MENASHA, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – Tuesday’s election day looked unlike any other in recent memory.
“Especially in April,” one voter said. “I just took off my snow tires a couple weeks ago so I was not happy.”
That’s because of Winter Storm Cora, which brought in unseasonably high snow totals for April. As a result, in-person voting numbers may have taken a hit.
“I’d like to think that in Wisconsin, we are hearty Midwesterners and we are not deterred by a little sleet,” Green Bay City Clerk Celestine Jeffreys said. “However we also have a lot of older voters in our community who are wonderful and consistent and sometimes weather can be a deterrent but turnout is determined by so many factors.”
Jeffreys said turnout is often driven by what’s on the ballot. Many communities saw local elections. But one item, the Presidential preference, appeared on all ballots across the state.
“As far as April elections go, usually this presidential preference is higher than other April elections and certainly when it comes to presidency in November, that November general election always brings out the most voters of any election,” Jeffreys said.
One of the major local races took place in Menasha. Voters there had the opportunity to name their first new mayor in 16 years. That decision was one of several on voters’ minds as they braced the treacherous road conditions to get to their polling location.
“I don’t live too far but I had to drive over to Neenah and then come back and there were several accidents along the way,” one voter said.
One of those locations was the UW Oshkosh Fox Cities campus, which still saw a steady stream of people walking through the doors.
Tuesday Appleton’s city clerk mirrored the sentiment that voting numbers appeared to be down.
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