WAUKESHA — On this Election Day, there were about 50 polling places in Waukesha County, but in the city of Waukesha, there was only one at the recreation center. Turnout was up and down all day, and voters had mixed feelings on the decision to hold in-person voting amid the coronavirus pandemic still.
As Stephanie Kinlow went to the polls in Waukesha, she couldn't help but think of her two family members who remain hospitalized with COVID-19.
"When it hits home, it really hurts a lot worse," Kinlow said. "More than likely, there's two less votes counted today with them being in the hospital.
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She and thousands of others came out to the city's recreation center to make their voice heard.
Voters showed up wearing masks and gloves, making sure to social distance as they got in line.
Inside, there was plenty of hand sanitizer, and plexiglass separated the voters from the poll workers, then they checked in.
Poll worker, Brenda Ericson, said they were taking all precautions.
"We're all doing our jobs, and we're all trying to keep everybody safe and sound, so the coronavirus doesn't grow within just voting," Ericson said.
The Chief Inspector at @CityofWaukesha’s only polling place just told me they had someone show up to vote who has symptoms of #coronavirus. They brought a ballot to their car so they could still vote @tmj4 #Wisconsin #WisconsinElection #WisconsinPrimary #Election2020 #ElectionDay pic.twitter.com/s6G1ZgED3J
— Lauren Linder (@lauren_linder) April 7, 2020
Nothing was going to stop Susan Isabell from exercising her right to vote.
"I chose to vote in person simply because I'm not that fearful of what's going on," Isabell said.
However, the concept of in-person voting didn't come without controversy, many having to decide whether it was worth the risk.
"I noticed a lot of people that aren't in a good health situation like myself that it's not fair to that they feel like they had to come out and vote in order for their vote to be counted," Kinlow said.
"I was kind of hoping we would just do it kind of like on an absentee ballot," Guadalupe Garcia said.
"We can always reschedule for the safety of the people, and then that way ensures that we're going to get the proper percentage of people that are voting who belong to," Duane Huelse said.
No matter the outcomes, this was an Election Day that will go down in history, one that Kinlow couldn't miss.
"So many people died for these rights, and sometimes you've just got to stand up for what's best even though you may be put in harm's way, you've got to do what you've got to do," Kinlow said.
Many voters said that they planned to take showers and wash their clothes right when they got home.