This, from a local radio reporter, just boggles the mind:
Madison City Clerk tells me turnout is on pace to hit 119% in Madison, adding "That would be unprecedented."
— @AmyBarrilleaux via web
That's not a typo. 119 percent. You know the wingnuts are already drawing up their conspiracy theories, but there is a simple explanation—Wisconsin allows same-day registration.
More people will vote today than were registered heading into the election. Many people are registering at the polls.
— @AmyBarrilleaux via web
The early morning estimates were 80-88 percent. This is just mind-boggling, and obviously bodes well for Team Blue. On the other hand, the city clerks in conservative strongholds like Washington and Waukesha Counties are being more tight-lipped, simply talking about high turnout. Don't be surprised if those counties also approach or exceed 100 percent voter turnout.
Assuming these numbers are accurate and bear out (and they are still estimates at this point), it will be a testament to the Democratic and union get-out-the-vote operation. They're not leaving anything on the road, at least not in Madison.
2:35 PM PT: To state the obvious, no polling would ever capture un-registered voters.
2:42 PM PT: If Walker survives tonight, it won't be a harbinger for November:
Obama leads Romney 51-45 among #WIrecall voters, regardless ot today's vote, per early exit polls
— @rickklein via TweetDeck
And this can only be good news:
Caveat time: exit polls are just that -- polls. They can be wrong, and are often tweaked after all results are in to better match results on the ground.
2:44 PM PT: And here is one for the clueless pundits:
Boy, it sure is too bad all this political polarization has turned off the voters in Wisconsin.
— @pastordan via Echofon
2:47 PM PT: Ha ha ha ha!
Dana Loesch didn't know Madison was a liberal stronghold until she read it somewhere today?
3:09 PM PT: Huh. This has become another impromptu liveblog. Let's run with it! Rhubarb in the comments:
In my Barron Co township, which tends red (5+ / 0-)
There were more voters by mid-afternoon than in 2008. More demands for paper ballots, more first-time registrants and more young people voting. The usual poll workers looked haggard! They have had three voting machines in service for the past few cycles, the sort that let you vote, review, review paper, then cast the final vote. I saw a dude scramble to reload two of those. I have never seen that happen before.
Barrett has been campaigning up here a lot, unlike 2010. The vaguely menacing dark blue GOP lawn signs vastly outnumber the home brew Barrett ones, but Republicans have always out blasted us in lawnsigns, in every campaign, and that means squat, basically.
My township my be a bunch of redneck farmers, but the Dems have a good ground game, here, and it has always been a bellwether county in WI.
... a reminder that GOP turnout is also through the roof.
