Elections

Wisconsin voter turnout in the 2024 partisan primary tops 26%

Turnout in Wisconsin's election on Aug. 13 was the highest in 60 years for a presidential year partisan primary — based on unofficial results, over 26% of the state's voting-age population cast ballots.

Associated Press

August 14, 2024

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A person stands and faces a portable voting booth, with other booths comprised of a plastic table with metal legs and a privacy screen with U.S. flag graphics and the word VOTE on its sides, in a room with multiple people standing and seated at folding tables in the background, in a room with a carpeted floor and a fireplace on the back wall.

Voters fill out and cast their ballots at a polling place inside the Lakeview branch of the Madison Public Library on Aug. 13, 2024, in Madison. (Credit: PBS Wisconsin) (Credit: PBS Wisconsin)


AP News

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Turnout in Wisconsin’s election on Aug. 13 was the highest in 60 years for a presidential year partisan primary, with over 26% of the state’s voting-age population casting ballots, based on unofficial results.

The election was marked by voters rejecting two constitutional amendments that sought to limit the governor’s power to spend money and deciding a pair of hotly contested congressional primaries. The election was also the first under newly drawn legislative maps, creating dozens of competitive races in addition to other hot contests for local office.

The city of Madison, a Democratic stronghold, had 45% turnout — the highest for a fall partisan turnout in at least 40 years, the farthest back the clerk’s office has records.

Just over 1.2 million voters cast their ballots on each of the proposed amendments, which were the only statewide issues on the ballot open to all voters regardless of party. That comes to just over 26% of the voting-age population, which is around 4.7 million voters.

That is the highest turnout for an August primary in a presidential year since 1964, when nearly 28% of the voting-age population cast ballots, based on Wisconsin Elections Commission records. It’s just below the 27% turnout from the midterm 2022 partisan primary. That year turnout was driven by a competitive Republican primary for governor and Democratic race for Senate.


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