Southern Minnesota officials prepare for upcoming elections

NORTH MANKATO, Minn. (KEYC) - On Aug. 9, Minnesotans will have the opportunity to make their voices heard from the voting booth, but there are a number of things to look out for.

First: the upcoming election is several elections in one.

Voters will choose who will be on the November ballot, as well as who will fill the seat of the late Rep. Jim Hagedorn in Minnesota’s First Congressional District for the rest of the year.

“So I describe Blue Earth County’s ballot as really being three different types of ballots. So our voters who are in Mankato will have the partisan primary ballot on the front, the special election on the back, and in Mankato, they’ll also be narrowing down the pool of candidates for city mayor,” Blue Earth County Elections Director Michael Stalberger said.

Different counties and districts can have slightly different ballots. For example, Mankato residents can vote in a primary for mayoral candidates, and Nicollet County residents near Le Sueur can vote on a school referendum for a new elementary school.

This will also be the first election under the new districting guidelines, so voters should look out for any changes to their ballots or polling places.

Election officials said that they’re prepared to answer questions and give assistance to voters come election day.

“This is kind of a unique primary this year. So we have ensured that our election judges are fully trained on the ballot and can give really good instructions to voters as they come in when they vote in person. As well as you can go out to the Secretary of State’s website and see your sample ballot out there,” Nicollet County Election Director Jaci Kopet said.

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