Fond du Lac’s high voter turnout fits in with state average

Nearly three out of every four registered voters in Fond du Lac County cast a ballot in Tuesday’s November 3rd general election.

According to Fond du Lac County Clerk Lisa Freiberg, 44,301 ballots were cast out of 60,164 registered voters, representing a turnout rate of approximately 74%.

That puts Fond du Lac County in the same general range as several other Wisconsin counties reporting their turnout figures following the election.

Wood County reported 74.75% turnout, while Marathon County recorded 74.22%. Price County reported 74.2%, and Outagamie County came in at 73.17%.

Some counties reported higher participation. Ozaukee County recorded a turnout rate of 77.24%, according to unofficial results from its county clerk’s office.

Rock County reported 69.23% turnout.

The figures suggest strong voter participation across several parts of Wisconsin, although a complete statewide comparison of all 72 counties has not yet been established.

Wisconsin does not have a centralized system for reporting unofficial election results statewide. Instead, county clerks publish their own results, with the numbers subject to the canvassing and certification process.

Voters were unusually interested in the 2026 election

A Gallup survey published October 29, 2026, found:

• 56% of Americans said they had given quite a lot of thought to the midterm election.
• That was the highest level Gallup had measured at that point in a midterm campaign.
• 56% of registered voters said they were more enthusiastic than usual about voting.
• Only the 2018 midterm election had produced a higher enthusiasm figure in Gallup’s measurements.

For comparison, voter enthusiasm was 49% in 2022 and 43% in 2014.

This is probably the strongest evidence that the 2026 election generated an unusually high level of public interest even before Election Day. Gallup.com

The national political climate may have played a major role

A panel of experts at Emory University discussed the factors behind the 2026 midterms.

Political scientist Alan Abramowitz explained that midterm elections often serve as a reaction or correction to what happened in the previous presidential election.

In other words, voters sometimes use midterms to express their satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the direction of the country and the performance of the president and the president’s party. That can motivate people who might otherwise skip a midterm election to participate.

National issues motivated Wisconsin voters

There is some direct Wisconsin evidence, too.

FOX6 spoke with voters in Waukesha County on Election Day. Several said national issues were a major reason they went to the polls.

Among the concerns mentioned were:

• Gas prices and the cost of living.
• Housing affordability.
• The direction of the country.
• The importance of the political direction of the nation.

FOX6 also reported strong absentee participation in Waukesha County. In Elm Grove, approximately 40% of voters had cast absentee ballots. FOX6 Milwaukee

That suggests the interest wasn’t limited to people showing up at polling places on Election Day.

Wisconsin has a history of unusually high midterm participation

According to the Wisconsin Elections Commission, turnout in the 2022 midterm election was 56.75% of the state’s voting-eligible population.

In 2018, it was 59.43%, setting a Wisconsin midterm record at the time.

UW-Madison political science professor Barry Burden attributed some of the increased participation in recent elections to the political environment following Donald Trump’s election in 2016.

He told Wisconsin Public Radio that increased turnout was happening across the country, not just in Wisconsin.