It's nearly impossible these days to get 100% of everyone to do something especially in an election year.But Oak Creek voters were pretty close.In this Lighthouse report, Chief Political Reporter Charles Benson spoke with voters Wendy and Alex about the city's remarkable turnout and explored why it happened.It was kind of a long line, stretching outside the building. It kind of threw me off a little bit, said Alex Karbulka.He hung in there to register to vote at the polls and cast his first-ever ballot.I had to just do a bunch of stuff. I had to fill out where Im from, my name, and all that interesting stuff, said Karbulka, But it was okay. It was worth it.He was among 2,300 voters who registered on Election Day.Its kind of like a Super Bowl for us, and I just think it was a great success story, said Oak Creek City Clerk Catherine Roeske.This was her 40th election. Roeske had a feeling it was going to be a big day, with reports from her team of long lines and no lull.I knew throughout the day that we were going to have an extraordinary number, she said.Watch: 'A great success story.' Oak Creek hits record 2024 voter turnout 'A great success story.' Oak Creek hits record 2024 voter turnoutFifty-four percent of Oak Creek voted early absentee.As turnout updates kept rolling and the polls finally closed, Roeske was hearing a consistent narrative from poll workers.They started telling me stories about how incredibly busy they were. And I knew then, too, that we were having some sort of record turnout.Previous presidential turnouts were as high as 91.5% in 2020.Statewide turnout was estimated at 76%. Milwaukee County was about 89% this year. Oak Creek hit 98%.It was probably around twelve or one oclock the next day when we realized what we had accomplished, recalls Roeske, the moment she thought it was a record turnout.But she admits to doing a double-take.I said, That cant be right. 98.28%. I started flipping through our old records. And yeah, absolutely.She was right.Oak Creek has seen 3,500 more votes since 2012 as the population here grows.Both my husband and I decided to go in early because we were afraid it was going to be really busy, said Wendy Seppi.She has seen the growth in a city she has called home for 36 years a community that wants a voice and believes in voting.I wasnt surprised. I mean, I guess we were really high percentage that voted, but people take an interest, they care, said Seppi.A record turnout in Oak Creek and in a battleground state that had a record 3.4 million voters.Its about time to watch on your time. Stream local news and weather 24/7 by searching for TMJ4 on your device.Available for download on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and more.Report a typo or error