New early voting sites open one week ahead of primary election

MIWLAUKEE (CBS 58) -- There's one week until the primary election when voters will narrow the Milwaukee mayoral race from seven candidates to two.

Acting Mayor Cavalier Johnson, Sen. Lena Taylor, Ald. Marina Dimitrijevic, former Ald. Bob Donovan, Sheriff Earnell Lucas, Michael Sampson and Ieshuh Griffin are currently on the ballot.

Experts said it's still too early to tell which two candidates will pull the most votes, because anything can happen in a week's time.

"Anybody who thinks they know who the top two vote-getters next Tuesday are is going to be wrong," UW-Milwaukee Professor Emeritus Mordecai Lee said. "Simply because Milwaukee voters and Wisconsin voters insist on being unpredictable."

Voters are showing interest in choosing their next mayor, who will be the first to be elected to that position since 2004.

"We're seeing a lot more people request absentee ballots and come to early voting than we would normally see in a February primary," City of Milwaukee Election Commission Executive Director Claire Woodall-Vogg said.

One-third of mail-in ballots have been returned so far, which Woodall-Vogg said is not typical.

"We just want to make sure in these smaller elections, when ballots only go out about two and a half weeks before the election, that voters know not to sit on that ballot," Woodall-Vogg said.

All drop boxes are open.

As voters decide how they will cast their ballot, candidates will spend this week trying to do anything they can to gain even a slight advantage. 

"People are just doing everything they can to raise money, to have TV advertising, to get publicity. It's sudden death," Lee said.

Voters can still vote early. Six more libraries are now early voting sites. They're open from noon to 5 p.m. until Saturday.

Johnson cast his ballot at Washington Park Library Tuesday afternoon. 

Information on all sites is posted below: