Below are the responses by candidates in contested races for the Sauk County Board to a News Republic survey. Responses have been lightly edited for length and to conform to the newspaper’s style.
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Springvale Clerk Becky Gutzman
Springvale Clerk Becky Gutzman signs in before dropping off town ballots April 13 at the Columbia County Administrative Building.
Becky Ness
Becky Ness, deputy clerk for the city of Portage, explains the absentee ballot process to a voter days before the April election from behind a sheet of plastic at the Portage Municipal Building. Organizers also put curtains of plastic in front of poll workers during the election to prevent possible transmission of COVID-19.
Baraboo voting
Poll worker Linda Wiese helps Emily Moll from behind a plexiglas divider April 7 at the Baraboo Civic Center. Moll requested an absentee ballot but hadn't received it by election day, so she went to vote in-person despite concerns over COVID-19.
Distanced conversation in Portage
Poll worker Justin O'Rourke holds a distanced conversation with voter Zach Lewis, far left, outside of Portage city hall during the April spring election.
Baraboo poll workers
Poll workers Bonnie Sauey and Joan Wheeler, a Baraboo Public Library employee, review absentee ballots against the system April 7 during the election at the Civic Center.
Screening voters
Poll worker Matigan O'Leary sits outside Portage City Hall to screen voters for COVID-19 symptoms prior to entering the building to vote in the Aug. 11 primary election. Plexiglass partitions were placed between voters and poll workers and voters were given hand sanitizer upon entering the polling place.
Portage poll workers
Poll workers, from left to right, Valerie Nehls, Christine Procknow and Alan Boeck count and process absentee ballots Aug. 11 in Portage City Hall for the primary election.
Vern Gove sworn in
Supervisor Vern Gove of Portage take his oath of office in May during the Columbia County Board of Supervisors meeting at the Administration Building in Portage. Gove was elected for a fourth consecutive term as board chairman.
Portage Common Council members sworn in
Newly re-elected Portage Common Council members Allan Radant and Mike Charles stand 6 feet apart as they are sworn into office by City Clerk Marie Moe during their April meeting at City Hall. Rita Maass was also re-elected, but was absent. Moe said Maass had already been sworn in.
Ballot day at courthouse
Patti Hauser-Kassner, of Lewiston, Randolph Clerk Maxine DeYoung, Lewiston Clerk Kurt Kassner and Hampden Clerk Diane Guenther wait with ballot bags while spaced apart April 13 in the lobby of the Columbia County Administrative Building.
Absentee ballot
Poll worker Sue Barton feeds an absentee ballot into a machine Aug. 11 at Portage City Hall during Wisconsin's partisan primary election.
Disinfecting poll stations in Portage
Poll worker Matt Foster wipes down polling stations during the spring election April 7 in the basement of Portage city hall.
Hands sprayed in Portage election
Poll worker Matt Foster sprays hand sanitizer on the hands of voter Adam Gaffney during the April election in the basement of Portage City Hall.
Waiting to register in Portage
Lindsay Patterson waits to register to vote as poll workers operate behind plastic curtains during the April election in the basement of Portage city hall.
Polling stations in Portage
Poll worker Matt Foster disinfects polling stations during the April election in the basement of Portage city hall.
Portage election preparation
City of Portage Deputy Clerk Becky Ness, right, explains absentee ballots to Mike and Lisa Bitter from behind a sheet of plastic in April at City Hall. Organizers plan to have curtains hanging in front of poll workers Tuesday if the election goes on as scheduled.
Primary election in Portage
Nancy Spearing checks in to vote in the February primary at the Portage Municipal Building.
Portage prepares for election
Portage City Clerk Marie Moe and Public Works Director Aaron Jahncke pull plastic chains through posts that were used to guide the February primary election voters through the polling station located in the basement of the Portage Municipal Building.
Testing Badger Books
Portage City Clerk Marie Moe talks about hypothetical voter situations after a question from election inspector Diana O'Neill, alongside Kevin O'Neill and election inspector Alan Boeck, during an open house in early February to test out the city's new Badger Books, electronic sign-in systems for voters on election day.
Electronic voting test
Margaret Rudolph, Portage, practices signing her name to a new electronic poll book during an open house in early February at Portage City Hall. The event was held to test the new Badger Books, first used for the Feb. 18 primary election.
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Maintenence worker John Van Hoosen installs a plexiglass barrier Aug. 11 at the Baraboo Civic Center in preparation for the next day's partisan primary election.
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City Clerk Brenda Zeman places a bottle of hand sanitizer at each poll station Aug. 10 at the Baraboo Civic Center in preparation for the next day's partisan primary election.
In-person election in a pandemic
Paul Kelly, a registered write-in for the city Police and Fire Commission, casts his ballot while wearing a mask made by his wife, Johanna, April 7 at the Baraboo Civic Center. Kelly said because of asthma and past bouts with pneumonia he has been staying at home over concerns for his health during the COVID-19 pandemic, and was only outside because of the election.
Voting in a mask
Tom Williams, of Baraboo, casts his vote with a mask covering his face April 7 at the Baraboo Civic Center.
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Mary Petri, left, and Steph Christensen organize absentee ballots from the April 7 election to be counted April 13 at the Baraboo Civic Center.
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City of Baraboo Clerk Brenda Zeman prepares to count absentee ballots six days after the April 7 election at the Baraboo Civic Center.
Elections inspector
Elections Inspector Tom Pollard discusses the ballot with Sharon and Bob Madland from their truck April 7 outside of the Baraboo Civic Center. Curbside voting, which is offered every election for anyone who requests it, was used more in the election than in the past. Sharon Madland the couple was undergoing voluntary quarantine for 14 days after returning Friday from Arizona and that they always vote.
Sanitizing voting booth
Scott Kaufman, a Baraboo Streets Department employee, sanitizes a voting booth after being used by a voter April 7 at the Baraboo Civic Center.
Keeping distance
Voters line up along yellow Xs along the floor April 7 at the Baraboo Civic Center to maintain social distancing.
Election distancing
Signs were set up telling voters to be mindful of their surroundings April 7 at the Baraboo Civic Center in anticipation for the spring primary, which may or may not move forward after an executive order from the governor postponing the election that legislative leaders have contested as unconstitutional.
City Clerk Brenda Zeman
Poll worker Sandra Jackson listens to City Clerk Brenda Zeman during a training session April 6 at the Baraboo Civic Center. An executive order from Gov. Tony Evers aimed to postpone the election, until June 9, but legislators successfully contested the order at the state Supreme Court.
Baraboo election rehearsal
Tom Barrix and Ann Burton practice social distancing while sitting at the same table April 6 during poll worker training at the Baraboo Civic Center.
Sign of times
A sign encourages social distancing roughly 6 feet from the counter as City Clerk Brenda Zeman explains an absentee ballot to an early voter in early April.
Baraboo City Clerk Brenda Zeman
City Clerk Brenda Zeman talks to poll workers about their roles during a training session in February at the Baraboo Civic Center in anticipation of today's spring primary election, the first to use electronic check-in systems called Badger Books.
Oath of office
Jason Kent takes the oath of office to serve as District 4, Ward 6 alderman as administered by City Clerk Brenda Zeman during a Baraboo Common Council meeting Nov. 26 at City Hall.
