2012: The year of continuous voting

• Recall election June 5

Recall election June 5

Talk about it

This Tuesday, June 5, River Falls voters and those across Wisconsin return to the polls in the recall election for governor and lieutenant governor.

State opinion polls show that only a tiny percentage of people have yet to make up their minds about who to vote for.

The key to winning the recall may hinge on those few undecided voters and which side can generate the largest turnout.

In case you missed it, here are the two sets of candidates on the June 5 recall ballot:

--For governor: Republican Scott Walker (incumbent) and Democrat Tom Barrett (Milwaukee mayor)

--For lieutenant governor: Republican Rebecca Kleefisch (incumbent) and Mahlon Mitchell (a former Madison firefighter and current president of the Professional Fire Fighters of Wisconsin).

For profiles of each candidate, voters might wish to go online and check out www.wisconsinvote.org.

Last month was the recall primary. Walker, Barrett and Mitchell emerged as winners. Kleefisch, unchallenged in her party, wasn’t on the primary ballot.

Many River Falls voters also cast ballots in local primary and spring elections in February and April.

The voting doesn’t let up, either.

An Aug. 14 primary will elect political party candidates for state Assembly and Senate, and for Congress and the U.S. Senate.

Fall primaries used to be held in September. They are now held in August to allow more time for overseas absentee voting by servicemen and women.

And then there’s Nov. 6 -- August primary winners face off, but this election is headlined by the presidential race between Democrat Barack Obama and Republican Mitt Romney.

By state law, all voting stations for every Wisconsin election – including for the June 5 recall -- open at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m.

Tags: wisconsin, government, politics