Tuesday’s presidential primary in Wisconsin attracted the largest number of voters the state has seen in a primary election since 1972.
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A public relations officer for Wisconsin’s Elections Division confirmed to the Washington Examiner on Wednesday that the unofficial number of Badger State residents who cast their ballots in the April 5 nominating contests was around 2.1 million. The Elections Division plans to release an official tabulation in about two to three weeks.
According to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, Wisconsin’s unofficial voter turnout rate was higher than that of every state that has already held a primary or caucus this election cycle — with the exception of New Hampshire — and is just under half of Wisconsin’s eligible voting population.
“That’s unusual this late in the presidential election calendar,” Michael McDonald, a political scientist at the University of Florida, told the Journal-Sentinel.
According to McDonald, the heated nominating contests on both sides of the aisle helped mobilize voters who would normally forego participating in a primary election. As did the political ads that flooded Wisconsin airwaves in the weeks leading up to the primary and same-day voter registration.
Barry Burden, a professor of political science at the University of Madison-Wisconsin, suggested Gov. Scott Walker’s endorsement of Republican presidential hopeful Ted Cruz, and Donald Trump’s attacks that followed, may have also galvanized Republican voters who were passionate about either candidate.
“[Walker is] polarizing enough and well known to everyone in the state. He’s a mobilizing force” Burden told the Journal-Sentinel.
More than 1 million votes were reportedly cast in the Democratic primary on Tuesday, while nearly 1.1 million were cast in the Republican contest.
For comparison, around 780,000 Wisconsin Republicans voted in the 2012 presidential primary, according to data compiled by the New York Times.
Fewer Democratic voters cast ballots this year than did in the party’s last presidential primary in 2008.
