Brookfield Live Blog: New Voter Registrations Up 41 Percent in City

Updated (5:15 p.m. June 6)

Election Day new voter registrations were up nearly 41 percent in Brookfield over the last gubernatorial election — and exceeded the 2008 presidential election, Brookfield Patch has learned.

Across the city's seven polling sites Tuesday, 1,770 people registered as new voters, according to unofficial, preliminary data from the City Clerk's office.

New voter registrations on Election Day in Brookfield:

1,770: June 5 gubernatorial recall (Walker/Barrett)
1,257: 2010 gubernatorial (Walker/Barrett)
1,654: 2008 presidential (Obama/McCain)

City Clerk Kelly Michaels said some polling sites ran out or came close to running out of new voter registration forms and were restocked with forms during the day Tuesday.

At Brookfield Elementary School, poll worker Chuck Bloom was busy all day registering new voters. By about 15 minutes before the polls closed, 195 new voters had signed up among Wards 11 to 13 in the 4th Aldermanic District voting at that school.

One of those new voters signing up on Election Day was Anne Maria Sotala, 18, who is graduating Sunday from Brookfield Central High School.

Sotala said it was memorable to vote for the first time on such a historic election, casting her ballot for Gov. Scott Walker.

"It was definitely something I'll remember for awhile," she said after leaving the Brookfield Public Safety Building polling site. "Honestly, after doing it I feel like my vote will count."

Sotala said she favored Walker over Barrett — as did her mother Margie Sotala who accompanied her Tuesday — because the incumbent governor is "a very good person (who) will keep us going forward." Echoing much of the campaign ads that dominated the airwaves, Sotala said if Barrett won he would take the state backward and "ruin everything that Walker accomplished."

Another student voted June 5 for just her second time. Lauren Cox, 18, said she registered as a new voter at the polls on May 8 with her older sister's help. Cox voted for Barrett, largely because of Walker's cuts to education, adding the governor should have found other areas in the state budget to target.

And Brookfield Central senior Sean Lee wrote about being inspired by his first time casting a ballot. ()

Final Election Night update

The get-out-the-vote effort in Brookfield was strong for both Republicans and Democrats, as residents raised turnout to a gubernatorial record 85 percent but ended with nearly the same margin of victory as the original 2010 contest between Scott Walker and Tom Barrett.

In November 2010, 79 percent of Brookfield residents voted, giving Walker a 72 percent win over Barrett.

In Tuesday's historic recall election, 85 percent of residents voted, giving Walker a 73 percent win over Barrett. Republican Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch also garnered 73 percent of the Brookfield vote, over Democratic challenger, firefighter Mahlon Mitchell.

The 85 percent turnout was higher than it was for the 1996 and 1992 presidential elections but not as high as the voting in the past decade of presidential contests.

Final, unaudited city results:

16,943: Walker
  6,121: Barrett
       83: Trivedi
         5: scattering

16,524: Kleefisch
  6,085: Mitchell
       36: scattering

In the November 2010 contest, Walker received 15,151 votes in Brookfield and Barrett, 5,860.

The city's voting records going back to 1991 show these were the highest election turnouts:

90 percent: 2004 presidential (Bush/Kerry)
89 percent: 2008 presidential (Obama/McCain)
89 percent: 2000 presidential (Bush/Gore)
85 percent: 2012 gubernatorial RECALL (Walker/Barrett)
81 percent: 1992 presidential (Clinton/Bush)
79 percent: 1996 presidential (Clinton/Dole)
79 percent: 2010 gubernatorial (Walker/Barrett)
78 percent: 2006 gubernatorial (Doyle/Green)
69 percent: 1998 gubernatorial (Thompson/Garvey)
68 percent: 2002 gubernatorial (Doyle/McCallum)

See other recall election coverage:

• Walker Stresses Unity, Jobs in
• Historic Recall Sees High Voter Turnout
• in Wanggaard-Lehman Recall Race? Maybe
• Recall Election Night Parties - Add Your Photos
• on Walker Recall Win 
• Another Uneventful Election Night in Waukesha County
• Wisconsin Recall Elections
• Election Protection Hotline Keeping Busy with
• in Milwaukee Suburbs

Updated at 10:14 p.m.

While citywide turnout was 85 percent, the highest was 87.15 pecent in the northern Aldermanic District 2 that votes at Burleigh Elementary School.

Turnout at the seven city polling sites ranged from 83.61 percent in the southeastern 7th Aldermanic District which votes at St. Luke Catholic Church, to the 87.15 percent at Burleigh.

Updated at 10:10 p.m.

City voters also helped defeat the recall against Republican Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch, giving her the same 73 percent winning margin over challenger Mahlon Mitchell.

CITY of Brookfield
16,524: Kleefisch
  6,085: Mitchell
       36: scattering

In the Town of Brookfield, same result. Kleefisch won 72 of the vote.

TOWN of Brookfield
2,568: Kleefisch
   987: Mitchell
       8: scattering

Updated at 9:42 p.m.

Town of Brookfield voters also chose Walker over Barrett, 72 percent to 28 percent. Trivedi received 0.4 percent, according to the Waukesha County Clerk's office website.

TOWN of Brookfield:
2,622: Walker
1,015: Barrett
     14: Trivedi

Updated at 9:23 p.m.

City of Brookfield voters selected Gov. Scott Walker over Tom Barrett, 73 percent to 26 percent, according to information the city clerk's office. Independent Hari Trivedi, a physician who lives in Brookfield, got 83 votes or 0.4 percent, according to the City Clerk's office.

CITY of Brookfield:
16,943: Walker
  6,121: Barrett
       83: Trivedi
         5: scattering 

Updated at 9:11 p.m.

Final citywide turnout was 85 percent, according to the city clerk's office. Walker outpolled Barrett. Waiting for the margin.

Updated at 8:48 p.m.

I will continue to update how Brookfield residents voted. But to follow what's going on in the rest of the state, check out that will update until there is a winner.

Updated at 8:22 p.m.

Polls are closed. Turnout was about 84 percent at Brookfield Elementary and the Public Safety Building.

One voter had to be turned away at Brook Elementary after she ran up literally seconds after the chief inspector had announced the polls were closed. She said she would have voted for Walker.

The last man who did vote at Brook El — who got there with just a minute to spare — said he voted for Barrett.

Updated at 7:21 p.m.

If the city continued its pace in the first eight of 13 voting hours, it would reach 93 percent turnout.

Interestingly, after four hours at 11 a.m. citywide turnout was at 28 percent. Four hours later at 3 p.m. it was 57 percent.

Updated at 7:15 p.m.

When the city last fall passed its 2012 budget, it did not know about the May 8 and June 5 recall elections. City Clerk Kelly Michaels said she will have to seek at some point this year a transfer from the city's contingency funds to cover the unexpected election costs.

While not fully tabulated, the May 8 gubernatorial primary cost $15,617 in poll workers alone, she said. That doesn't include supplies (ballots, envelopes, voter tickets, more), and city staff costs, such as increasing the hours for part-time clerk employees to full-time temporarily to process absentee ballots and other election duties.

Updated at 7:13 p.m.

Further turnout updates were not available from the city clerk's office but City Clerk Kelly Michaels said she "wouldn't be surprised" if final turnout hits 80 percent.

No major problems have been reported at the polls, although some have complained about waits, she said. One couple also came into City Hall, very upset about an independent group's mailing that showed whether their neighbors had voted in the past two elections or not.

Some city polling sites have run out of new registration forms, Michaels said.

"We had to restock them on forms," she said, adding while she didn't have statistics yet on total new voters registering at the polling sites "there's a lot."

Updated at 3:45 p.m.

Citywide turnout hit 57 percent by 3 p.m., with five more hours before polls close, according to information provided by the city clerk's office.

Turnout was highest in the northeastern 1st aldermanic district at 61 percent (voting at Immanuel Baptist Church), followed by 60 percent in the west-central 4th aldermanic district (voting at Brookfield Elementary School). The "lowest" turnout of 53 percent by 3 p.m. was in the southeastern 7th aldermanic district (voting at St. Luke Catholic Church).

In total, 15,592 ballots had been cast as of 3.

How does that compare to past city election turnouts? Here are final turnouts from recent contests: 

43 percent - May 9 gubernatorial recall primary
53 percent - April 2011 state Supreme Court race (Prosser-Kloppenberg)
79 percent - November 2010 gubernatorial (Walker-Barrett)
89 percent - November 2008 presidential (Obama-McCain)

Brookfield voting history shows turnout of around 80 percent for gubernatorial elections and around 90 percent for presidential elections.

Updated at 2:58 p.m.

Samantha Brojanac said the polling site at Brookfield Elementary School "has had a steady stream of people since the doors opened this morning."

Added bonus of heavy voting? Brook El's bake sale sold clear out, she said.

Updated at 2:50 p.m.

Youth vote: a number of Brookfield Central High seniors wearing orange 2012 Key Club T-shirts were among those at the Brookfield Public Safety Building Tuesday afternoon. The school is next to the polling site.

Tuesday was just the second time Lauren Cox, 18, ever voted; her first was May 8 for the gubernatorial recall primary. Cox said she registered as a new voter right at the polling site, with the help of her sister.

"I had no idea what to do," she said.

Cox said she voted Tuesday for Tom Barrett because she opposed the cuts Walker has made to education.

"I don't agree with that," he said. "He's cutting budgets from the wrong areas, in my opinion. Why should you cut the teachers' salaries?"

Updated at 2:42 p.m.

The dedication of voters: Tim Maas went to Swanson Elementary to vote about 1:30 p.m. but found out he was in the wrong place. Actually, the wrong municipality.

He was supposed to vote at the Town of Brookfield Town Hall, not anywhere in the City of Brookfield.

Did he groan and give up? No. Maas, who said he typically only votes in presidential and gubernatorial elections, said he would head to the Town to cast a vote for Scott Walker.

"He's honest to his word," Maas said. "He's doing what he's supposed to. There's no reason for him to be recalled." Maas called the recall "uncalled for and childish."

Updated at 2:35 p.m.

At 2 p.m. just shy of 50 percent of registered voters in Wards 14 to 17 had cast ballots at the Brookfield Public Safety Building, chief election inspector Bill Hotz said.

"If they're predicting 60 to 65 percent turnout, we're going to hit that pretty soon," he said.

Voter traffic was slow mid-afternoon but Hotz said it was heavy when the polls opened, with a line formed outside.

Updated at 1:45 p.m.

I just checked in at the polling site and was told that turnout is 47 percent as 1:30 p.m. (1,806 out of 3,856 registered voters in wards 18-21) And we still have more than six hours to go before the polls close.

Chief election inspector Bill Kennedy said he had "never seen anything like this" but added he wasn't sure how it compared to a presidential election.

Updated at 1:13 p.m.

About to lose laptop battery power. And it's time to stop by some more polling sites. Check back here later for more recall election updates.

Updated at 1:10 p.m.

Need a quick break from the recall?

Watch some raw video of a surprise "flash mob" dance of the Electric Slide that students and staff did this morning as part of a farewell to retiring longtime Principal Julie Kremer and to Hillside Elementary School, which the Elmbrook School Board voted to close after 43 years. (Check back tomorrow for full report on this morning's Hillside fun)

Updated at 1:01 p.m.

 @DonInBrookfield said on the May 8 gubernatorial primary when he voted at 6:30 p.m. — 90 minutes before the polls CLOSED — he was voter No. 1029. Today, when he voted at 10:20 a.m. — more than 9 1/2 hours before the polls will close, he already was voter No. 875. At Dixon Elementary.

Updated at 12:56 p.m.

A woman with a Twitter handle of @ConservativeGal, who describes herself as a Christian conservative and political junkie, said she saw in Brookfield "a line of cars 3/4 of a mile long to get into the lot at polls."

By 9:45 a.m. voting was up to 304 ballots in a ward at St. John Lutheran, Jenni Doughty said on Facebook.

Updated at 12:44 p.m.

Think everyone in Brookfield votes Republican? Not true.

Past elections have shown 25 to 30 percent of voters selecting Democrats. Sure, they're out-numbered 2-to-1, but they are hitting the polls today, too.

Like @CatLadyDarcy who tweeted, "My Brookfield W9 (ward 9) vote to #RecallWalker, cast at 10:31, #283, will not be stolen by Wauk Cos Kathy Nikolaus this election!"

Updated at 12:36 p.m.

Mary Boatman Bruders shared on Brookfield Patch's Facebook page: "We always vote around 7:45 am at Brookfield City Hall. Never in the 36 YEARS of living here did we ever stand in line. Wonderful!!!!!!!"

Updated at 12:32 p.m.

@dirkwatkins tweeted 49 minutes after the polls opened that the Brookfield Public Safety Building was "packed (with lines) out the door. Great turn out."

Burleigh Elementary School Principal Bil Zahn told me (when I saw him at Hillside Elementary School this morning for a big farewell to the school and its principal) that he was voter No. 124 in just his single ward just 15 minutes after the polls opened.

Updated at 12:25 p.m.

Sheila Buechel shared on Facebook that she found a "pretty long line at the safety building in Brookfield as well. I was #298 at 8:00 am. Busy place, but the line moved fast."

Updated at 12:21 p.m.

I am sharing Brookfield voting tweets. Check out the Brookfield Patch Twitter page to stay abreast of real-time updates.

Let's go back to this morning and share reports in recent hours.

Newsradio 620 WTMJ weekend radio talk show host Andy Smith reported: "In Brookfield, my wife voted on her way to work. So many people that the parking lot was full, the line to get into the polls stretched around the building, and the line was being cued to keep the number of people inside from exceeding the building's safe fire capacity. She called to say that in fifteen years, voter turnout has never been this heavy."

Updated at 12:15 p.m.

Jill Baker said on Brookfield Patch's Facebook page that there was "no wait at Burleigh, and the machine was over 1400 when I put in my ballot.

"That was much higher than the primary or any other election I remember at this time of day - usually vote around the lunch hour...," Baker said.

Updated at 12:12 p.m.

Brookfield voters are reporting via Twitter much higher-than-usual activity at polling sites across the city.

Ald. Bob Reddin tweeted at noon: "Voter number 463 at Burleigh Elementary in Brookfield. Energy level very high. A genuine buzz in the room. #WiRight"

Updated at 7:45 a.m.

A line of voters snaked outside Dixon Elementary School before the doors opened at 7 a.m.

Jeff Freisleben, one of the first voters to cast his ballot, said he voted for Gov. Scott Walker.

"I like that he went into office and did what he said he would do," Freisleben said. "Tom Barrett doesn't have a plan and can't answer the questions when asked."

A father and son from Brookfield also threw their support behind the embattled Republican incumbent governor.

"His economic reforms," Barry Dieser said, answering why he voted for Walker. "Keeping control of spending."

"Keeping down taxes," his son John Dieser, 19, added.

Polls are open until 8 p.m.

_______________________

What to Know Before Heading to Polls

After unprecedented ads, money and organizing, it all comes down Tuesday to Wisconsin residents.

Who vote, that is.

Perhaps before going to bed Tuesday night, Gov. Scott Walker will know if he will be retaining the governor's mansion or turning the keys over to Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett.

Only two governors have been recalled in the nation's history: Gray Davis of California in 2003 and Lynn Frazier of North Dakota in 1921.

Five other Wisconsin incumbents also face possible recall Tuesday: Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch and four Republican state senators.

• Undecided on your vote? Read Patch's recall elections coverage

High levels of and across the state — and the — have fueled speculation that this could be one of the most heavily partipated elections in state history, possibly reaching a presidential contest.

The state Government Accountability Board is projecting voter turnout of between 60 and 65 percent, but Executive Director Kevin Kennedy said turnout is hard to predict since the state has never had a gubernatorial recall election.

The GAB is urging voters to not wear campaign paraphernalia such as campaign/candidate buttons, shirts and hats inside the polling place. Those who wear campaign paraphernalia may be asked to cover it up or leave.

Other information before heading to the polls:

WHEN

Polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m.

WHO

Are you eligible to vote? You must be a US citizen 18 years or older, not on probation or parole. Details here. You can check this state web site to see if you are registered and eligible to vote.

If you are registering at the polling place, make sure you have proof of residence and your Wisconsin driver’s license number. If you do not have a Wisconsin driver’s license, you can use the number from your Wisconsin ID card, or the last four digits of your Social Security number. Proof of residence can be established with a current lease, recent utility bill or other official document issued by a unit of government with the voter’s name and current address on it. A college photo ID is also acceptable if the institution has provided the polling place with a list of students who live in its housing and if the housing list includes citizenship information.

HOW

Do you have to show photo ID to vote? No. The law is on hold as two lower court decisions stopping voter photo ID are being appealed. Residents may still be asked for a current photo ID showing proof of residence, but it is not required. You will be required to sign in to the voter roll book.

WHAT

On Tuesday's ballot:  

Gubernatorial recall election: Republican Scott Walker, Democrat Tom Barrett, Independent Hari Trivedi

Lieutenant Governor recall election: Republican Rebecca Kleefisch, Democrat Mahlon Mitchell

WHERE

City of Brookfield:

Alderman

District

Wards

Location

1

1, 2, 3

Immanuel Baptist Church

4250 N. 137th St.

2

4, 5, 6, 7

Burleigh Elementary School

16185 Burleigh Place

3

8, 9, 10

Dixon Elementary School

2400 Pilgrim Square Drive

4

11, 12, 13

Brookfield Elementary School

2530 N. Brookfield Road

5

14, 15, 16, 17

Public Safety Building, Court Room

2100 N. Calhoun Rd.

6

18, 19, 20, 21

Swanson Elementary School

305 N. Calhoun Rd.

7

22, 23, 24

St. Luke Catholic Church

18000 W. Greenfield Ave.

To determine what Aldermanic District you are a part of, view a map of Aldermanic Districts. Questions? Call city clerk's office, 782-9650

Town of Brookfield:

Check with the Town Clerk's Office (262-796-3788) for what Ward you are in.