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Election
Voter Registration Deadlines for the May 12 Congressional District 7 Special Election
Voters can register in the following ways. All voters must provide a Proof of Residence document when registering to vote by mail, in-person in the clerk’s office, or at the polls on Election Day.
May 8, 2020 @ 5:00 p.m. - Deadline to Register in Your Municipal Clerk’s Office- Voters may register in-person in their municipal clerk’s office during the clerk’s business hours until 5:00 p.m. on May 8, 2020. Find your Municipal Clerk’s Contact Information here.
May 12, 2020 from 7:00 a.m.-8:00 p.m. Register to Vote at Your Polling Place- Voters can register to vote at their polling place on Election Day, May 12, 2020. Find your Polling Place here.
Absentee Voting Deadlines for the May 12, 2020 Congressional District 7 Special Election
All voters in Wisconsin can request an absentee ballot be mailed to them for any reason. Voters must be registered before they can request an absentee ballot. Voters may request their absentee ballot in writing. To request an absentee ballot on MyVote.wi.gov click here. You must provide a photo ID with your absentee ballot request, more information on photo ID can be found here.
May 7, 2020 @ 5:00 p.m. - Deadline to Request an Absentee Ballot - Regular and Permanent Overseas Voters- If you are a regular or a Permanent Overseas Voter, your absentee ballot request must be received by your municipal clerk no later than 5:00 p.m. on May 7, 2020.
May 8, 2020 @ 5:00 p.m. - Deadline to Request an Absentee Ballot-Indefinitely Confined - If you are indefinitely confined, your absentee ballot request must be received by your municipal clerk no later than 5:00 p.m. on May 8, 2020.
Possibly though May 10, 2020 - Deadline for In-Person Absentee - Voters can possibly request and vote an absentee ballot in-person in their municipal clerk’s office through May 10, 2020. Office hours vary by municipality. Some municipal offices may not offer additional in-person absentee hours. Please contact your municipal clerk for absentee voting hours.
May 12, 2020 @ 5:00 p.m. - Deadline for Hospitalized Voters - Voters who are in a hospital may request a ballot be brought to them by an appointed agent if they are hospitalized in the 7 days preceding the election. Hospitalized electors may request an absentee ballot between May 5, 2020 and May 12, 2020 at 5:00 p.m.
May 12, 2020 @ 5:00 p.m. - Deadline to Request an Absentee Ballot-Military - If you are a voter in the military, your absentee ballot request must be received by your municipal clerk no later than 5:00 p.m. on August 11, 2020.
May 12, 2020 @ 8:00 p.m. - Deadline to Return Absentee Ballot – You must return your absentee ballot by mail or delivery to your municipal clerk, your polling place, or a local dropbox established by your clerk (if available). Your ballot must be received by your municipal clerk no later than 8:00 p.m on May 12, 2020.
Danielle Danford | Staff writer
Voters will choose new representative to Congress in 7th District
NORTHERN WISCONSIN – The spring election season is not over yet for voters in the 7th Congressional District.
Two candidates are running to fill the Congressional position due to Sean Duffy’s resignation. The candidates are Tricia Zunker, of Wausau, a Democrat, and Tom Tiffany, of Minocqua, Republican Party.
This election is less than three weeks away and voting options for district voters shrink with each passing week. Registered voters can request an absentee ballot by mail, email, online or by fax. If you are a registered Wisconsin voter, you can download the absentee ballot application on Wisconsin Elections website, elections.wi.gov, or by contacting your municipal clerk. You can find your clerk at myvote.wi.gov by searching for your voter record or performing an address search.
Greg Marsten | Staff writer
BALSAM LAKE – The Polk County Board of Supervisors will have three new faces in the coming weeks, including two women, which triples the number of female supervisors on the 15-member board with the return of District 5 supervisor Tracy LaBlanc, who has been the lone woman on the board for several years, since Kate Isakson served as a District 12 supervisor until two years ago.
While there are 15 seats on the board, only four of the districts had contests on the ballots last week, as well as one unchallenged newcomer running for the District 12 seat.
While there was technically no contest in District 12, incumbent supervisor Mick Larson chose not seek a return to his seat, and only one person declared candidacy for the vacant seat, Frances Duncanson, who garnered 499 votes and was without a challenger, giving her an easy win.
Incumbent supervisor Bard Olson emerged victorious in his contest with first-time candidate challenger Michael Noreen, with a final tally of 411 for Olson and 295 for Noreen.
This was the only Polk County Board race that originally began with a three-candidate primary in February, with Lisa Doerr and Steven Warndahl facing off in the contest for the District 3 seat currently held by Polk County Board Chair Dean Johansen, who chose not to seek reelection.
The race was among the most highly charged of any county race, with both candidates running very visible and active campaigns, with Warndahl appearing to emerge victorious by a 406 to 391 final tally over Doerr.
District 6 — Masters (I) vs. Miles Incumbent in District 6 supervisor Brian Masters had a challenge from Mike Miles, with Masters coming out on top, 462-to-304 votes.
Incumbent supervisor Larry Jepson chose not to seek reelection, and had interest from two parties, including former county supervisor Tom Magnafici, who was on the ballot against Amy Middleton.
The contest for Jepson’s former seat drew plenty of active campaigning in the district, and the race was relatively close, but Middleton emerged victorious, by a 482-to-402 vote margin.
Greg Marsten | Staff writer
ST. CROIX FALLS – While final results on the St. Croix Falls School District referendum were still unofficial at press time, due to a variety of municipalities involved in voting, but the ballot question appears to have passed by a 1,087 to 924 vote, in favor. The $14-million referendum question allows the district to build a performing arts center and also a new fitness center, as well as add-on to their bus garage.
“Certainly are very pleased,” district administrator Mark Burandt said after the initial results were revealed. “Shows how very supportive our communities are when there is a need. Would not have happened without a lot of effort of the advocacy committee led by Rachel Stack Baillargeon, Shirley Miller-Frey and Shawn Gudmunsen.
According to city officials, the district will meet on Wednesday, April 15 to canvass and finalize the vote totals for release later that day, but it seems doubtful the results would change all that much, in spite of some ballot irregularities experienced across the state, due to absentee ballot issues and a lack of postmarks.
The tentative approval will allow the district to move forward on the three projects, two of them on the high school side of the complex, where they will build an $11.6-million performing arts center, modeled after the auditorium complex at the Unity School District in Balsam Lake that was completed in the last few years and seats just under 600 people.
The approved referendum also allows them to spend up to $1.875-million for a fitness center to replace their current weight room, as well as up to $525,000 on expanding and improving the district bus garage at the St. Croix Falls campus, allowing for construction of larger stalls, adding wash bays, and allowing for some storage of maintenance equipment and to allow for more secure indoor storage for other district vehicles. The current bus garage will be upgraded to allow for modern buses, which are larger today than when the garage was built 50 years ago.
With the referendum approval, the projected project tax impacts are expected to add approximately $55/annually to the property tax bill for every $100,000 of equalized value in the district.
With the approval, the bond issuance process will begin in the coming weeks, for a 20-year term, although interest rates are technically up in the air at the moment, borrowing rates have fallen dramatically in recent months and may allow the district some long-term savings. The referendum is the second to pass voter muster in the last three years, with the district passing a deferred maintenance referendum in 2017 that amounted to $5.2-million, primarily to get caught up on a variety of long-term maintenance projects and efficiency upgrades. The latest referendum does not affect the 2017 passage.
The St. Croix Falls Board of Education meets Tuesday, April 14, where among the issues they will consider is the options they have for timelines on implementing the financing, planning and implementation of the project.
Danielle Danford | Staff writer
BIRCHWOOD –The majority of voters in the Birchwood School District approved the district’s $5.8 million dollar referendum on April 7 ballots. The referendum passed with 640 yes votes and 213 no votes, a 75% approval.
Diane Johnson, superintendent of the Birchwood School District, reached out to the Register to thank district voters for their support of the referendum.
“Your support will positively influence students for many years. Several projects that have been delayed due to financial challenges will now be completed along with updating curriculum and technology for students,” said Johnson. “Thank you the school board, administration, staff members, parents, organizations and the community for taking care of the children and families in this district. You are so appreciated!
SIREN – With no contest in the Village of Siren, Incumbents Dave Doty, Sr., Rudy Mothes, and Jim Pearson remain trustees and continue serving the residents for two more years. Unofficially, Mothes received 133 votes, Pearson received 123 votes and Doty received 121.
WEBSTER — Incumbent Sarah Casady decided to not run for another term on the village board, so Bill Summer stepped up to join incumbents Kelsey Gustafson and Greg Widiker on the ballot. Widiker received 112 votes which was just a few more than Summer and Gustafson each received. They both obtained 108 votes a piece. Also, on the village ballot was municipal Judge Brian Sears. He tallied 131 votes and faced no competition. These are unofficial counts.
Becky Strabel | Staff writer
GRANTSBURG — Brian Handy will join the board of education with incumbent Jason Burkman for the next three years. Unofficially, Handy earned 981 votes and Burkman took in 914 votes.
ST. CROIX FALLS – Two aldermanic races in St. Croix Falls were unique in that they had several veritable “last minute” wrote-in candidates declare their eligibility for the two aldermanic seats open in Districts 1 and 2.
The District 1 vacancy was created when current alderperson Kirk Anderson chose to run for mayor instead of seeking reelection to his aldermanic seat. The District 1 race was between write-ins, as both the final two candidates missed the official filing deadlines over the winter.
Shortly after the filing deadline passed with no candidates on the ballot, over three months ago, Joe Snyder declared his candidacy as a write-in, and ended up earning a win over Ken Coutier, who had declared his write-in candidacy two weeks prior to the April 7 general election.
The final vote tally between the two in District 1 had Snyder winning, 88-to-50.
The contest in District 2 began when the previous alderperson, Joy Zasadny, chose not to run again, and later resigned her seat several months early. Declared candidate Craig Lien was originally the only candidate for the seat and was the only person on the ballot. Due to Zasadny’s early resignation in early January, Lien was asked by the city’s common council if he would consider being appointed to fill the rest of Zasadny’s term, which he did.
However, as the general election approached, former mayoral candidate Jimmy Allen declared his candidacy as a last-minute write-in, challenging Lien for the seat that he not occupied as a technical incumbent.
Allen had lost in a three-way-primary in February to Mayor Arnie Carlson and alderperson Kirk Anderson, but Allen failed to garner much support in the general election, with Lien winning handily, 235-to-24, to retaining his appointed seat on the council dais.
Greg Marsten | Staff writer
ST. CROIX FALLS – In a major political upset, there will be a new mayor in St. Croix Falls, as one of the area’s most hotly contested races went to the challenger between incumbent mayor Arnie Carlson and current alderperson Kirk Anderson, who chose not to seek reelection to his council seat, instead running the gauntlet and running against Carlson for mayor, where he emerged victorious in a veritable landslide, 464-to-170.
Anderson’s victory comes amid what has been an occasionally uncomfortable friction between the two during council meetings, who sit beside each other at the council dais and have been on opposite sides of several issues in recent months.
The race for mayor originally garnered another challenger, Jimmy Allen, which resulted in a February primary, where he did not make the final cut, leaving it a two-person race between Carlson and Anderson.
In the end, the final election results mirrored the support Anderson received in the February primary, with the challenger even stretching his percentage lead against Carlson in the final election.
Anderson thanked his supporters, family and voters for the support in a social media message Monday night, acknowledging the final tally “was the result we wanted.”
He also asked for support from residents on both sides of the mayoral vote and adding that due to the pandemic and virtual lockdown, many people are worrying about their job security, business viability and ability to pay their bills.
“I want to ask for your support, by asking for your prayers,” Anderson said in a solemn social media post Monday evening after the results were revealed. “This is going to be a very challenging position to fulfill, much more challenging than it would have been even a month or so ago … we’re in a different time and it’s a different place.”
Mary Stirrat | Staff writer
LUCK – A referendum question by Luck School District seeking $9.85 million for building renovations and a gymnasium addition was soundly defeated by a vote of 509 to 632. The results are unofficial.
A similar question posed to voters in 2019 lost by 30 votes.
The school district encompasses the village of Luck and all or parts of eight towns. Voters in the village of Luck were equally split on the question, with 155 voting in favor and 155 opposed.
Three towns that have relatively few residents living within the boundaries of the Luck School District came out in favor of the referendum. In the Town of Johnstown, 18 voted in favor and 10 were opposed. The Town of Georgetown had 10 in favor and six opposed, while the Town of Milltown had two in favor and none opposed.
Wider spreads occurred in the Town of Laketown, where the referendum was defeated 162 to 97, and the Town of Bone Lake, with a vote of 122 opposed and 83 in favor. In the Town of Luck, 143 were opposed to 127 in favor.
A total of 41 voters in the Town of McKinley cast ballots in the school district, with 14 in favor of the referendum and 26 opposed. In Eureka, two voted in favor with eight against.
The ballot for the Luck School District included one candidate for one seat on the school board. Jake Jensen, running unopposed, was re-elected with 1016 votes. There were also 11 scattered votes.
Washburn County unofficial results
Polk County unofficial results
Burnett County unofficial results
Becky Strabel | Staff writer
WEBSTER – No contest was held for the board of education in the School District of Webster School. Bob Carlson and Terry Larsen will continue for another three years. Unofficial results show Larsen with 1233 votes and Carlson with 1093 votes.
Greg Marsten | Staff writer
OSCEOLA – There were two separate ballot questions for voters in the Osceola School District, and both of them passed by nearly a two-to-one margin. Unofficial results show the two questions passing by approximately an 1,800 to 950 final, in favor.
Question 1 will allow the district to use up to $1-million for school operations for the next two budget years, it will allow them to spend the money on teacher and staff salaries, software and technology upgrades, student curriculum and programming, general district utilities and general maintenance costs - basically all general expenditures. The override allows the district to adjust their budget for two years at up to $1-million each year. The final vote was 1,823 for and 954 against.
Question 2 allows for a one-time, $10-million bond issuance, and is much more restrictive on how the money can be spent, but allows the district to spend for things that included safety and security upgrades, specific technology and building remodeling and reconstruction, as well as efficiency and deferred maintenance on things like heating, ventilation and air conditioning, which were all prioritized from a deferred maintenance list of items that expenses that may cost up to $17-million, from a detailed list of items the district believes needs attention in the coming years. Question 2 passed by a similar margin as Question 1, with 1,792 voting in favor and 972 against.
The Osceola referendum questions were tempered somewhat by math, since the final impact on taxpayers was relatively moot. Since 2017 the district has been paying down their existing debt with additional payments, meaning that debt will be retired entirely by the 2022-2023 school year, which technically means this referendum essentially has a zero-net tax impact on district taxpayers.
Becky Strabel | Staff writer
WEBSTER – Residents overwhelmingly pass a $6.5 million building referendum that will make improvements throughout the Webster School property.
Monday’s unofficial results show 74% of all voters approve the referendum with 1,116 votes in favor and 394 against. The current 0.60 mill rate allocated to debt services will not increase as the district’s current debt will be paid off before payments are due on this new loan.
Students and visitors will see construction of an addition to expand the career and technical education area of the Middle/High School; parking lot, athletic facility and site improvements at the Middle/High School; renovations, improvements, and technology updates at the Elementary School and the Middle/High School; and acquisition of furnishings, fixtures, and equipment.
Mary Stirrat | Staff writer
BALSAM LAKE – With two seats up for election and the names of two incumbents on the ballot there will be no changes on the Unity School Board of Education.
Re-elected to the board were Debbie Ince-Peterson with 1,091 votes and Ryan Peterson with 1,125 votes. Totals are unofficial at this point.
Danielle Danford | Staff writer
Unofficial election results for Wisconsin’s April 7 election were released the evening of Monday, April 13. Wisconsin electors voted in the Presidential preference vote, a justice on the state supreme court, and a referendum on amending the state’s constitution. Locally, electors in the City of Shell Lake decided a contested election for the position of mayor. Electors in the school districts of Birchwood and Spooner voted on their district’s proposed referendums.
Statewide voters in the Democratic Presidential preference vote Joe Biden received the highest number of votes with about 64% of votes statewide.
Wisconsin voters elected Jill Karofsky to the state supreme court. Karofsky received over 50% of the votes statewide, and Daniel Kelly received about 46% of the votes. In Washburn County Kelly received 2,607 VOTES, and Karofsky received 2,177 votes.
The majority of Wisconsin electors voted to amend the state constitution for crime victims. Statewide, over 76% of electors voted to amend the state constitution, and 24% voted to not amend the state constitution. In Washburn County, 3,119 electors voted to amend the state constitution, and 1,330 voted to not amend the state constitution.
The only local contested election in Washburn County was for the position of Shell Lake mayor between candidates Sally Peterson and Matt Dryden. Peterson was re-elected to the position with 246 votes, Dryden received 207 votes.
Two school districts in Washburn County had referendums on the April 7 ballots; the Birchwood school district and the Spooner Area School District. The Birchwood school district asked school district residents if they supported a $5.8 million dollar operational referendum. The Spooner school district asked its residents if they supported a $16 million dollar referendum.
The Spooner referendum passed on a 1,784 yes, 1,287 no vote. The Birchwood referendum passed on a 237 yes, 67 no vote.
Gary King | Editor
STATEWIDE - With 92% of the statewide vote tallied, former Vice President Joe Biden had 535,948 votes, or 63.5% of the vote, compared to Bernie Sanders' 263,044 or 31%.
President Donald Trump was uncontested for the Republican primary election. He received 595,503 votes.Biden and Sanders were followed by Elizabeth Warren with 12,211, Michael Bloomberg with 8,468, Amy Klobuchar with 5,625, Tulsi Gabbard with 5,205, Pete Buttigieg with 4,557, Andrew Yang with 3, 133, Tom Steyer with 803, John Delaney with 513, Michael Bennet with 469 and Deval Patrick with 299.
In Polk County, Biden received 3,460 votes to Sanders' 1,154, followed by Klobuchar with 128 and Warren with 49. In the Republican primary vote, Trump was unopposed, receiving 5,990.
In Burnett County, Biden received 1,293, to Sanders' 367, followed by Klobuchar with 51 and Warren with 22. In the Republican vote, Trump received 2,338.
In Washburn County, Biden received 1,622, to Sanders' 494, followed by Kobuchar with 49 and Warren with 22. Trump received 2,540.
According to Wisconsin Public Radio, Biden posted a video to Twitter thanking Wisconsinites for turning out to support him amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
"But as grateful as I am for your support and as proud as I am of the commitment and courage shown by so many in Wisconsin, it should never have come to that. No one should ever have to choose between their health and our Democracy," Biden said.
Four years ago, state primary voters were more favorable to Sanders. In that election, he received just more than 580,192 Democratic votes or just more than 56% of the total. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton got 433,739 votes or 43%. 
Becky Strabel | Staff writer
Incumbent Mark Pettis retained his seat to represent the residents of the Siren School District. Pettis will be joined by James Kopecky who won the position over Jamie Thompson. The open chair was vacated by incumbent Peggy Moore who chose to not seek re-election. The unofficial count shows that votes were distributed as follows: Pettis, 472; Kopecky, 414; and Thompson, 391.
Becky Strabel | Staff writer
SIREN – Residents in the Siren School District voted 430 to 370 to provide $300,000 per year in additional revenue for the next three school years. The funds would be used to continue operating and maintaining its campus and sustain current programs and services. The question would have to come back to the voters in three years, as this question is for non-recurring purposes. The vote count listed in this article is unofficial until election canvassing is completed.
Danielle Danford | Staff writer
SPOONER- The majority of electors in the Spooner Area School District voted yes to the school district’s $16 million dollar referendum question. The referendum passed with 1,630 yes votes and 1,165 no votes.
The district reports the referendum will fund maintenance and remodeling projects at the elementary, middle school and high school buildings. A complete list of the work proposed for the referendum can be found on the district’s website at spooner.k12.wi.us/referendum under the link “Scope of Work.”
Wisconsin Public Radio
Early results show overwhelming support for measure aimed at providing crime victims more rights
Rich Kremer | WPR news
STATEWIDE - Wisconsin voters have approved a change to the state constitution aimed at increasing the number of rights crime victims have in the judicial process.
The measure, known as Marsy's Law, is part of a nationwide lobbying effort pushed by billionaire Henry Nicholas, whose sister was killed by an ex-boyfriend in 1983.
As of 5:12 p.m. Monday, April 13, with 21% of precincts reporting, more than 76% voted in favor of Marsy's Law and just less than 24% voted against it.
The Associated Press called the race at around 5:10 p.m.
The amendment adds 17 specific rights for crime victims to the state constitution. The amendment includes rights to privacy, timely notice of release, escape of the accused, full restitution from the accused and notification of all proceedings of a criminal case upon request.
Supporters of Marsy's Law say crime victims deserve to have similar constitutional protections to those of the accused. Opponents, however, have argued expanding victims' rights in this manner could violate the constitutional rights of the accused.
Before the proposed constitutional amendment made it to the statewide ballot, the measure needed to be approved by two consecutive sessions of the state Legislature. In 2017, it passed the Assembly on a vote of 81-10 and the state Senate on a vote of 81-10. Last year, it passed the Assembly by 82-15 and the Senate, 27-2.
State Democrats made up the majority of opposition to the measure although Republicans, including Rob Stafsholt, R-New Richmond; Treig Pronschinske, R-Mondovi; and Jeremy Thiesfeldt, R-Fond du Lac, joined Democrats in voting against it in 2017 and 2019.
The last constitutional amendment put before voters for final approval was in 2018. That year, voters rejected a measure to eliminate the office of state treasurer by 61% to 38%.
Danielle Danford | Staff writer
SHELL LAKE- In the only locally contested election Sally Peterson was re-elected to the position of Shell Lake mayor. Peterson received 246 votes, over Matt Dryden who received 207 votes. Peterson has served as mayor for the City of Shell Lake for 10 years.
During the city council meeting held Monday, April 13, Peterson was congratulated on her election. Peterson stated “Thank you and thanks to all that supported me and I am glad to remain in place. It’s home.”
Becky Strabel | Staff writer
BURNETT COUNTY — In unofficial results from the Spring Election held on Tuesday, April 7, newcomer Ramona C. Moody successfully ousted incumbent Jeremy Gronski for a seat in the county board room. Moody scored 109 votes in District 4 (Ward 1, Anderson; Ward 2, Grantsburg; and Ward 2, Trade Lake) versus Jeremy Gronski’s 89 votes.
Mary Stirrat | Staff writer
LUCK – Nick Mueller will be joining the Luck Village Board, defeating incumbent Mike Miller for a position as trustee. Incumbents Sonja Jensen and Ron Steen were successful in their bids for re-election.
Unofficial results show Jensen with 225 votes, Steen with 172, Mueller with 170 and Miller with 125.
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