TINA L. SCOTT
EDITOR
Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024, is Wisconsin’s Partisan Primary Election, and voters will head to the polls to pick their poison, so to speak. In other words, this is a Partisan Primary Election, so voters will need to choose up front whether they want to vote for candidates who are on the Democratic or Republican ticket, but not candidates in more than one party. Technically, voters could opt to vote for candidates from either the Democratic, Republican, Constitution, Libertarian, or Wisconsin Green party; however, there are no candidates from the Constitution, Libertarian, or Wisconsin Green parties listed on the Aug. 13 ballot, so that becomes a non-issue.
For the purpose of a primary, you can’t cross over and pick candidates from more than one party. And, since it is a Primary, the “primary” purpose of this election is to narrow the field of candidates to one on each party’s ballot for the Nov. 5 election.
In many cases, candidates are running unopposed on their respective partisan tickets in this August election, meaning no other candidate within their own party has stepped forward to challenge their run for office. Come November, a single party in each party will go head-to-head against their competitors from the other political party.
Follow the instructions
It’s important to really follow the instructions when you vote in a Partisan Primary Election. Up front, first question, you’ll need to decide is in which party you plan to cast your votes. Because you can only vote in one party’s primary – if you want your votes to count.
After you pick your party for this election, you’ll need to only vote for candidates in that party on this ballot. Only votes cast in that party will be counted. Votes cast for any candidates in any other party will not be counted. If you don’t choose a party up front and then you vote for candidates in more than one party, then none of your votes will be counted.