Voters take to the polls in 21st Assembly District special election

SOUTH MILWAUKEE/OAK CREEK/FRANKLIN (WITI) -- It was Election Day in Wisconsin on Tuesday, November 19th, with voters headed to the polls for one primary and two special elections.

A special election was held for the vacant Assembly seat that was held for 10 years by Rep. Mark Honadel.

Two women, neither of whom have held state office before, are running against each other for the vacant seat.

Assembly District 21 includes South Milwaukee, Oak Creek and parts of Franklin -- and the candidates on the ballot are newcomers -- Elizabeth Coppola on the Democratic side, and Jessie Rodriguez for the Republican side.

The seat was originally won by Rep. Honadel -- also via special election.

The city of Oak Creek projects nearly 2,000 will cast their ballot, accounting for only about 10% of all registered voters in the city.

"When you go and sign in you kind of get a good idea of where you are in terms of numbers and it's a little disappointing that more people don't come out," one voter told FOX6 news.

In South Milwaukee, the city clerk projected about 1,200 would fill out ballots on Tuesday.

Because the turnout is expected to be low Tuesday, every vote becomes more valuable in terms of determining who goes to Madison.

Even though district lines have changed over the years, the Wisconsin Blue Book archives show a woman has never represented the 21st Assembly District.

The winner Tuesday was Jessie Rodriguez. With all precincts reporting, Rodriguez edged out Coppola 56% to 44%.