Exceedingly high turnout in Tuesday's primary election

MADISON Wis. (CBS 58) -- Turnout during Tuesday's primary election was exceedingly high with a Supreme Court contest on the ballot, according to unofficial results.

More than 958,000 people cast a ballot, which is approximately 20.5% of Wisconsin's voting-age population, according to unofficial tallies.

That shatters previous records of 705,138 or 16%, during the 2020 primary when Supreme Court and Presidential candidates were on the ballot.

State election officials said overall it was a smooth election Tuesday amid what appears to be one of the highest-turnout Spring Primary elections featuring a Supreme Court contest in recent years.

“We’re happy to report Tuesday’s election went smoothly and we anticipate carrying forward some of the best practices that local election officials demonstrated in responding to minor challenges," said Meagan Wolfe, the administrator of the Wisconsin Elections Commission.

One of the minor interruptions was when a gunshot was fired outside a polling site in the Village of Brooklyn. Voting was delayed for about an hour and a half and after officials arrived, they said there was no ongoing threat to the public.

Charles Franklin, Poll Director at Marquette University Law School, said the high turnout is likely due to a few factors, including it marking the first time this century there were two liberals and two conservatives competing for a seat on the high court.

"I do think having two candidates from each side did make a difference," Franklin said. "The issues themselves, including abortion and redistricting and just how you interpret the law. Those things also I think are more salient today than maybe they were 20 years ago."

When comparing the vote totals between the liberal candidates, Janet Protasiewicz and Everett Mitchell, to the conservative candidates, Dan Kelly and Jennifer Dorow, liberals did make some inroads in rural counties.