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Updates: Oak Creek Voters Flock to the Polls

Voters coming out in high numbers Tuesday in the first-ever attempt to recall a Wisconsin governor.

 

Editor's Note: Patch will be visiting Oak Creek polling places throughout the day, talking to voters and poll workers. Watch this space for updates.

6:35 p.m. See more up-to-the-minute updates at our live blog, which just launched.

6:30 p.m. The "after-work rush" is definitely in full effect -- long lines were seen at many Oak Creek polling places in the early-evening hours.

Check out some pictures of the Oak Creek Community Center and Meadowview Elementary School at right.

5 p.m. The Government Accountability Board says no major or widespread problems to report and that voters should ignore robocalls about when to vote. Earlier, the Election Protection Hotline detailed some of the calls they have been getting.

4:50 p.m. As you may have seen on signs at polling places, the city will be posting local election results on its Facebook page. You can check out the city of Oak Creek Facebook page here.

4:25 p.m. Oak Creek far from the only suburb seeing high voter turnout...seems to be the case throughout the Milwaukee region.

4:10 p.m. City Clerk Catherine Roeske estimates 41 percent voter turnout so far in Oak Creek. Still four hours to go, and the action at polling places will likely pick up as folks get done with school and work.

As a comparison, total voter turnout for the primary was 37 percent.

3:35 p.m. The voter count at the school administration building is at 1,147.

3:30 p.m. Though Gov. Walker is expected to win the Oak Creek vote by a healthy margin, LeRoy Washington, outside West Middle School, said he voted for Democrat Tom Barrett because he "looks out for the little guy."

Dustin Butteris, after voting at the Oak Creek Community Center, said he also marked his ballot for Barrett and Lt. Gov. candidate Mahlon Mitchell, citing concerns about Walker's cuts to education, the ongoing John Doe investigation and his overall divisive tenure.

"I'm a firm believer that working together, the best outcomes can be achieved," he said. "Walker seemed to put his ideologies and his own interests above what many of his constituents wanted."

2 p.m. When Tom Mueller went to vote at Meadowview Elementary School just after 9 a.m., he waited while four people ahead of him signed in.

That's something that rarely, if ever, happens, Mueller said, even in a presidential election. Mueller said he expects the turnout for today's recall election to be on par with a presidential vote.

1:30 p.m. Workers at the Oak Creek Community Center, site of the District 6 polling place, said they haven't seen anything like today's turnout, even compared to the 2008 presidential race.

The city clerk's office, meanwhile, has been fielding calls all day from voters asking about their polling place.

12 p.m. Turnout is high throughout Oak Creek today as residents headed to the polls to vote in the first gubernatorial recall election in Wisconsin history.

Election officials said Tuesday morning the election was off to a smooth start, with no major problems reported.

City Clerk Catherine Roeske said they have stayed busy with an uptick in the number of new voter registrations.

Several poll workers said they expected turnout to exceed the 60 percent that was predicted.

At 10:20 a.m., a little more than 800 ballots (including absentee) had been cast at West Middle School. The chief inspector there said turnout has been steady and heavier than usual. 

About 15 people were waiting in line when the polls opened at 7 a.m., she said.

Resident Greg Wheatley said turnout at East Middle School was fairly heavy when he arrived to vote at 7:05 a.m. He waited about 25 minutes to get his ballot, and was No. 399 when he submitted.

Related Topics: Oak Creek recall election, Walker Recall, and Wisconsin Recall
What are you seeing at the polls? What number voter were you? Tell us in the comments.

Joe Todor

3:09 am on Wednesday, June 6, 2012

"Fool me once, shame on me.
Fool 1.3 million, shame on you."

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Mike in OC

7:21 am on Wednesday, June 6, 2012

I saw somewhere Oak Creek had 76% turnout..... great job OC!

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Mark Schaaf

7:58 am on Wednesday, June 6, 2012

76 percent turnout, yeah...I'll have more on the voting breakdown for Oak Creek later today.

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