Early, in-person voting increases on the first day

Interest in early in-person mail voting surged the most when it first became available, particularly in rural Wisconsin counties that supported Donald Trump in 2020.

Still, four years ago, 12 of the 15 counties that reported fewer early in-person votes on Tuesday compared to the first day they were offered in 2020 also went for Trump.

And Dane County saw by far the largest increase in raw numbers of early, in-person votes, according to a WisPolitics review.

Because of efforts by both parties to encourage voters to cast their ballots before Election Day, the number of early in-person votes rose to at least 97,436 on Tuesday, according to reports provided to the Election Commission by local clerks. In comparison, in 2020, 79,774 people voted on the first day, with in-person voting offered.

Comparisons between the two elections can be somewhat difficult because 2020 occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, which led many voters to cast their absentee ballots by mail. This year, nearly 2 million mail-in ballots were counted, 1.3 million of which were received by mail. In a typical election, early in-person voting exceeds the number of votes requested and returned by mail.

Wisconsin also does not identify voters based on party registration, making it difficult to determine whether the increases were due to more Democrats or Republicans going to their polling places for early voting on Tuesday.

Observers expect early, in-person voting to run through Nov. 3 and it will likely take until next week to see any real trends in voter turnout. Nevertheless, the count provides a basis for assessing early voting locally from day one.

A spokesman for the state Democratic Party said early results so far do not suggest a “red wave” is on the horizon, while state Republican Chairman Brian Schimming said the party was “through initial reports.” “Encouraged by early voting and grateful for the hard work of our volunteers and precinct leaders in mobilizing the grassroots for this historic election.”

Four counties reported no early, in-person votes were cast on the first day they were offered in 2020. This year, Kewaunee, Marquette, Pepin and Rusk — all of which went for Trump in 2020 — reported a total of 100 early, in-person voting votes.

After that, the largest percentage increase was in Waushara County, where local officials reported 162 early votes on Tuesday, compared to 32 in 2020, a 406% increase.

Menomonie and Ashland counties — both of which went for Joe Biden four years ago — saw the next largest increases. Officials in Menomonie reported 36 early, in-person voting Tuesday, compared to nine in 2020, while Ashland reported 159, compared to 48.

Overall, the 14 counties with the largest percentage increase reported 1,161 more early, in-person votes on Tuesday than on the first day of 2020.

Of the 15 counties that reported fewer early, in-person voting on the first day, the largest percentage decline was in Taylor County, where it fell 82.5% to 14 as of Tuesday, compared to 80 in 2020. In Manitowoc County There were 243 fewer early votes, votes cast in person on Tuesday compared to four years ago, the largest decline in terms of raw numbers. Both voted for Trump in 2020.

Overall, these 15 counties reported 1,110 fewer early in-person votes compared to four years ago.

Dane County saw a 57.9% increase in interest in early, in-person voting compared to four years ago, an increase of 4,351 ballots.

Milwaukee County, another key area for Democrats, reported 1,942 more previous in-person votes Tuesday than four years ago, an increase of 18.8%.

Along with these counties, the “WOW” and “BOW” regions have become key pieces of Wisconsin’s election puzzle.

Here are the changes in Tuesday’s early in-person voting numbers compared to four years ago:

• Waukesha County, 1,311 more votes, a 13% increase
• Ozaukee County, 439 more votes, up 15.8%
• Washington County, 957 more votes, an increase of 24.8%
• Brown County, 254 more votes, up 7.1%
• Outagamie County, 938 more votes, up 32%
• Winnebago County, 151 more votes, up 6.9%

The demand for early voting Tuesday caused slowdowns on the state’s WisVote website, which prints labels that can be placed on the outside of envelopes for mail-in ballots. The Electoral Commission said today that continued demands for early voting had caused further computer slowdowns. View today’s Ethics Commission report on absentee voting numbers for all 72 counties.