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Watertown Unified School District elections (2018)
- General election: Nov. 6
- Voter registration deadline: Oct. 17 (online or mail), or Nov. 2 (in-person)
- Early voting: Varies by locality
- Absentee voting deadline: Nov. 6
- Online registration: Yes
- Same-day registration: Yes
- Voter ID: Photo ID required
- Poll times: 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
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Three of the nine seats on the Watertown Unified School District Board of Education in Wisconsin were up for at-large general election on April 3, 2018. Incumbent Mark Putra did not file for re-election, leaving one open seat. Incumbents Frances Milburn and Karrie Uttech and candidate Fred Jandt were unopposed and won election to the board.[1][2]
Elections
Voter and candidate information
The Watertown Unified Board of Education consists of nine members elected to three-year terms on a staggered basis. All members are elected at large, and elections are held every year.[3]
School board candidates in Wisconsin had to be U.S. citizens, at least 18 years old, and residents of the school district for a minimum of 28 consecutive days before filing as a candidate. They also could not be disqualified from voting under Wisconsin law.[4]
To get on the ballot, school board candidates had to file nomination papers with the school district clerk by January 2, 2018. If incumbents whose terms were up for re-election did not file to run in the race and did not file written notification that they would not be running, the candidate filing deadline could have been extended until January 5, 2018. The terms of candidates elected in the race started on April 23, 2018.[4]
Voter registration
- See also: Voting in Wisconsin and Voter identification laws by state
To vote in Wisconsin, one must be a citizen of the United States and a resident of the state for at least 10 days prior to the election. A voter must be at least 18 years old.[5][6][7] One can register to vote by mail, online, or in person. For voters registering to vote in this 2018 school board election by mail, the application had to be postmarked by March 14, 2018. The online voter registration deadline was March 30, 2018, and the in-person deadline was April 3, 2018.
Candidates and results
At-Large
General election
General election for Watertown Unified School District school board At-large (3 seats)
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Karrie Uttech (Nonpartisan) | 35.2 | 2,968 |
| ✔ |  | Frances Milburn (Nonpartisan) | 33.2 | 2,805 |
| ✔ | Fred Jandt (Nonpartisan) | 31.6 | 2,668 | |
| Total votes: 8,441 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Additional elections on the ballot
- See also: Wisconsin elections, 2018
Key deadlines
Endorsements
Do you know of an official or organization that endorsed a candidate in this race? Let Ballotpedia know by email at editor@ballotpedia.org.
Past elections
To see results from past elections in the Watertown Unified School District, click here.
What was at stake?
Report a story for this election
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Candidate survey
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Election trends
- See also: School board elections, 2018
The 2018 Watertown Unified Board of Education election saw no contested races. During both the 2016 and 2017 election cycles, four candidates competed for the three seats on the ballot. The district saw less competition than both the average 2016 Wisconsin and United States school board elections, which saw 1.57 and 1.90 candidates file per seat, respectively.
| School board election trends | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Candidates per seat | Uncontested seats | Incumbents running for re-election | Incumbent success rate | Seats won by newcomers | |
| Watertown Unified School District | ||||||
| 2018 | 1.0 | 100.00% | 66.67% | 100.00% | 33.33% | |
| 2017 | 1.33 | 0.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% | 0.00% | |
| 2016 | 1.33 | 0.00% | 66.67% | 100.00% | 33.33% | |
| Wisconsin | ||||||
| 2016 | 1.57 | 29.73% | 78.38% | 68.97% | 45.95% | |
| 2015 | 1.38 | 38.24% | 73.53% | 84.00% | 35.29% | |
| United States | ||||||
| 2016 | 1.90 | 34.05% | 71.31% | 82.39% | 41.04% | |
| 2015 | 1.72 | 35.95% | 70.37% | 82.66% | 40.81% | |
About the district
The Watertown Unified School District is located in Dodge and Jefferson counties in southeastern Wisconsin. The county seat of Dodge County is Juneau, and the county seat of Jefferson County is Jefferson. In 2015, Dodge and Jefferson Counties were home to 88,502 residents and 84,559 residents, respectively.[8] The district served 3,779 students during the 2015-2016 school year.[9]
Higher education achievement
Both counties underperformed compared to Wisconsin as a whole in terms of higher education achievement between 2011 and 2015. The United States Census Bureau found that 16.4 percent of Dodge County residents and 22.6 percent of Jefferson County residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree, compared to 27.8 percent of state residents.[8]
Median household income
From 2011 to 2015, the median household income for Dodge County was $53,783, and it was $56,877 for Jefferson County. During that same time period, the median household income for Wisconsin was $53,357. For the United States, it was $53,889.[8]
Poverty rate
From 2011 to 2015, the poverty rate in Dodge County was 8.7 percent, and it was 9.2 percent for Jefferson County. During that same period, the poverty rate for the entire state was 12.1 percent, and for the entire country it was 13.5 percent.[8]
Racial demographics
| Racial Demographics, 2015[8] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race | Dodge County (%) | Jefferson County (%) | Wisconsin (%) |
| White | 94.6 | 96.3 | 87.6 |
| Black or African American | 3.1 | 1.0 | 6.6 |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.6 | 0.5 | 1.1 |
| Asian | 0.7 | 0.9 | 2.8 |
| Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.1 |
| Two or more races | 1.0 | 1.2 | 1.8 |
| Hispanic or Latino | 4.6 | 7.1 | 6.6 |
Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Watertown Unified School District Wisconsin election. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Watertown Unified School District | Wisconsin | School Boards |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Abbey Smith, "Email communication with district clerk," January 3, 2018
- ↑ Dodge County, Wisconsin, "Spring Election Unofficial Results," April 3, 2018
- ↑ Watertown Unified School District, "Board Members," accessed January 3, 2017
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Wisconsin Association of School Boards, "Guide for Candidates," accessed November 26, 2017
- ↑ DMV.org, "Voter Registration in Wisconsin," accessed January 22, 2015
- ↑ State statutes stipulate that an individual must have resided in Wisconsin for at least 28 days prior to the election in order to register to vote in that election. However, the United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin ruled that "the increase of the durational residency requirement from 10 days to 28 days is unconstitutional." Consequently, the earlier 10-day requirement took effect once again. An appeal of the district court's decision was pending as of September 20, 2016.
- ↑ Wisconsin Statutes, "Section 6.10," accessed November 7, 2016
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 United States Census Bureau, "Dodge County, Wisconsin," accessed December 19, 2016
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Local Education Agency (School District) Universe Survey Data," accessed January 29, 2018
| Watertown Unified School District elections in 2018 | |
| Dodge County, Wisconsin | |
| Election date: | April 3, 2018 |
| Candidates: | At-Large: Incumbent, Frances Milburn • Incumbent, Karrie Uttech • Fred Jandt |
| Important information: | What was at stake? |
