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Voter Turnout in Milwaukee Exceeds State Average

Tuesday's turnout of 66 percent of eligible voters in the city of Milwaukee was higher than the state average of 57 percent.Neil Albrecht of the Milwaukee election commission says there were some lines at polling places on Tuesday, but generally things flowed nicely.

"The ballot was so large for this election people were spending an extraordinary amount of time reviewing their ballots and at some sites we saw lines, almost like people waiting for a parking space in a parking lot, for an opening at a voting booth," Albrecht says.

Albrecht commended the work of 2,100 volunteers trained by the commission who staffed polling places. However, he says staffing may be a challenge in the future.

"It is really becoming increasingly difficult to recruit and to retain election workers," Albrecht says.

Albrecht attributes that to the complexity of the duty.

"Every general election there are fairly significant changes to election law and election procedure which makes it more difficult for the election workers to really feel competent in terms of the duties that they're performing," Albrecht says.

The city of Milwaukee's turnout of 66 percent was four points higher than for the governor's race in 2010.

About 87 percent of eligible voters cast ballots in the city of Milwaukee during the 2012 presidential election.