Muskego Posts Big Recall Numbers of Its Own

The buzzword for Tuesday's recall election against Governor Scott Walker was 'historic,' which often can be an overused word, but a glance at the numbers as they were totaled makes you wonder who DIDN'T vote.

Clerks were ready for a heavy turnout and had receive 125 percent of the ballots needed for registered voters, which was a good move. Every polling station reported a high turnout of new voters and anecdotally, there wasn't an instance where Patch visited a polling station that we didn't see a voter falling into the 18-20 year-old category voting for the first time.

How we voted

Muskego was Walker country, in keeping with the rest of Waukesha County, so it was no surprise to see lopsided results no matter the district.

What was impressive was the amount of ballots cast, percentage of turnout and the fact that the 86 percent showing here eclipsed the previous Barrett-Walker gubernatorial race by 9 points. It also dwarfs the statewide estimate of 58 percent from the Government Accountability Board, which had originally predicted a 65 percent statewide turnout.

The 'lightest' turnout was in District 4, which posted 82 percent turnout, and heaviest numbers were apparent in District 1, with 89 percent. In 2010, the 77 percent turnout was robust enough, so the zeal this time around was worth a few questions.

Carol in District 1 said that she was motivated to vote because she didn't believe in the recall.

"The guy (Walker) did nothing wrong, except to make certain groups angry, but really we haven't had the chance yet to see what the changes to collective bargaining will bring," she said.

Others were equally motivated for Barrett, if not harder to find in such a heavily-Republican area.

"I just didn't like how this all came down," said Kevin at District 3. "I don't like the tactics Walker showed, and I voted for Barrett before and I will do it again."

So what were the real numbers? (For purpose of comparison, we'll leave out the Lt. Governor's race out of this, as the candidates were different.)

Tuesday nights totals (uncanvassed totals):

Scott Walker - 10,023   73% 
Tom Barrett -    3,652   26%
Hari Trivedi -         37    --
Total               13,715*

(numbers vary slightly from what's posted on the city site due to overvotes)

In 2010, results were nearly identical by percentages, but nearly 2,000 fewer residents cast a ballot. 

Scott Walker - 8,746  73%
Tom Barret -   3,167  26.5%
Total -         11,946

View the 2012 and 2010 election results here.