Monroe school board
Incumbents Amy Bazley and Mary Berger received the most votes in a four-person race. Two write-in candidates, Teresa Keehn and Lisa Hendrickson, were vying for the third seat, but at press time, the individual counts for each write-in were not available. See full coverage of the race in Thursday's Monroe Times.
MONROE - Aside from a small spit-take from the ballot counting machine at the westside fire station Tuesday and a quickly resolved ballot book discrepancy after voting concluded, the city of Monroe had a smooth election day with higher numbers than last year.
Just under 1,700 votes were counted in the city, a jump from 1,110 ballots cast in the April 2017 election. The increase reflects numbers from the spring primary election; there were just more than 500 votes cast in the February 2017 election, but a total of 714 in the 2018 primary.
City Clerk Arianna Voegeli said workers at each of the nine stations separated by supervisory district were consistently helping people as voting progressed.
"It was steady all day long," Voegeli said. "I don't think there was one point where we were ever dead."
The issue with a voting machine occurred during the day when a voter slipped a ballot into the feed and three popped out behind it. Voegeli noted it was quickly rectified and that everyone was able to vote. The ballot book was off by one number, causing a delay before ballots could be hand-counted by poll workers.
The turnout was higher than in last year's spring election and had exceeded the February primary by noon. At 1 p.m., more than 750 votes had been cast in the city. Around 4 p.m., the number jumped above 1,200 and just after 5:30 p.m., there were more than 1,400 votes cast.
In the race for Monroe Common Council, five candidates looked to fill five open seats. Incumbents Richard Thoman, Rob Schilt and Michael Boyce received the highest number of votes. Schilt had 1,134, Thoman had 1,121 and Boyce secured 985 to retain their seats.
Two aldermen declared they were not seeking re-election. Charles Koch and Tom Miller both announced at the beginning of the year that they would step down from their seats. Miller said he wanted to spend more time with family, and Koch noted after half a century on various committees and council in service to the city, he felt it was time.
Write-in candidates Mickey Beam and Donna Douglas registered for the council race. Douglas received 169 votes and Beam had 82, officially electing them to the council. Miller and Koch will end their tenures April 17, which is when Beam and Douglas will both begin one-year terms.
Just under 1,700 votes were counted in the city, a jump from 1,110 ballots cast in the April 2017 election. The increase reflects numbers from the spring primary election; there were just more than 500 votes cast in the February 2017 election, but a total of 714 in the 2018 primary.
City Clerk Arianna Voegeli said workers at each of the nine stations separated by supervisory district were consistently helping people as voting progressed.
"It was steady all day long," Voegeli said. "I don't think there was one point where we were ever dead."
The issue with a voting machine occurred during the day when a voter slipped a ballot into the feed and three popped out behind it. Voegeli noted it was quickly rectified and that everyone was able to vote. The ballot book was off by one number, causing a delay before ballots could be hand-counted by poll workers.
The turnout was higher than in last year's spring election and had exceeded the February primary by noon. At 1 p.m., more than 750 votes had been cast in the city. Around 4 p.m., the number jumped above 1,200 and just after 5:30 p.m., there were more than 1,400 votes cast.
In the race for Monroe Common Council, five candidates looked to fill five open seats. Incumbents Richard Thoman, Rob Schilt and Michael Boyce received the highest number of votes. Schilt had 1,134, Thoman had 1,121 and Boyce secured 985 to retain their seats.
Two aldermen declared they were not seeking re-election. Charles Koch and Tom Miller both announced at the beginning of the year that they would step down from their seats. Miller said he wanted to spend more time with family, and Koch noted after half a century on various committees and council in service to the city, he felt it was time.
Write-in candidates Mickey Beam and Donna Douglas registered for the council race. Douglas received 169 votes and Beam had 82, officially electing them to the council. Miller and Koch will end their tenures April 17, which is when Beam and Douglas will both begin one-year terms.