By Kim McDarison

A wintery mix of snow and rain was the topic of discussion as city of Whitewater residents arrived at the Old Armory to vote in the general spring election and presidential primary, City Clerk Heather Boehm said Tuesday afternoon.

“People have been in a great mood,” Deputy Clerk Tiffany Albright said.

Both the clerk and her deputy said they believed the addition of Badger Books, an electronic poll book used for the first time in Whitewater this election to check in voters, issue voter numbers and register new voters, along with a new floor plan used to organize the voting process, were contributing factors to a smooth operation.

Traffic at the polling place was “steady,” both the clerk and deputy clerk said.

Boehm said there was a “short line” around lunchtime, but it moved quickly, with each of those voters assisted through the process within 5-10 minutes.

Boehm said Tuesday’s election was the first she has experienced as a city clerk. Albright said she was hired as the city’s deputy clerk five weeks ago, and also was working her first election.

Both Boehm and Albright agreed that 17 poll workers, including a large number of them who had previously served during elections, were instrumental in Tuesday’s smooth operations.

With both general spring election and presidential primary candidates on the ballot, Albright and Boehm said poll workers were taking some extra care to explain both sides of the ballot to each voter.

Boehm said poll workers were drawing particular attention to the presidential primary section of the ballot, making sure voters understood that they could select one political party, Democratic or Republican, and then select a candidate from the names listed within that party’s section on the ballot.

Boehm noted that the city has approximately 6,000 registered voters.

This year, she sent out 592 absentee ballots, and by late afternoon some 459 had been returned.

By noon, some 663 voters had arrived at the polls to cast their ballots, which, she said, was about 10% of registered voters.

Some voters dropped their ballots off at the polling place, but most were being received at the post office, she said, adding that poll workers went to the post office around 10 a.m., 3 p.m., and the postmaster had made plans to drop a final batch off at 5 p.m. when the post office closed.

Boehm said she believed the new floor plan at the polling place was “smart.” Previously, she said, tables for various wards lined the side of the gym floorspace in sections. On Tuesday, those voters entering the polling place who still needed to register were directed to a table.

If the voter was already registered, they could move directly to a “check in” table, where they received a ballot. There were two tables available: one for residents living within wards 1-10 within the portion of the city residing in Walworth County, and another for residents living within wards 11-13,  or the portion of the city residing in Jefferson County.

At the center of the gym floor, voters found individual booths where they could fill out their ballot, after which they moved to the voting machines. Those living in Jefferson County found a single machine where they inserted their ballot. Those living in Walworth County were directed to one of five machines depending upon their ward.

Machines were appropriately marked with signage, and a poll worker was on hand to help guide people to the appropriate machine.

Boehm noted that the machines scanned both sides of the ballot upon its insertion. The votes are calculated at 8 p.m. after the polls close.

Ballots cast by Jefferson County voters were scanned and tallied by a machine called a DS200, which is manufactured by Election Systems and Software. Machines used to scan and tally ballots from residents living in Walworth County were manufactured by Dominion Image Cast Evolution.

“While the machines have different manufacturers, they all do the same thing,” Boehm said.