MONROE - Like the rest of the state that saw remarkable numbers head to the polls, voter turnout in the area topped 70 percent in Tuesday's recall race pitting Rep. Gov. Scott Walker against Democratic challenger Tom Barrett.
Poll workers in the city of Monroe were expecting a heavy turnout in the hotly-contested race - still "the numbers did surprise us," said City Clerk Carol Stamm.
Voters showed up steadily throughout the day, with a slight lull in the afternoon, she said.
Many people showed up to vote early in the day. One person reported via Facebook that as of 7:05 a.m., voters were lined up to the doors and 27 people had already cast ballots.
Just before 6 p.m., there had already been 3,582 votes cast in Monroe - about 61 percent of the 5,770 registered voters in the city. By 7:30 p.m., as the polls neared closing time, that percentage increased to about 74 percent with more than 4,000 votes cast.
Those percentages reflect the number of registered voters going into election day - that number needed to be adjusted upward as election day wore on. Stamm said there were "lots" of people registering at the polls Tuesday, estimating about 500 had registered as of 7:30 p.m.
While that number also includes people with address changes, Stamm said many of those registering were young people likely voting for the first time.
Typically, the city would expect to see 600 to 800 voters registering or changing addresses during a presidential election, which typically draw the highest voter turnout. For comparison, the city saw voter turnout of about 25 percent in September 2010 during the fall primary that put Walker and Barrett on the ticket for the fall general election and had several other state races on the ballot.
For Green County, there were 16,477 ballots cast Tuesday. That represents voter turnout of about 80 percent, based on the Government Accountability Board's report of 20,725 registered voters in the county as of July 2011.
Lafayette County reported high voter turnout as well - about 75 percent. There were 6,878 votes cast with a total of 9,114 registered voters in the county, according to County Clerk Linda Bawden. The total of registered voters does not include people who registered to vote at the polls on election day.
Poll workers in the city of Monroe were expecting a heavy turnout in the hotly-contested race - still "the numbers did surprise us," said City Clerk Carol Stamm.
Voters showed up steadily throughout the day, with a slight lull in the afternoon, she said.
Many people showed up to vote early in the day. One person reported via Facebook that as of 7:05 a.m., voters were lined up to the doors and 27 people had already cast ballots.
Just before 6 p.m., there had already been 3,582 votes cast in Monroe - about 61 percent of the 5,770 registered voters in the city. By 7:30 p.m., as the polls neared closing time, that percentage increased to about 74 percent with more than 4,000 votes cast.
Those percentages reflect the number of registered voters going into election day - that number needed to be adjusted upward as election day wore on. Stamm said there were "lots" of people registering at the polls Tuesday, estimating about 500 had registered as of 7:30 p.m.
While that number also includes people with address changes, Stamm said many of those registering were young people likely voting for the first time.
Typically, the city would expect to see 600 to 800 voters registering or changing addresses during a presidential election, which typically draw the highest voter turnout. For comparison, the city saw voter turnout of about 25 percent in September 2010 during the fall primary that put Walker and Barrett on the ticket for the fall general election and had several other state races on the ballot.
For Green County, there were 16,477 ballots cast Tuesday. That represents voter turnout of about 80 percent, based on the Government Accountability Board's report of 20,725 registered voters in the county as of July 2011.
Lafayette County reported high voter turnout as well - about 75 percent. There were 6,878 votes cast with a total of 9,114 registered voters in the county, according to County Clerk Linda Bawden. The total of registered voters does not include people who registered to vote at the polls on election day.