and delivered additional ballots to some municipalities where the early voting has started to drain what will be available for Election Day voters.
Schmidt said some of the heaviest absentee voting has taken place in the towns of Belle Plaine and Wescott and the city of Shawano.
Shawano City Clerk-Treasurer Karla Duchac said more than 1,000 ballots had been cast as of late Friday, including in-person absentee votes, absentee mail ballots and voting held at local nursing homes.
“There’s been a steady flow in here,” she said.
More than 500 had been cast in the town of Wescott, Schmidt said.
There has also been heavy traffic coming through the county clerk’s office from voters seeking information about how and where to vote.
“It’s been crazy busy,” Schmidt said, adding she expects the same on Tuesday. “It’s going to be a late night.”
There has also been a surge in new registrations this year.
Schmidt did not have a figure readily available, but said it was “way high” and was exceeding expectations.
In Shawano, 110 new voters have registered since Oct. 20, according to Duchac.
The state is projecting a roughly 70 percent turnout of eligible voters for this election, and local officials expect Shawano County turnout to be in line with that.
“We’ll be ready by Tuesday,” Duchac said.
The city will have 45 poll workers on duty, some working all day and some working a half-shift.
Duchac said voters should probably be ready for long lines.
“Be patient,” she said, especially for those voters who are also registering on election day.
Voters should also have their IDs ready, as per the state’s Voter ID law. If registering, they will also need to show proof of their residency and address.
Getting the most attention Tuesday is, of course, the presidential race.
Democrat Hillary Clinton is facing 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 U.S. Senate 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).
Polls are open Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.