By Kim McDarison

Voters across Wisconsin, including Walworth County, will be heading to the polls tomorrow to cast their votes in the 2024 Spring General Election.

For voters in the city and town of Whitewater, and the town of Richmond, several offices and issues are placed on the ballot.

The ballot also serves as Wisconsin’s presidential primary.

Polling places are open Tuesday between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m.

Presidential primary

At the federal level, voters will be asked to cast a single vote for one of several candidates vying for nomination within the Democratic and Republican parties.

The top vote-getters nationally from each party will run for President of the United States in November.

Those voting within the Democratic Party primary will choose between President Joe Biden, and a challenger: Dean Phillips.

Those voting within the Republican Party primary will have five challengers from which to choose, including, listed in ballot order: Chris Christie, Vivek Ramaswamy, Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley and Donald Trump.

Spring general election

At the state level, voters will be asked two referendum questions, they are:

Question 1: “Use of private funds in election administration. Shall section 7 (1) of article III of the constitution be created to provide that private donations and grants may not be applied for, accepted, expended, or used in connection with conduct of any primary, election, or referendum?”

Voters are instructed to answer ‘yes’ or ‘no.’

Question 2: “Election officials. Shall section 7 (2) of article III of the constitution be created to provide that only election officials designated by law may perform tasks in the conduct of primaries, elections, and referendums?”

Voters are instructed to answer ‘yes’ or ‘no.’

Within the judiciary, within Circuit Court Branch 1, two candidates are running for judge. They are: Estee E. Scholtz and Peter M. Navis. Voters are asked to select one.

County Board of Supervisors

All 11 County Board of Supervisor seats are up for reelection.

Supervisory districts including wards within the  communities of the town and city of Whitewater, and the town of Richmond, and their candidates, are as follow:

Within the city of Whitewater, residents living within wards 1-10 are included within the following Walworth County Board of Supervisors districts:

District 3

City of Whitewater, Wards 1 and 2

The incumbent is Brian Holt.

There are no challengers running for this seat.

District 4

City of Whitewater, Wards 3-10

The incumbent is Al Stanek.

There are no challengers running for this seat.

(City of Whitewater Wards 11-13 are in Jefferson County. A story including information about Jefferson County Board of Supervisors races is here: https://whitewaterwise.com/jefferson-county-board-whos-running-to-represent-whitewater-fort-koshkonong/.)

Town of Whitewater

Residents living within the town of Whitewater will find the name of an incumbent Walworth County supervisor, Brian Holt, on the April ballot. The town’s wards, 1-3, are included in a single district: No. 3.

District 3

Town of Whitewater, Wards 1-3

The incumbent is Brian Holt.

There are no challengers running for this seat.

Town of Richmond

Town of Richmond wards 1-3 are in Supervisory District No. 5. The district will see a race between incumbent Ryan G. Simons, who serves as the board’s vice chairman, and a challenger Bud Wojcik. 

District 5

Town of Richmond, Wards 1-3

Incumbent Supervisor Ryan G. Simons is running against challenger Bud Wojcik.

Council, town board members

At the municipal level, in the town of Richmond, voters will find races for each of two town board supervisor seats. Voters are asked to vote for one candidate for each seat.

David Alexander and Steven Wade are vying for the town board supervisor 3 seat, and Mike Bergman and Tom Kraus are vying for the town board supervisor 4 seat.

In the city of Whitewater, voters will find uncontested challengers running in Aldermanic Districts 2 and 4, and one race for an at-large common council seat.

The candidate running for the open seat in Aldermanic District 2 is Orin L. Smith.

The candidate running for the open seat in Aldermanic District 4 is Brian Schanen.

Vying for the open at-large seat are two challengers: Greg Majkrzak and Keith Staebler.

An earlier story in which the two candidates shared some of their views is here: https://whitewaterwise.com/staebler-majkrzak-both-candidates-running-for-an-at-large-council-seat-in-april-respond-to-tuesdays-vacancy-applicant-questions/.

Whitewater Unified School District

Voters within the Whitewater Unified School District will find the names of three candidates on the ballot.

One candidate, Larry Kachel, announced that he was no longer interested in making a run earlier this year. His announcement came after his name was placed on the official ballot.

An earlier story about Kachel’s decision to withdraw from the race is here: https://whitewaterwise.com/school-board-candidate-kachel-withdraws-from-race-name-will-still-appear-on-april-ballot/. 

The other two candidates include Maryann Zimmerman, an incumbent, and newcomer Jeff Tortomasi.

Voters are asked to select two candidates, one to fill each of the two seats due for reelection on the seven-member school board. Board members serve at-large for three-year terms. 

Polling places within the city and town of Whitewater, and town of Richmond, are as follow:

Town of Richmond, wards 1-3, Town Hall, W9046 County Road A, Delavan.

Town of Whitewater, wards 1-3, Town Hall, W8590 Willis Ray Rd., Whitewater

City of Whitewater, wards 1-10, Downtown Armory, 146 W. North St., Whitewater.

Communities within the Whitewater Unified School District include:

The Whitewater Unified School District includes voters living in the following municipalities: In Jefferson County, precincts include the towns of Cold Springs, Ward 1; Koshkonong, Wards 1-6; and city of Whitewater Wards 11-13. In Rock County, voters within the district are found in the towns of Johnstown and Lima. In Walworth County, district voters reside in the city of Whitewater, Wards 1-10, and the towns of LaGrange, Wards 1-3; Richmond, Wards 1-3; Sugar Creek, Wards 1-7, and Whitewater, Wards 1-3.

There are no local seats due for reelection in the town of Whitewater on the April ballot. The ballot will include federal-, state- and school district-related seats and issues.