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Lake Geneva voters to have only one polling place for spring primary

LAKE GENEVA — Due to low expected turnout, voting for the spring primary election on Tues., Feb. 19, will be held at one polling place – Lake Geneva City Hall – as opposed to the usual two polling places, according to a release from the Lake Geneva city clerk's office. The change will impact voters in Districts 3 and 4 who will vote at city hall instead of the fire station for this election only.

“This is the first election in the city since February 15, 2005 with only one statewide race on the ballot and no county or city races,” said Michael Hawes, Lake Geneva's city clerk. “Only 112 voters turned out for that election, which was a 2 percent turnout.”

Hawes said two polling places work well for elections with a turnout of 1,000 to 2,500 voters, but he said it is not necessary to use two polling places for turnouts much less than that. “Considering the time and costs that go into staffing, ordering supplies and testing voting machines, it was a no-brainer that taxpayer money would be better spent with one polling place for this election.”

The city will make every reasonable effort to communicate the polling place change to the public and signage will be posted at the fire station on Feb.19 stating that all voting that day will take place a half mile away at city hall, located at 626 Geneva St..

Voters residing in Districts 3 and 4 will resume voting at the fire station for the spring election on April 2.

According to the release, the decision to combine polling places for the spring primary was approved by the city council at a special meeting on Jan.17. The approval had to be made at a special meeting in order to meet the statutory deadline of January 22. Hawes said the state did not make the primary official until January 8.