KENOSHA — When Milwaukee County released its results for the presidential election Wednesday morning, Joe Biden took the lead in Wisconsin, a narrow one. It wasn’t until absentee ballots in Brown County and the City of Kenosha were processed that Biden’s lead widened, with NBC News now projecting he won the state.
Beverly Layton is proud to know that her vote may just help Biden become the next president of the United States.
“Every time I look at the number, I go, one of those is me,” Layton said. “Any type of contribution that I was able to make by casting just one vote makes such a difference, and I'm glad to be able to say that just my one vote counted.”
Layton cast her vote early in the City of Kenosha.
It took poll workers there until the wee hours of Wednesday morning to process the last of the early absentee ballots. When they were done, a little more than 10,103 went into President Trump’s column, but Biden received 19,700 votes.
The City of Kenosha’s absentee votes were among the last in the state to be tallied, expanding Biden’s lead in Wisconsin to more than 20,000 votes.
Misty Raith was also one of those early voters in the city.
“It just shows you that no matter what, you do count,” Raith said.
She said she’s happy to be a part of history, and that as we start to hear talks about a potential recount, she feels Kenosha’s votes put Biden in a strong position.
“20,000 is a large number to overcome. I feel confident in the election board,” Raith said.
Both candidates made Kenosha a focal point following the police shooting of Jacob Blake in August. President Trump visited twice, as recently as Monday night. Vice President Biden visited once. Layton said the incident resonated with her.
“Lives matter. Black lives matter, and I think because of some of the things that have happened, it has awakened the consciousness of people to vote their values and to vote their consciousness,” Layton said.
Now as we all wait for the final outcome to be certified, Layton hopes what happened in Kenosha during the election, shows others that voting has an impact.
“I think the more that we can do to educate people that your vote does matter and that you need to engage in the electoral process, the better off we're going to be,” Layton said.
It’s important to point out that even though Biden finished ahead of President Trump in the City of Kenosha, President Trump did garner more votes in all of Kenosha County by nearly 2,800 votes.
You can find more specifics on the race in the City of Kenosha and Kenosha County below.
City of Kenosha in-person election day voting:
- Total: 16,362
- Biden: 6,458
- Trump: 9,463
City of Kenosha absentee/early voting:
- Total: 30,430
- Biden: 19,700
- Trump: 10,103
City of Kenosha all methods of voting (in-person + absentee/early voting):
- Total: 46,792
- Biden: 26,158
- Trump: 19,566
Kenosha County voting:
- Total: 89,068
- Biden: 42,191
- Trump: 44,972
Click here to see election results on the Kenosha County Clerk's website.