WisPolitics-State Affairs will be updating this page with election updates throughout the day and as results come in this evening and overnight.
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Polls opened at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m.
See the Fall Election Guide for background on top races, along with links to voting information, the latest ads, videos and more.
Wolfe asks for patience as clerks count 800k absentee ballots
Wisconsin Elections Commission Administrator Meagan Wolfe today urged patience as local clerks tally some 800,000 absentee ballots today, noting poll workers “prioritize accuracy over speed.”
Wolfe met with the media this morning a few hours after polls opened in Wisconsin with a hotly contested governor’s race on the ballot.
Wolfe noted state law prevents election officials from opening absentee ballots and beginning to process them until after polls open at 7 a.m.
The 796,607 absentee ballots that clerks reported had been returned through the mail and in person as of this morning is up more than 7% compared to 2022.
Absentee ballots must be returned by 8 p.m. on Election Day to be counted.
Wolfe said there had been no major issues reported by election officials ahead of the media call.
“It looks like it’s going to be a great Election Day here in the state of Wisconsin,” Wolfe said.
Along with concerns over possible delays in the U.S. Postal Service returning absentee ballots sent through the mail on time, some have questioned what presence the federal government would have at polling sites around the country.
Wolfe said the U.S. Department of Justice had observers at polling sites in Madison and Milwaukee. She believed there were less than 10 federal agents observing in the state’s two largest cities, which she said was “pretty common.”
Crowley to hold election watch party in Milwaukee, Tiffany in Wausau
Gubernatorial candidates David Crowley and Tom Tiffany have election parties planned tonight in Milwaukee and Wausau, respectively.
Candidates for the attorney general’s office and top congressional races will also host events to watch voting results roll in across Wisconsin.
Both governor candidates will cast ballots in their home areas this morning. Crowley will cast a ballot in Milwaukee with his family and speak to media before campaigning around Milwaukee ahead of an election night party.
Tiffany will cast his ballot at the Little Rice Town Hall and Municipal Building in the town of Little Rice and address reporters. His campaign is not planning any more events ahead of an election night party in Wausau.
Incumbent AG Josh Kaul will host a watch party in downtown Madison, while GOP challenger Eric Toney will host his watch party in Fond du Lac, where he is district attorney.
In the 3rd CD, Dem candidate Rebecca Cooke is canvassing this morning at UW-Stout and UW-Eau Claire and will host an election night party in Eau Claire.
U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden. R-Prairie du Chien, will host an election night watch party in La Crosse.
In the 1st CD, incumbent U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil, R-Janesville, will host an election night watch party in Racine County, while Dem challenger Mitchell Berman will host a watch party in Elkhorn.
Sabato, Cook list Wisconsin guv race ‘lean Dem’
The final ratings from Larry Sabato’s “Crystal Ball” and the Cook Political Report both list Wisconsin’s gubernatorial race in the lean Dem category.
They also each list Wisconsin’s 3rd CD as lean Dem, while the 1st CD is lean Republican in both rankings.
The Crystal Ball and Cook Political Report each released their final rankings yesterday.
Top legislative races see $21M ad blitz in closing weeks of campaign
Candidates and groups in 14 legislative races are on track to spend $21 million on paid media over the final two weeks of the election with ads focused on healthcare, taxation and data centers, according to AdImpact data.
Collectively, Dems in those races had the spending advantage at nearly $11.8 million to almost $9.3 million on the GOP side.
Still, Republicans had the advantage in the two races set to see the most spending in the closing days. Nearly $2.7 million in ad reservations were counted in the 17th SD, where Sen. Howard Marklein, R-Spring Green, faces state Rep. Jenna Jacobson, D-Oregon. Of that, nearly $1.6 million was slated to be spent on the GOP side.
Meanwhile, almost $2.2 million in reservations were recorded in the 85th AD, where GOP state Pat Snyder, of Weston, faces Dem Marathon County Supv. John Kroll. Snyder and his allies accounted for nearly $1.15 million of that spending.