Voter turnout tops 90% at local polls

While attention was focused on Tuesday’s presidential race, which spawned the largest voter turnout in memory, Town of Saukville residents decided a local issue, voting to make the town treasurer an appointed position rather than an elected one.

According to unofficial results from the Ozaukee County clerk, the town had one of the highest turnouts in the county at 94.68%, with 1,299 of its 1,372 registered voters casting ballots.

Of those, Town Clerk Raquel Engelke said her office issued 744 early ballots and tried to accommodate those who wanted to vote early in person by expanding hours at Town Hall.

“I tried to make my early voting hours include some evenings and Saturday mornings during the town’s recycling center hours so early voting would be more convenient for residents,” she said. 

Many residents who requested mail-in ballots returned those by hand. 

There also were 67 new voter registrations since Aug. 11, Engelke said.

On the town treasurer referendum question, 718 residents, or 59.63%, voted  for making the position appointed while 418, or 40.37%, voted no.

The vote ratified an ordinance approved by the Town Board in July.

Under the ordinance, the treasurer will be appointed by a majority of the three-member board to a three-year term and could be reappointed for additional terms.

Elected officials are required to be residents of the community they represent, whereas appointees can live anywhere. That provides a larger pool of potential candidates from which to hire based on qualifications and experience.

Appointed persons also can be fired for cause or not have their contract renewed when it ends, whereas an elected person can be removed only by recall or through another  election.

In the Village of Saukville, turnout topped 92%, with 2,509 of 2,722 registered voters casting ballots.

Of those in the village, 1,629 were cast as absentee ballots, with 831 received as early in-person votes, Village Clerk Mary Kay Baumann said.

In the presidential race, almost 72%, or 933, voters threw their support behind President Donald Trump, with 350, or 27%, voting for Democrat challenger Joe Biden.

In the 6th Congressional District, 952 voters, or 74.61%, cast ballots for incumbent Republican Glenn Grothman, helping him win re-election, while 321, or 25.16%, voted for Democrat Jessica King.

Village voters also supported Trump, but at a lower rate, casting 1,536 votes for Trump, or 61.2%, and 920, or 36.7%, choosing Biden. There were 48 votes cast for third-party candidates.

In the congressional race, Grothman garnered 1,593 votes, or 63.5%, to King’s 849 votes, or 33.8%.