Just a reminder to the city's Second District residents: You vote in a new place.
The city moved its polling place on the near south side - some call it the Towerview neighborhood - from Stephen Bull Fine Arts Elementary School to the John Bryant Community Center, 601 21st St.
The first election at the new site will be held Tuesday. Second District voters will elect an alderman, three members of the Racine Unified School Board and two judges.
You can vote Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. If you can't make it Tuesday, you can vote today by absentee ballot at City Hall, 730 Washington Ave. until 4:55 p.m.
Showing posts with label elections. Show all posts
Showing posts with label elections. Show all posts
April 5, 2010
October 8, 2008
City jumping the gun on polling place change?
Update: The City Clerk's office said that polling site is being changed at the request of Knapp Elementary. The school asked that they not be used for voting, which is understandable given the disruption Election Day would bring to the school.
But the change still appears to violate state election law and could be confusing for voters. Why not make this change two months ago?
Original Post:
The City Council is considering a last-minute change to one of its polling places less than a month before the Nov. 4 general election.
Based on the minutes from last night's council meeting, Mayor Gary Becker suggested moving a polling place from Knapp Elementary School to the Workforce Development Center. The council voted to send the idea to the Executive Committee for consideration.
But that hasn't stopped the city from listing the Workforce Development Center as the new polling site on its website.
There's some question that this may even violate state law. Here's the statute:
But here's the real question: Why change a polling site less than a month before a major election?
But the change still appears to violate state election law and could be confusing for voters. Why not make this change two months ago?
Original Post:
The City Council is considering a last-minute change to one of its polling places less than a month before the Nov. 4 general election.
Based on the minutes from last night's council meeting, Mayor Gary Becker suggested moving a polling place from Knapp Elementary School to the Workforce Development Center. The council voted to send the idea to the Executive Committee for consideration.
But that hasn't stopped the city from listing the Workforce Development Center as the new polling site on its website.
There's some question that this may even violate state law. Here's the statute:
5.25 Polling places. (1) All elections under chs. 5 to 12 shall
be held at the polling places provided in this section. The places
chosen shall be public buildings, unless the use of a public building
for this purpose is impracticable or the use of a nonpublic
building better serves the needs of the electorate, as determined by
the authority charged with the responsibility for establishing polling
places under sub. (2).
(2) In cities over 500,000 population, polling shall be at the
places established by the board of election commissioners. In all
other cities and in villages and towns, polling shall be at the places
established by the governing body.
(3) Polling places shall be established for each September primary
and general election at least 60 days before the election, and
for each other election at least 30 days before the election.
But here's the real question: Why change a polling site less than a month before a major election?
September 10, 2008
Racine County turnout: A pathetic 6.78%
So, how low was the turnout in Racine County? Very low, indeed.
Predictions before the primary suggested about 15% of voters might vote in what was a lackluster election in most races -- an awful lot of unopposed candidates -- except for the Democrats' 1st District Congressional contest. That race started out with four candidates, and ended up with three.
Fifteen percent, it turns out, would have been great. Instead, less than half that percentage voted... even when we include the minor parties.
Racine County has 126,228 registered voters. There were 4,361 Democratic ballots cast, 3,728 Republican, 22 Wisconsin Green and 69 Libertarian -- for a total of 8,559.
In other words, 6.78% of those eligible to vote did so.
Pathetic.
Predictions before the primary suggested about 15% of voters might vote in what was a lackluster election in most races -- an awful lot of unopposed candidates -- except for the Democrats' 1st District Congressional contest. That race started out with four candidates, and ended up with three.
Fifteen percent, it turns out, would have been great. Instead, less than half that percentage voted... even when we include the minor parties.
Racine County has 126,228 registered voters. There were 4,361 Democratic ballots cast, 3,728 Republican, 22 Wisconsin Green and 69 Libertarian -- for a total of 8,559.
In other words, 6.78% of those eligible to vote did so.
Pathetic.
September 9, 2008
Krupp wins right to challenge Ryan in 1st District
Late results give Marge Krupp of Pleasant Prairie the victory in the Democrats' 1st Congressional District race, winning the right to oppose Republican U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan in November.
We've updated these results through Tuesday evening. The county totals come from the various county clerks, and the overall total from WTMJ. The state won't canvass the partial totals and officially declare a winner until Sept. 20. The county totals below don't equal WTMJ's totals because precincts in Milwaukee County and Waukesha County haven't yet posted their results online.
WTMJ reports 100% of the votes tallied:
Rock County reports:
We've updated these results through Tuesday evening. The county totals come from the various county clerks, and the overall total from WTMJ. The state won't canvass the partial totals and officially declare a winner until Sept. 20. The county totals below don't equal WTMJ's totals because precincts in Milwaukee County and Waukesha County haven't yet posted their results online.
WTMJ reports 100% of the votes tallied:
Marge Krupp 5,832Racine County reports:
Paulette Garin 5,015
Mike Hebert 4,315
John Mogk 655
Mike Hebert 941Complete Racine County results -- all parties, precincts and local races -- are here. The summary is here.
Paulette Garin 1,259
John Mogk 133
Marge Krupp 1,492
Rock County reports:
Paulette Garin 606Kenosha County reports:
John Mogk 51
Marge Krupp 686
Mike Hebert 238
Mike Hebert 2,289Walworth County reports:
Marge Krupp 2,126
Paulette Garin 2,191
John Mogk 287
Marge Krupp 329
Mike Hebert 197
Paulette Garin 262
John Mogk 25
September 4, 2008
100 attend opening of county's new GOP HQ
It was a dark and stormy night, but just shy of 100 Republicans came out Thursday to celebrate the opening of the new campaign headquarters of the Republican Party of Racine County.
Bill Folk, county chairman, said it was a successful party and many signed up to volunteer. Most had gone home by a few minutes after 9 p.m. when I arrived, no doubt to watch Sen. John McCain's acceptance speech on bigger TVs than the computer screens we stragglers employed. But Fred Dooley kindly supplied the picture above, taken earlier in the evening.
The office is at 6500 Washington Avenue, Suite 300 -- in the same building as Century Floors and Havahart Pets. It will serve as a central location for signs, literature, phone banks and information on the upcoming election.
Two volunteers watch John McCain's acceptance speechApril 1, 2008
Lange easily wins re-election
County Board Supervisor Diane Lange easily won re-election over challenger Lou D'Abbraccio, according to unofficial results.
Lange, who represents District 3 on the board, won 885-396. Her district is on the north side of Racine.
Lange, 55, is one of the most liberal members of the County Board. She's been in the news lately raising questions about the county's contract with Superior Linens.
D'Abbraccio, 45, was making his first run for elected office. He is a Republican.
Problems arose during voting in the race. The Ward 14, City Council District 5 polling site at the Cesar Chavez Center didn't have signs saying voters could also vote for County Board supervisor.
As a result, there were 414 total votes cast at the site, but about 40 ballots did not have a vote for the County Board race. People were aware of the problem, but it apparently was not addressed during the day.
February 25, 2008
Candidate wants $1 homes for police officers
County Board Supervisor Ken Lumpkin has an interesting idea to solve crime in his district's neighborhood: get cops to live there.
Steep discounts on homes for police officers is one part of Lumpkin's three-part plan to address crime on the city's near north side. Lumpkin represents the area on the County Board and hopes to serve the area on the City Council, as well. He's up for election for both offices this spring.
For the first phase, Lumpkin wants to create a Police Home Loan Program, which would takes abandoned or condemned houses or seized crack houses and offer them to policemen for $1. The program would also provide the officers with a low-interest loan to improve the dwelling.
The Police Home Loan Program would be a part of the city's community-oriented policing model, which is designed to place officers in neighborhoods where they can get to know people and help them address problems.
Lumpkin said his plan is designed to promote better neighborhoods and to fight crime at the same time.
"The city already have a program to create homeowners by providing down payment and low-interest fix-up loans to city residents," he said. "This would extend these resources to officers wishing to make a dramatic difference in the city."
To purchase a $1 house, officers would have to make a five-year-commitment to live in the neighborhood. The home would have to be located in the present five-census track area.
"Officers who live in the community are more understanding of their neighbors and can better service them," Lumpkin told listeners at one of his ten listening sessions he is holding throughout the 4th District.
"I feel strongly that we must take new steps to curb crime in a way that we can put problem-solvers measures back in the neighborhoods," Lumpkin said.
The second part of Lumpkin's plan would be a negotiable merit pay incentive for officers who are willing to live in high-crime census tracks.
"We already know the benefits of our COP Houses are doing throughout the central city," Lumpkin said. "Couple that with officers living in the neighborhood, the result can only be the reduction of crime."
The last part of his three-step plan is to bring people who make the decisions for the police department closer to the people in the neighborhood.
"In order for there to be good relationships between the police department and the community the two must be engaged with each other," Lumpkin told supporters.
He wants to work with the Fire and Police Commission in order to hold several Commissioner meeting at neighborhood community centers.
Lumpkin said that few people in the inner-city realized that the Commission is the governing body of the police department.
"These session would allow the commissioners to hear the voices of the people that police officers are sworn to protect," Lumpkin said.
Steep discounts on homes for police officers is one part of Lumpkin's three-part plan to address crime on the city's near north side. Lumpkin represents the area on the County Board and hopes to serve the area on the City Council, as well. He's up for election for both offices this spring.
For the first phase, Lumpkin wants to create a Police Home Loan Program, which would takes abandoned or condemned houses or seized crack houses and offer them to policemen for $1. The program would also provide the officers with a low-interest loan to improve the dwelling.
The Police Home Loan Program would be a part of the city's community-oriented policing model, which is designed to place officers in neighborhoods where they can get to know people and help them address problems.
Lumpkin said his plan is designed to promote better neighborhoods and to fight crime at the same time.
"The city already have a program to create homeowners by providing down payment and low-interest fix-up loans to city residents," he said. "This would extend these resources to officers wishing to make a dramatic difference in the city."
To purchase a $1 house, officers would have to make a five-year-commitment to live in the neighborhood. The home would have to be located in the present five-census track area.
"Officers who live in the community are more understanding of their neighbors and can better service them," Lumpkin told listeners at one of his ten listening sessions he is holding throughout the 4th District.
"I feel strongly that we must take new steps to curb crime in a way that we can put problem-solvers measures back in the neighborhoods," Lumpkin said.
The second part of Lumpkin's plan would be a negotiable merit pay incentive for officers who are willing to live in high-crime census tracks.
"We already know the benefits of our COP Houses are doing throughout the central city," Lumpkin said. "Couple that with officers living in the neighborhood, the result can only be the reduction of crime."
The last part of his three-step plan is to bring people who make the decisions for the police department closer to the people in the neighborhood.
"In order for there to be good relationships between the police department and the community the two must be engaged with each other," Lumpkin told supporters.
He wants to work with the Fire and Police Commission in order to hold several Commissioner meeting at neighborhood community centers.
Lumpkin said that few people in the inner-city realized that the Commission is the governing body of the police department.
"These session would allow the commissioners to hear the voices of the people that police officers are sworn to protect," Lumpkin said.
February 20, 2008
Tuesday's election by the numbers
* 51,861 - Number of people voted in the county. Turnout was 41.75 percent.
* 37,321 - Number of people who voted for Democrats
* 14,446 - Number of people who voted for Republicans
* Democratic totals:
* Republican totals:
* 12,283 - Difference between Obama's and McCain's totals in Racine County
* 9,067-5,364 - Obama's margin of victory over Clinton in the City of Racine. Obama took about 62 percent of the city's vote.
* 37,321 - Number of people who voted for Democrats
* 14,446 - Number of people who voted for Republicans
* Democratic totals:
Kucinich - 75
Clinton - 16,294
Biden - 13
Gravel - 16
Dodd - 17
Obama - 20,620
Edwards - 227
Richardson - 20
* Republican totals:
Hunter - 27
Thompson - 103
Tancredo - 9
Romney - 269
Paul - 618
Huckabee - 4,986
McCain - 8,337
Giuliani - 49
* 12,283 - Difference between Obama's and McCain's totals in Racine County
* 9,067-5,364 - Obama's margin of victory over Clinton in the City of Racine. Obama took about 62 percent of the city's vote.
February 19, 2008
Racine County vote totals
Here are the final unofficial returns, as reported by Racine County about 11:30 p.m. last night:
In the Democratic Primary:
In the Republican Primary:
The county has 124,190 registered voters
Racine Unified School Board (top six advance to April election)
The county's vote totals are being put online, as they are counted, HERE.
In the Democratic Primary:
Hillary Clinton: 16,294 votes, 43.65%
Barack Obama: 20,620 votes, 55.24%
In the Republican Primary:
Mike Huckabee 4,986 votes, 34.52%
John McCain: 8,337 votes, 57.72%
The county has 124,190 registered voters
51,861 votes were cast Tuesday
37,321 votes in the Democratic primary
14,446 votes in the Republican primary
Racine Unified School Board (top six advance to April election)
Carly-Anne Ravnikar 7,100
Dennis Wiser 11,906
David Thurwanger 5,090
Pamela Handrow 9,943
Melvin Hargrove 12,790
John Leiber 7,040
Karen Norton 11,776
The county's vote totals are being put online, as they are counted, HERE.
February 16, 2008
10 Things to Know About Hillary's Visit to the Brat Stop
My wife and I headed out to see Sen. Hillary Clinton's speech at the Brat Stop in Kenosha Saturday afternoon. Here's what we saw:
1. What a terrible place for a campaign stop. No offense to the Brat Stop, but it was a lousy venue to hear a politician. '80s hair cover bands? Yes. Hillary Clinton? No. We blame the organizers. We got there 90 minutes early and were ushered to the balcony with no instructions (likely because no one knew what was going on). We made an attempt to get back down to the floor, but were blocked upstairs. The longer we waited, the clearer it became we weren't going to be able to see her - at least not an unobstructed view, anyway. We stuck it out and got to see a bartender realign a closed circuit video camera using her shoelaces and a chair stacked on top of a table. It worked, and Hillary was visible on the bar's TVs. Nice work, bartender! Not a good start, though, and perfectly representative of the planning that went into this stop.
2. All that said, Hillary charmed us. After seeing her talk, I believe her campaign's complaints about unfair negative coverage. She's intelligent, warm, highly qualified, funny (wickedly so, at times), populist and profoundly anti-Bush. In short, she's a remarkably strong candidate. If she would have run four years ago, she would have stomped John Kerry and Bush II. This time she's got a tough primary against Obama, but either candidate will attract massive support.
3. All said, Hillary's speech was stronger than Obama's in Racine this week. She talked specifics, covered a broader range of topics and made stronger points than Obama. My wife put it well: Obama is inspiring, while Hillary comes across as very, very intelligent.
4. Hillary swayed us. We both were big Obama supporters after Wednesday, but now I'm undecided and my wife is leaning toward Hillary. We'd be happy with either of them, but Hillary seems to back up her claim that she'll be ready to run the country on Day 1. I hate to say this about Obama, but really, the last thing we need is another guy in the White House everyone wants to hang out with, but can't actually do the job.
5. I loved how Hillary slammed Bush throughout her speech. For example, she vowed to appoint people to government jobs who are actually competent to do the job. The obvious example was Bush's head of FEMA who had never actually managed an emergency. She also whacked him for No Child Left Behind, saying: "We shouldn't view our children as little test-takers."
6. She was creative. One example she gave was encouraging the development of solar power in the U.S. Germany took a similar approach and created thousands of jobs while cutting the country's dependence on foreign oil. Hillary said she'd like to start a similar program. She also touted tax credits for college tuition (like Obama), but added that she wanted grandparents to pass along college tax credits to their grandchildren.
7. Like Obama, she touted the middle class and vowed to tax the wealthiest 1 percent of the country. "We've had a president for the wealthy, I think it's time to have a president for everyone else." Obama offered a similar line, and both got big cheers from the crowd. The Bush tax cuts went too far, and both Democrats vowed to bring them back into line. "We're going to rebuild a strong and prosperous middle class," she said.
8. The national trends seem correct. While Obama drew a younger, more diverse crowd, Hillary drew an older, whiter crowd dominated by women. The question for Tuesday's primary will be whether Obama can turn out the youth and minority vote to overcome Hillary's obvious edge among women voters.
9. Hillary's voice was hoarse, but she rallied the crowd. She was sharper than Obama, making jokes about Dick Cheney shooting his hunting partner and talking about Bush running "scams" on the American people. "You've got to laugh to keep from crying," she said. She also had better swag for the crowd. Everyone got stickers, plus they were handing out bumper stickers and Hillary stuck around to sign autographs and shake hands with dozens of people.
10. Hillary handled the questions from the audience better than Obama. Not only did her answers come naturally, they were heart-felt. When a mother and her daughter explained how they were losing their home, Hillary comforted them and was ready with an answer: She proposed a moratorium on housing foreclosures in response to housing woes across the country. One news source is reporting that Hillary cried at the question. It was definitely an emotional moment. If she shed a tear, she wasn't alone and she came back with a strong answer.
A few more comments:
* The JT is estimating the crowd at 1,400 to 1,500 people. I'm not sure where they pulled that number from (it's unsourced), but I'd put the crowd more in the 1,000 range. It was comparable to Obama's crowd in Racine, without the lines. For Obama, we waited outside for 90 minutes. For Hillary's speech, we waited inside for 90 minutes (after walking right in the door).
* There were no metal detectors at Hillary's visit. Obama made everyone wait outside an extra hour because the Secret Service's detectors broke down. Aside from a few cops walking around, it felt like Hillary had no crowd security. There were definitely Secret Service agents there, but no one checked our coats or bags.
* Aside from the smoke, blocked views and general confusion, the one nice thing about the Brat Stop was having a bar and food available. We ate lunch while we waited and a bunch of people were drinking while waiting for Hillary to show up. That didn't hurt the crowd's spirts.
1. What a terrible place for a campaign stop. No offense to the Brat Stop, but it was a lousy venue to hear a politician. '80s hair cover bands? Yes. Hillary Clinton? No. We blame the organizers. We got there 90 minutes early and were ushered to the balcony with no instructions (likely because no one knew what was going on). We made an attempt to get back down to the floor, but were blocked upstairs. The longer we waited, the clearer it became we weren't going to be able to see her - at least not an unobstructed view, anyway. We stuck it out and got to see a bartender realign a closed circuit video camera using her shoelaces and a chair stacked on top of a table. It worked, and Hillary was visible on the bar's TVs. Nice work, bartender! Not a good start, though, and perfectly representative of the planning that went into this stop.
2. All that said, Hillary charmed us. After seeing her talk, I believe her campaign's complaints about unfair negative coverage. She's intelligent, warm, highly qualified, funny (wickedly so, at times), populist and profoundly anti-Bush. In short, she's a remarkably strong candidate. If she would have run four years ago, she would have stomped John Kerry and Bush II. This time she's got a tough primary against Obama, but either candidate will attract massive support.
3. All said, Hillary's speech was stronger than Obama's in Racine this week. She talked specifics, covered a broader range of topics and made stronger points than Obama. My wife put it well: Obama is inspiring, while Hillary comes across as very, very intelligent.
4. Hillary swayed us. We both were big Obama supporters after Wednesday, but now I'm undecided and my wife is leaning toward Hillary. We'd be happy with either of them, but Hillary seems to back up her claim that she'll be ready to run the country on Day 1. I hate to say this about Obama, but really, the last thing we need is another guy in the White House everyone wants to hang out with, but can't actually do the job.
5. I loved how Hillary slammed Bush throughout her speech. For example, she vowed to appoint people to government jobs who are actually competent to do the job. The obvious example was Bush's head of FEMA who had never actually managed an emergency. She also whacked him for No Child Left Behind, saying: "We shouldn't view our children as little test-takers."
6. She was creative. One example she gave was encouraging the development of solar power in the U.S. Germany took a similar approach and created thousands of jobs while cutting the country's dependence on foreign oil. Hillary said she'd like to start a similar program. She also touted tax credits for college tuition (like Obama), but added that she wanted grandparents to pass along college tax credits to their grandchildren.
7. Like Obama, she touted the middle class and vowed to tax the wealthiest 1 percent of the country. "We've had a president for the wealthy, I think it's time to have a president for everyone else." Obama offered a similar line, and both got big cheers from the crowd. The Bush tax cuts went too far, and both Democrats vowed to bring them back into line. "We're going to rebuild a strong and prosperous middle class," she said.
8. The national trends seem correct. While Obama drew a younger, more diverse crowd, Hillary drew an older, whiter crowd dominated by women. The question for Tuesday's primary will be whether Obama can turn out the youth and minority vote to overcome Hillary's obvious edge among women voters.
9. Hillary's voice was hoarse, but she rallied the crowd. She was sharper than Obama, making jokes about Dick Cheney shooting his hunting partner and talking about Bush running "scams" on the American people. "You've got to laugh to keep from crying," she said. She also had better swag for the crowd. Everyone got stickers, plus they were handing out bumper stickers and Hillary stuck around to sign autographs and shake hands with dozens of people.
10. Hillary handled the questions from the audience better than Obama. Not only did her answers come naturally, they were heart-felt. When a mother and her daughter explained how they were losing their home, Hillary comforted them and was ready with an answer: She proposed a moratorium on housing foreclosures in response to housing woes across the country. One news source is reporting that Hillary cried at the question. It was definitely an emotional moment. If she shed a tear, she wasn't alone and she came back with a strong answer.
A few more comments:
* The JT is estimating the crowd at 1,400 to 1,500 people. I'm not sure where they pulled that number from (it's unsourced), but I'd put the crowd more in the 1,000 range. It was comparable to Obama's crowd in Racine, without the lines. For Obama, we waited outside for 90 minutes. For Hillary's speech, we waited inside for 90 minutes (after walking right in the door).
* There were no metal detectors at Hillary's visit. Obama made everyone wait outside an extra hour because the Secret Service's detectors broke down. Aside from a few cops walking around, it felt like Hillary had no crowd security. There were definitely Secret Service agents there, but no one checked our coats or bags.
* Aside from the smoke, blocked views and general confusion, the one nice thing about the Brat Stop was having a bar and food available. We ate lunch while we waited and a bunch of people were drinking while waiting for Hillary to show up. That didn't hurt the crowd's spirts.
February 4, 2008
Becker, Mason holding Obama party on Super Tuesday
State Rep. Cory Mason and Racine Mayor Gary Becker are holding a Barack Obama watching party Tuesday as results come in from primary elections across the country.
The two local leaders will be watching the results at Buckets Pub, 2301 Lathrop Ave., from 7 p.m. into the night.
"State Representative Cory Mason and Mayor Gary Becker invite you to watch as the returns come in and Barack Obama makes history on Super Tuesday," read the announcement sent out Monday.
Sen. Obama and Sen. Hillary Clinton are expected to split the 24 states up for election on Tuesday. Obama has been surging in recent days, and he's expected to do well. But Clinton remains the front-runner in a number of states, it's likely the Democrats' primary won't be decided for a couple of weeks.
That's at least interesting news for Wisconsin voters, who will head to the polls on Feb. 19 to vote in the presidential primary and local elections.
RacinePost poll
If you haven't seen the poll results in the upper right corner, Obama was the runaway winner among our readers for president. He nabbed twice as many votes as Hillary in our highly scientific and researched poll. On the Republican side, it's Romney over McCain by 3.
The two local leaders will be watching the results at Buckets Pub, 2301 Lathrop Ave., from 7 p.m. into the night.
"State Representative Cory Mason and Mayor Gary Becker invite you to watch as the returns come in and Barack Obama makes history on Super Tuesday," read the announcement sent out Monday.
Sen. Obama and Sen. Hillary Clinton are expected to split the 24 states up for election on Tuesday. Obama has been surging in recent days, and he's expected to do well. But Clinton remains the front-runner in a number of states, it's likely the Democrats' primary won't be decided for a couple of weeks.
That's at least interesting news for Wisconsin voters, who will head to the polls on Feb. 19 to vote in the presidential primary and local elections.
RacinePost poll
If you haven't seen the poll results in the upper right corner, Obama was the runaway winner among our readers for president. He nabbed twice as many votes as Hillary in our highly scientific and researched poll. On the Republican side, it's Romney over McCain by 3.
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