Wisconsin Election Results: Marijuana, Baldwin In, Walker Out

WISCONSIN -- Fueled by a resurgent Democratic base, Tony Evers has defeated Gov. Scott Walker, denying the Republican incumbent a third term in office. The Associated Press called the race for Evers just after 1:30 a.m. CDT Wednesday.

On Wednesday afternoon, Walker officially conceded the race, handing the victory to Evers.

"Thanks to Tony Evers for his gracious comments on our call today. I offered the full support of my staff and our cabinet as he begins the transition process," Walker said in a statement. "Finally, thank you to the voters of the great State of Wisconsin. It has been my honor to serve as your Governor for nearly eight years. We've come a long way together and it is my sincere hope that the progress we've made during our time in office will continue and that we can keep Wisconsin working for generations to come."

There had been concern that the Wisconsin Governor's race would be a long, drawn-out affair after Walker's campaign signaled early Wednesday that they might consider a recount, and scrutinize Milwaukee County absentee ballots.

But Walker's campaign said that a statement made by Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch regarding a recount actually came before the revelation of nearly 50,000 uncounted Milwaukee County absentee ballots early Wednesday.

In that statement, Kleefish said: "We need to prepare ourselves for a long, drawn-out recount that the other side will surely seek. And so tonight I am telling you that we may need your support to help in that effort – resources and volunteers as we never have before."

Then, news came that Milwaukee County - a Democratic stronghold in the state - had yet to process nearly 50,000 absentee ballots. And of those Milwaukee County absentee ballots, Evers took 38,674 and Walker 7,181.

The result sent shock waves through a community of Wisconsin voters who strained to stay awake in the early morning hours to find out who won.

When it became apparent that Milwaukee's late-breaking ballots were enough to put Evers over the top, the Walker campaign said it was clear that the election had been lost.

"After inquiring further about the additional ballots in Milwaukee, Friends of Scott Walker determined that any change in the result would not be significant enough to determine the outcome of the election, despite its close margin and questions about how the city of Milwaukee executed its election night operations," his campaign said.

Be sure to stick with Patch throughout the day and into the evening. Subscribe to Patch alerts for the latest election results.

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Wisconsin Voters Support Marijuana

Voters in support of legalizing marijuana for either medicinal or recreational purposes have smoked their opponents in ballot measures in nearly all counties where they were on the ballot.

In Milwaukee County, voters overwhelmingly supported a nonbinding recreational marijuana referendum by a margin of 70 percent in favor to 30 percent against.

Racine County had six ballot measures, asking voters about whether recreational marijuana, and medicinal marijuana should be legalized and whether it should be taxed and regulated. Five of the six questions were a landslide in favor of legalization and taxation, and a sixth was supported by nearly 20 percentage points.

In Kenosha County, voters passed a medicinal marijuana ballot measure by more than 70 percent.
The 16 counties with the advisory referendum are Milwaukee, Rock, Dane, Sauk, Brown, La Crosse, Marathon, Portage, Clark, Langdale, Marquette, Eau Claire, Forest, Kenosha, Lincoln and Racine.

In a county-by-county check on election night, voters have overwhelmingly supported local ballot initiatives in 14 of the 16 counties. Patch.com is still looking for results from Sauk and Lincoln Counties.

Steil Beats Bryce

With 84 percent of all districts reporting, the Associated Press called Wisconsin's First Congressional District race for Republican newcomer Bryan Steil.

“Tonight is a victory for taking a step forward in Southeast Wisconsin. When I first announced my candidacy, I told voters that their agenda would be my agenda," Steil said Tuesday night. "My focus is to help everyone in Southeast Wisconsin obtain good-paying jobs, earn higher wages, and have a better quality of life. I promise to take my problem solving skills and my Wisconsin-style work ethic to Congress to work tirelessly on your behalf.”

When Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Janesville) announced in April 2018 that he was no longer seeking re-election in Wisconsin's First Congressional District, it opened the door for new candidates to fill the office for the first time since 1999.

Baldwin Beats Vukmir

Just after 8 p.m., and with scarcely a single vote tallied by election officials, ABC news called the Wisconsin U.S. Senate race in favor of Tammy Baldwin over Republican challenger Leah Vukmir based on exit polling data the organization collected in the Badger State during election day. Fox News called the race less than 20 minutes later.

Baldwin's victory - with barely any votes tallied, reflected the latest Marquette University Law School Poll which had the Republican State Representative from Brookfield trailing Baldwin by 11 percentage points going into Tuesday's election.

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The Wisconsin Senate race was one that the GOP really wanted. According to a Huffpost article Tuesday night, conservative groups poured more money into that race to boost Republicans than into any other this cycle.

"I became the top target of special interests, super PACs in the U.S. I decided to wear this like a badge of courage," Baldwin said in a campaign event held in Milwaukee with former President Barack Obama.

Just how big are the elections in Wisconsin? Election forecasting website fivethirtyeight.com is predicting that the Badger State will have the highest voter turnout rate in the U.S. According to a Journal Sentinel report, 538 is predicting that 2.7 million Wisconsinites out of a voting eligible population of 4.3 million turned out to vote. That's a 62.3 percent clip.

Ballots Misprinted

Fifty-four voters in the small town of Stratford, WI were called by village officials, asking them to come back to the polls to vote again after election officials learned they'd been handed the wrong ballots.

According to a WAOW report, Stratford Village Clerk June Krueger said that printing issue caused the first 54 voters to receive ballots that did not have the right races on them. Krueger told WAOW that the problem was discovered when tabulating machine couldn't process their ballots.

Students Walk Out

Shorewood High School students walked out of school early this afternoon to hold a rally on the school's front lawn encouraging students to vote.

According to a Journal Sentinel report, the number of students that walked out was about 40, and that most of them appeared to be too young to vote. Shorewood High School was one of about 500 schools across the U.S. to stage Walkout to Vote rallies.

Record Absentee Ballots Cast

Even before voters headed to the polls on Tuesday, Wisconsin voters didn't just break the record for absentee ballots submitted during a midterm election - they obliterated it.

According to the Wisconsin Election Commission, more than 547,000 absentee ballots had already been cast. That blows away the previous record, which was 374,294 absentee ballots cast in 2014.

According to multiple media reports, in a midterm election, overall turnout typically ranges from 50 to 55 percent of the voting age population, compared to 65 to 70 percent in a presidential election.

Wisconsin's Big Three

Today, all 8 of Wisconsin's congressional districts will be up for election. The 17 odd-numbered districts out of 33 seats in the Wisconsin State Senate are up for election. All 99 seats of the Wisconsin State Assembly are up for election today.

In addition to Wisconsin's Congressional, State Assembly and State Senate elections, voters are picking the next Governor, U.S. Senator and the man who will succeed Speaker Paul Ryan in Congress. Follow our coverage here:

Senate: Tammy Baldwin vs. Leah Vukmir
House: Randy Bryce vs. Bryan Steil
Governor: Scott Walker vs. Tony Evers

Scott Walker Vs. Tony Evers

Coming into Tuesday's election, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is in a dead-heat with his opponent, Democrat Tony Evers.

Evers is currently the Superintendent of Public Schools in Wisconsin, and Walker is seeking a third term as governor. In Tony Evers, Wisconsin voters have arguably the state's biggest opponent of ACT 10, the law Walker signed into law in 2010 that restricted collective bargaining for Wisconsin's public educators.

It's hardly a secret that Evers, the head of the Wisconsin's Department of Public Instruction, would work to repeal Walker's landmark legislation. Evers also supports repealing Walker's Right to Work legislation, which which bars mandatory union membership and prohibits unions or employers from requiring non-members to pay dues.

Randy Bryce vs. Bryan Steil

When Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Janesville) announced in April 2018 that he was no longer seeking re-election in Wisconsin's First Congressional District, it opened the door for new candidates to fill the office for the first time since 1999.

The race pits perennial candidate Randy Bryce, a Racine-County Democrat, against Bryan Steil, a person commonly viewed as a protege of Ryan.

A New York Times poll in September showed that Steil had a 5 percentage point lead over Bryce. Another poll conducted in October by Change Research showed Bryce with a 1 percentage point lead over Steil.

Ryan was effusive of his former assistant, saying: "As I move on, the thing that matters most to me is to make sure that the people who trusted me to represent them in Congress have an excellent human being and a wonderful leader to take that mantle on and be a great representative, and Bryan Steil is going to be a great congressman."

Bryce told Patch that he sees himself as a middle-class champion: someone who will work to expand public protections for working families.

"I believe we need Medicare For All because our current healthcare system does not work for middle-class families. With healthcare tied to employment, families can face sudden loss of care if the head of the household loses their job, doubling their economic crisis," Bryce told Patch. "I also support the Butch-Lewis Act because pensions that hardworking union members have paid into their entire careers are in grave jeopardy. Many retirees have already seen their monthly payments cut by a third or more."

Crucial votes in the suburbs

Greendale: The Greendale Board of Education voted unanimously on August 6 to adopt a resolution to place a referendum question on the November 6 General Election ballot. The District will be asking the community to invest up to $33.8 million for district-wide improvements:

• Increasing School Safety and Security
• Improving Learning Environments
• Creating Flexible and Adaptable Workspaces
• Improving Building Efficiency and Sustainability

The referendum includes the construction and renovation of academic, cafeteria and multipurpose room spaces at Canterbury, College Park and Highland View Elementary schools, renovations to athletic, music and tech education areas at Greendale Middle School, and construction of music instructional spaces and an event lobby at Greendale High School.

Read More Here

Greenfield: Citing a need for more police and fire protection, and lower police staffing when compared with their suburban neighbors, Greenfield Police Chief Brad Wentlandt and Fire Chief Jon Cohn approached the common council to increase police and fire staffing through a referendum.

The Greenfield Common Council voted unanimously on July 31 to approve a referendum question that will ask voters whether they approve of the City exceeding state-imposed levy limits by $975,000 in 2019 to hire five police officers and two fire department personnel. Read More Here

Oak Creek: Voters on Tuesday, Nov. 6 will have the chance to vote on a $60.9 million referendum that will address a number of needs identified by the Oak Creek-Franklin Joint School District.

The cost of the referendum is $60.9 Million, which equals an estimated annual tax increase of $118 per year (or $9.81 per month) on a $225,000 home. The was plan presented to voters in November reflects a thoughtful balance of fiscal responsibility for taxpayers while meeting the needs of students and addressing many long-term facility needs.

Read More Here

Wauwatosa: Voters in Wauwatosa will have the chance to decide whether to approve spending approximately $124.9 million to upgrade and renovate Wauwatosa schools in the second-largest school spending request on the ballot this fall.

According to district figures, approval of the $124.9 million referendum would raise taxes, increasing the school portion of the mill rate by a maximum of $1.88 over the current rate. As a result, property owners would pay $188 more a year per $100,000 of home value.

Feelings are mixed on the Wauwatosa schools referendum. While some say it's a much-needed investment in a district that has been cash-strapped since the invocation of Act 10, others say its symptomatic of fiscal mismanagement in an era where frugality and common sense are desperately needed from the public. Read More Here

Marijuana In Wisconsin

Voters in 16 Wisconsin counties are headed to the polls on Tuesday, and have the chance to decide whether to recommend supporting the legalization of cannabis for medical reasons or personal use.

Voters in these counties will see a variety of advisory referendums on their ballot. They do not require the Legislature to take action, but the responses collected Tuesday will inform public officials of prevailing attitudes of voters in the state.

A recent Marquette University Law School poll reported that 61 percent of likely voters in Wisconsin say marijuana should be fully legalized and regulated like alcohol, while 36 percent oppose legalization. The last time the poll was conducted in July 2016, 59 percent supported legalization and 39 percent were opposed.

The 16 counties with the advisory referendum are Milwaukee, Rock, Dane, Sauk, Brown, La Crosse, Marathon, Portage, Clark, Langdale, Marquette, Eau Claire, Forest, Kenosha, Lincoln and Racine.

Know Your Rights

Elderly voters and those with physical disabilities are entitled to accommodations to make voting accessible and easy. According to the State of Wisconsin, curbside voting is available if a voter cannot enter the polling place due to a disability on Election Day.

If a voter inside the polling location cannot sign the poll list due to a physical disability, they should inform a poll worker. An accessible voting machine will be available in every polling place.

If a voter needs help marking the ballot, he or she may have a person assist them. The assistant need not be qualified to vote.

Need transportation? Common Cause Wisconsin has a statewide list of resources for rides to the polls: https://www.commoncausewisconsin.org/p/free-rides-to-polls-for-2018-fall.html

Elderly Voters and Voters with Disabilities- Guide to Voting in Wisconsin: https://elections.wi.gov/node/3614

Wisconsin Guide for Homeless Voters: https://elections.wi.gov/node/3622

Lead Image Via Shutterstock, Article Image By Scott Anderson