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The Daily Cardinal Est. 1892
Friday, March 29, 2024

Spring primary sees relatively strong voter turnout

Tuesday’s municipal primary had relatively strong voter turnout in Madison and Dane County, according to the city and county clerks’ offices.

Madison registered 19.6 percent voter turnout, with a total of 39,904 ballots cast.

This year’s turnout results only trail those of 2016, a presidential election year, by a few percentage points. Last year, the spring primary saw 22 percent voter turnout in Madison. It is notable that a presidential election year typically draws in more constituents.

In 2015, 12 percent of the 183,317 pre-registered Madison voters made it to the polls.

Extension of absentee polling places to several new locations in Madison, including on the UW-Madison campus, could have affected turnout. Madison constituents broke records for early voting with in-person absentee ballots, which took place until Feb. 19.

The amount of in-person absentee voting was higher than in any February primary, including in presidential election years, according to city officials. 1,822 Madison residents voted absentee as of last Thursday, beating a previous record of 1,777 set in the 2008 presidential primary.

Dane County had an overall voter turnout of 17.5 percent at the 2017 spring primary. This year fell a few percentage points behind 2016, which saw a 21 percent voter turnout, with higher profile races sparking voter interest.

In 2015, 13 percent of pre-registered voters cast ballots for the February primary.

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