Presidential election turnout ‘phenomenal‘ in Oneida and Vilas counties

Voter turnout in the 2024 presidential election was very high across the country, a fact mirrored by the voter turnout in places such as Oneida and Vilas counties. 

Of the 17,236 registered voters in Vilas County, 16,189 people, or 94 percent, voted. 

Poll workers, from left, Patti Farrell, Jill Koebernick, Genea Rotar and Lisa Nomm, work to process absentee ballots during election day in Minocqua on Tuesday, Nov. 5.
(Photo by Trevor Greene/Lakeland Times)

In Oneida County, 24,972 of 26,637 registered voters, again 94 percent, voted. 

“That’s a phenomenal turnout,” Oneida County clerk Tracy Hartman told The Lakeland Times. 

She’s been Oneida County clerk for eight years and Crescent’s town clerk for 18 years. 

“I do not recall ever seeing our voter turnout this high in the past,” Hartman said. “Even in Crescent, my poll workers they were saying they don’t remember our vote total being this high.”

During her first year as county clerk, 2016, the presidential election turnout was 87.6 percent. 

In 2020, Hartman said Oneida County’s vote total dipped just a bit to 86.8 percent.

Overall, she said, the long day of facilitating the voting process went smoothly, which was also an indication for the voting process across the country. 

“Our clerks in Oneida County trained hard,” Hartman said. “We were ready for this election which is why it went so well. It was steady all day long and was cool to see that. It was cool to see voters vested that much in this election.”

Vilas County clerk Kim Olkowski echoed Hartman with respect to how the day went.

“It went, for the most part, smoothly,” she said. “There were a couple of little things, like maybe a jam here or there or whatever but everything worked out and it went well.”

Olkowski said the 2024 turnout was highest she can remember although in 2020, Vilas County’s vote total was close to this year with 91 percent. 

In 2016, when she was the deputy county clerk, voter turnout was 85 percent. 

“From 85 to 91 to 94 percent,” Olkowski said. “That’s pretty impressive when you think about it.”

With voter turnout totals for presidential elections at 85 percent or higher since 2016, she said the political climate was an indication of what to expect. 

“We anticipated it and I know the town clerks were anticipating it,” Olkowski said. “People were looking to get their absentee ballots as soon as they could possibly get them ... we all knew it was going to be a good turnout.”

In Minocqua, town clerk Roben Haggart said there were actually more absentee ballots cast than in-person ballots during the day on Nov. 5. 

“We had 1,874 absentee ballots,” she said, which compared with 1,779 ballots cast on election day. 

The absentee ballots were all processed by a team of five poll workers by 5 p.m. on election day. 

“They just cranked it out,” she said. 

Haggart has been Minocqua’s town clerk since 2001 and, like Hartman and Olkowski, told the Times she’d never seen anything like the voter turnout this election cycle. 

“Absolutely not,” she said.

In addition to the turnout, Haggart said 211 people registered to vote on election day. 

“Another record,” she said. “That was good to see. It’s good to see a great turnout like that.”

Haggart said there were no problems with mail-in ballots “at all.”

“The post office did a great job getting all the ballots in on time where they needed to be,” she said. 

Also, as Hartman and Olkowski indicated, Haggart said the whole process went well. 

“We sat down at the end of the night, the three of us, my chief inspector, myself and my deputy clerk, and we did a re-cap,” she said. “‘Anything we can do? Anything we can do better?’ and we were just like ... ‘No.’ It just went really well.”

Brian Jopek may be reached via email at [email protected].