Election Day: Real-Time Blog in Brookfield

Editor's note: Scroll to bottom for Election Day basics on where to vote, what's on the ballot, who can vote and more. We will add live updates throughout the day and results as they come in tonight right here, so keep checking this link.

We'd love your help. Tell us what's going on at the polls. What number were you? Lines or walk right up? Who got your vote and why? Photo ID disputes? Tell us in the comments below, on our Facebook page or Twitter or email lisa.sink@patch.com
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1:07 a.m. Wednesday: Here are stories on the outcomes of the and the , with of local election results at the Waukesha County Administration Building.

11:50 p.m. Tuesday: Complete unofficial, unaudited results for Elmbrook School Board. (Note: these results were hand-tabulated by a Patch writer at the Waukesha County Adminstration Building, and are not official from Waukesha County.)

Incumbent Elmbrook School Board members Meg Wartman and Jean Lambert win re-election over challengers Lynne Thomas and Paul Byrne.

Results:

Wartman: 7,346 votes (65 percent)
Thomas:   3,973 votes (35 percent)

Lambert: 6,060 votes (54 percent)
Byrne:    5,164 votes (46 percent)

11:30 p.m. PARTIAL RESULTS for Elmbrook School Board. Town of Brookfield voters chose incumbents Wartman and Lambert. Lambert 116 votes, Byrne 81; Wartman 119 votes, Thomas 89

11:13 p.m. City of Brookfield has left the building. The city clerks just went home, no results from that office on School Board. Just me and the janitors now.

We may not have the Elmbrook School Board results tonight.... Waukesha County is handling all local election results tonight and they have not posted anything on the website. I got the city aldermanic results from City Hall, but City Hall will not be reporting the School Board results tonight.

10:30 p.m. Stay tuned here for Elmbrook School Board results. Also, I am writing as we speak a separate story about the aldermanic races with comments from the candidates.

10:14 p.m. Final unofficial, unaudited results for Brookfield aldermen: Renee Lowerr garnered 65 percent of the vote; Dan Sutton received 64 percent and Buck Jurken got 56 percent.

9:50 p.m. PARTIAL RESULTS for Elmbrook School Board: The entire Village of Elm Grove results are in. (The school district also includes votes from the City of Brookfield and small parts of the Town of Brookfield and City of New Berlin.)

Elm Grove voters overwhelmingly choose challenger Paul Byrne and incumbent Meg Wartman. Byrne, the only candidate residing in Elm Grove, outpolled incumbent School Board member Jean Lambert, 1,249 votes to 574. Wartman had 1,039 over Lynne Thomas' 673 votes in Elm Grove.

9:25 p.m. Very interesting. Total Brookfield city turnout was 43 percent today, much lower than the 53 percent turnout last April for the state Supreme Court race and the 52 percent city turnout in 2008 for the last presidential primary with McCain/Huckabee and Obama/Clinton. Not good for Romney??

9:12: Mayor Steve Ponto said the fact that voters re-elected the incumbents shows those alderman — and the city as a whole — has been doing a good job providing services and keeping taxes under control.

"I think overall the city's on a real good course," Ponto said, adding, "I have a lot of confidence in the voters of Brookfield, honestly."

9:01 p.m. All three incumbent Brookfield aldermen stave off challengers. Ald. Dan Sutton defeated Dick Steinberg, 949 to 528.

8:51 p.m. Ald. Renee Lowerr wins re-election, 849 to 462, over challenger Thomas Schellinger

8:40 p.m. Ald. Buck Jurken wins re-election, 778 to 605, over challenger Cathy Wolfla, in the 4th aldermanic district where voter turnout was 45 percent.

8:30 p.m. The first district has arrived: District 5 at the Public Safety Building.

8:24 p.m. None of the city's seven polling sites have returned to City Hall with their voting machine information. The city plans to have each site bring their information to City Hall where City Attorney Karen Flaherty will drive them to the Waukesha County Clerk's office.

8:19 p.m. Turnout was about 40 percent as of 6:30 p.m. with 90 minutes to go at the Brookfield Public Safety Building, chief inspectors Bill Hotz and Chris Lyle said.

"It's been steady, it's been smooth," Hotz said.

Turnout citywide last spring for the state Supreme Court race between incumbent Justice David Prosser Jr. and challenger JoAnne Kloppenburg was 53 percent. And the last time there was a presidential primary (February 2008), Brookfield turnout was 52 percent.

8:12 p.m. Whatever results are reported tonight are unofficial, unaudited results that will need to be scrunitized by the city Board of Canvassers which won't meet until Monday. One reason for the delay: absentee ballots that arrive by Friday will be counted. Absentee ballots must be postmarked by today to be included, the clerk's office said.

8:09 p.m. City Clerk Kelly Michaels, holding her first election in Brookfield since being hired to succeed Kristine Schmidt who retired, said she visited five of the city's seven polling sites this afternoon and operations were going very well. The deputy city clerk visited the other two sites.

"It didn't seem overly busy," Michaels said. The lines were only about two to three people long.

The only problem she encountered? Some people called to complain that there were no parking spots available at the Brookfield Elementary polling site. Apparently the lot was full or nearly full. (Wonder about next year when Hillside merges into Brookfield El?)

8:04 p.m. A Brookfield woman said she voted for Gingrich because she wanted a "more seasoned person and someone who has a little more political savvy." She said Gingrich knew the ins and out of Washington and "how to play the games" to get things done.

Another woman said Romney got her vote because she thought he was most electable of the GOP candidates still in the race. "Someone needs to win over Barack Obama," she said. Her most pressing issue? Health care. She said she works in the health care industry and fears already high costs and waste will increase under Obama's health plan.

Santorum got two votes from a couple who told Patch they were Democrats who believed Santorum would be the weakest candidate against Obama. "We're proud Democrats," said Ellen Lindop, standing with her husband, Christopher. "He's (Santorum) way too conservative." 

8:00 p.m. Polls are closed. Check back here for results as they come in.

7:52 p.m. The first five voters Patch approached outside the Public Safety Building about 6:30 p.m. offered a surprising mix of choices for the presidential primary: one for Obama, one for Romney, two for Santorum (but by two Democrats who said they were intentionally messing with the GOP race) and one for Newt Gingrich.

7:50 p.m. Polls closing in 10 minutes. Brookfield Mayor Steve Ponto predicts Romney will win Wisconsin by a "significant margin of up to 10 points."

The endorsements by U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan and U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson were big boosts to Romney's conservative credibility, Ponto said. "Paul Ryan is just so revered," the mayor said.

4:05 p.m. Absentee voting: the city clerk's office says it issued 1,206 absentee ballots. As of today, 943 had been returned and 263 were outstanding. In the last presidential primary election, there were 1,096 absentee ballots recorded.

3:05 p.m. At the Santorum campaign office in Brookfield, the mood is cautiously optimistic.

Spokesman Chuck Laudner, who got some press with Santorum driving a pickup to appearances around Iowa while other GOP candidates were traveling in large buses and Suburbans, said he believes Wisconsin voters are not excited about Romney.

"When (U.S. Rep. Paul) Ryan endorsed (Romney), that took a lot of oxygen out of the room," Laudner said. "Ryan is a popular guy. But in the end, endorsements don’t really sway a lot of people. We've seen that from the beginning in Iowa."

For more from Laudner, including video and photos, see .

3:03 p.m. City Clerk Kelly Michaels says she won't have turnout data until the polls close but adds, "I have visited the polls and things appear to be steady but moving along smoothly."

9:25 a.m. It's no secret that Waukesha County is a powerhouse of GOP votes. JSOnline's Craig Gilbert had a great analysis yesterday showing how "Waukesha County holds key" role in who wins Wisconsin's GOP presidential primary: Mitt Romney, whom party leaders are backing, or Rick Santorum, who says his record shows he's the more conservative candidate.

As Waukesha County's second most-populous city (behind the City of Waukesha), Brookfield also will be important.

So how many residents will turn out to vote today? In the last presidential preference primary (McCain/Huckabee, Obama/Clinton) in February 2008, 52 percent of Brookfield voters hit the polls.

Brookfield turnout for other presidential primaries?

2004: (no GOP contest - Bush only Republican on ballot; Kerry/Edwards/Dean): 25 percent
2000: (no GOP or DEM contest - Bush and Gore on ballot) 29 percent
1996: 43 percent
1992: 42 percent

Are YOU going to vote today?

9:10 a.m. So the polls have been open two hours, 11 more to go.

Remember last year's spring election? I sure do. My crazy decision to stick around at City Hall after midnight and file a state Supreme Court race ended up meaning something two days later when Waukesha County Clerk Kathy Nickolaus announced she had failed to include the entire City of Brookfield's votes in the statewide race. Adding the votes I had reported on election night in real time flipped the razor-thin race from Kloppenburg to Prosser. I'll try to remember that tonight when I'm tired and I want to go home to bed.....

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Let the 2012 elections begin.

Since Brookfield had no ballot to cast in February, today's spring general election is the first of several key votes this year.

First up, today's GOP presidential primary. Then it's May 8, the Democratic primary in the historic gubernatorial recall election. Most eyed, of course, is the June 5 recall election. August will bring county elections, and November is the motherlode, the presidential ballot.

So get ready to exercise democracy with a little D and get 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.

HOW

Do you have to show photo ID to vote? No. A recent injunction has put the requirement that voters show identification on hold. 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 ballot today:  

(AKA the big GOP draw): Mitt Romney is trying to knock Rick Santorum off the ballot and help solidify his nomination for president, boosted by major support by U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan and others. But Santorum is criss-crossing the state in an all-out blitz, questioning Romney's conservative strength.

Incumbents Meg Wartman faces a challenge from Lynne Thomas, while Paul Byrne is contesting incumbent Jean Lambert.

Three incumbents (Dan Sutton, Buck Jurken and Renee Lowerr) face competition from three challengers (Dick Steinberg, Cathy Wolfla and Thomas Schellinger)

Only in the far northeast corner of Brookfield is a contested county supervisor seat. Primarily a Menomonee Falls seat, some Brookfield voters will choose between Jennifer A. Grant and Michael Hyland.

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.