Local voter turnout outpaces statewide activity – Post Bulletin

ROCHESTER-

Olmsted County

And

Rochester election results

Reviewed and approved Wednesday.

“Our voters definitely showed up,” Olmsted County Elections Director Amanda Kiefer told the county’s election board as it prepared to review the results of the Nov. 5 election.

91,500 votes were cast in the county and 7,896 voters were registered on Election Day, bringing the total number of registered voters in the county to approximately 113,000.

It achieved an estimated 84% voter turnout statewide; It beat the estimated statewide turnout of 76%, but fell short of the county’s two-decade high of 89% in 2020.

Approximately 37% of all ballots cast in the county were submitted as absentee ballots; This is the second highest number after 2020, when ballots were mailed to all registered voters in response to the pandemic. That year, 57% of votes were cast as absentee ballots by mail or other means available before Election Day.

State rules require all ballots received during Election Day to be counted, and Kiefer said the majority of ballots received in recent days were processed as polls began to close, causing a delay in submitting overall results to the state.

Luke Turner, Olmsted County’s deputy director of Property Records and Licensing, said studies are continuing to determine the best option to avoid similar delays in future elections.

Kiefer said he sees a difference in Olmsted County’s early voting options:

A record number of voters chose the direct voting option,

This allows a voter to submit an absentee ballot directly to a voting machine in the days leading up to Election Day. Changes in state regulations expanded the option this year.

The Minnesota Secretary of State’s office reports that among all absentee ballots, 36,466 applications came from Olmsted County this year, and 33,257 of the ballots were submitted.

The 91.2 percent return rate for absentee ballots in Olmsted County beats the statewide rate of 89.5 percent.

Voter turnout in the city of Rochester was 79.2%, with approximately 42% of votes cast through absentee voting.

The results confirmed Wednesday included:

• Olmsted County District 3: Gregg Wright, 5,148 votes (54.6%); April Sutor, 4,229 votes (44.9%); and 44 write-in votes.
• Olmsted County District 6: Bob Hopkins, 6,403 votes (59%); Tawonda Burks, 4,421 votes (40.7%); and 36 written votes
• Rochester City Council president: Randy Schubring, 26,980 votes (51.7%); Shaun Palmer, 24,937 votes (47.8%); and 232 write-in votes.
• Rochester District 2: Nick Miller, 4,858 votes (52.9%); Tripp Welch, 4,317 votes (46.9%); and 25 written votes
• Rochester District 4: Andy Friederichs, 3,297 votes (51.2%); Kelly Rae Kirkpatrick, 3,107 votes (48.3%); and 32 written votes
• Rochester District 6: Dan Doering, 3,288 votes (53.4%); Mark Schleusner, 3,828 votes (45.9%); and 48 written votes.

John Molseed / Message Bulletin