Political analyst expects voter turnout numbers will set new record

 

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Voter turnout for the midterm election this year is projected to break the record set in 2018.

"Four years ago, we saw a turnout of about 2.6 million people, and that was record-setting. Based on the incomplete numbers we're seeing, I think we're going to end up seeing 2.7 million votes cast, 2.8 million votes cast. Which would be record-setting, not just in raw numbers, but in percentage turnout," UW-Milwaukee Professor Emeritus Mordecai Lee said. "That's fabulous. For people who believe in democracy, to heck with all that partisanship, the fact that more Wisconsinites than ever before turned out to vote, and wanted to participate, that's great news.

In 2020, the state of Wisconsin saw 72% of registered voters turn out, while in 2018, 59% cast a ballot.

Lee believes the turnout this time around is expected to surpass those 2018 numbers by at least a few percentage points.

"So, if the old record was about 59% of the electorate, it looks to be, roughly, that we're going to get 60, 61, maybe 62," he said.

Of course, hot-button issues like abortion and the economy were driving factors leading people to the polls, but Lee says the fact that many elections in the state have been decided by a slim margin also encouraged voters.

"In the last three partisan elections, Wisconsin elections were determined by 1% or less," Lee said.

"If Wisconsin is a place where getting 30,000 votes out of 3 million to win is a landslide, we should talk about Governor Evers as 'landslide Evers,' because this is an astonishing margin compared to what we've seen in the last presidential elections."

Dane County, which includes Madison, surpassed the statewide voter turnout percentage for 2020 with officials reporting an 80% voter turnout for the midterm.