Wisconsin’s spring primary election is coming up on Tuesday, Feb. 21. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Education takes front stage on this ballot as the incumbent State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Tony Evers, faces two challengers, former Beloit Superintendent Lowell Holtz and former Dodgeville district administrator John Humphries.

With school vouchers, public school funding, and teaching standards making headlines in both state and national news, this election will have major repercussions for Wisconsin’s education system over the next few years.

In Madison, two School Board positions are up for election as well. The open seats have three candidates vying for each of them, a departure from the six of the last seven School Board elections where candidates ran unopposed. Anyone living within Madison Metropolitan School District (MMSD) is eligible to vote for these seats.

Seat 6, which serves Allis, Lincoln, Mendota, Midvale, and Orchard Ridge Elementary Schools, as well as Jefferson and Sherman Middle Schools, does not have an incumbent candidate as Michael Flores decided not to seek a second term. The candidates are Cris Carusi, Ali Muldrow, and Kate Toews, all of whom currently have children attending Madison schools and spoke passionately about their vision for the future of MMSD at a candidate forum with 150 audience members on Feb. 7.

Seat 7 incumbent Ed Hughes seeks a fourth term on the School Board, facing challengers Matt Andrzejewski and Nicki Vander Meulen. This seat serves Gompers, Lapham, Marquette, Nuestro Mundo, Olson, and Shorewood Elementary Schools as well as Spring Harbor Middle School. The current budget and initiatives such as “Personal Pathways” that were generated by the MMSD School Board are topics of contention for this seat. Challengers critiqued Hughes for his role in initiatives that have not provided results.

Voters must provide a valid ID to vote in this election. A free ID can be acquired through the State Department of Motor Vehicles if it is needed in order to vote.

Voter registration can be done at the polls with a valid ID and proof of address provided by a utility bill or other piece of mail.

Dane County voter turnout in the spring primary typically hovers around 10 percent. The 2016 spring primary, however, had 21 percent turnout in Dane County, most likely due to a controversial Supreme Court race between Judge Rebecca Bradley and Judge JoAnne Kloppenburg.

Visit myvote.wi.gov for more information on polling locations, voter registration, and the candidates.