The process for determining which candidates will carry the banner of Minnesota’s political parties starts in January with neighborhood precinct caucuses. Those are meetings of local residents who identify with the party, held for a couple of hours one evening to discuss issues and candidates and to elect those to represent them at the next level of party meetings, which culminate in a state convention. At the state convention, those elected delegates decide which candidates for various offices, from state constitutional officers to those seeking Congressional and Senate seats, will receive the endorsement and money of that particular party.
The party endorsements are made by the most active of party activists. In Minnesota, the primary election takes a broader approach. On August 11, registered voters in the primary will make the final decision on which candidates advance to the November general election ballot for their party.
Although you may register to vote right up to and including election day, the deadline for pre-registering is July 21. You may register online or verify the status of your current registration at MNVotes.org. Both Lake and Cook County, where the Auditor’s offices oversee elections, have voter information on their websites. If you’re already registered to vote, or get registered by July 21, you’ll effectively get the fast lane at your polling place. Your name is already in the official poll book, so you just walk in, sign your name, and get your ballot. You won’t need to scramble for proof of residence at the door—like a current utility bill, tax statement, or a specific combination of IDs. Those are only required if you wait to register on election day.
The August 13, 2024, Minnesota State Primary was a quiet, low-turnout election. Voter turnout in both Cook and Lake counties mirrored a broader statewide trend in which voting was driven almost entirely by the top-of-the-ticket U.S. Senate primary. In Cook County, 553 ballots were cast, a voter turnout of 12.3%. In Lake County, 1,293 ballots were cast, showing a turnout of 15.2%.
Clearly, for a candidate to win the right to carry their chosen party’s label in the general election, they need to become well-known and popular among a relatively small number of registered voters. When you vote only in November, you are choosing between Option A and Option B. Voting in the primary is when you actually get to decide what Option A and Option B look like.
In Minnesota, voters do not declare a party affiliation when they register. But voting on primary day is different. The ballot is divided along Republican and Democratic Farmer-Labor (DFL) lines. You won’t need to publicly declare your affiliation, but when you mark your ballot, you must choose which party ballot you use. If you vote Republican for one office and DFL for another, the tabulator will fail to count any of your partisan votes. However, any votes cast in the non-partisan section will still be safely counted.
Only the voters in Cook County Commission District 1 will see a non-partisan section on their ballots. Three people have filed to run for commissioner, and the two top vote-getters in the primary will advance to the November ballot. Deb White, the incumbent, is being challenged by Christine Childs of Grand Portage and Matt Kelm of Hovland.
In a low-turnout primary, a swing of just a few dozen votes in a tight precinct can alter the course of an entire legislative or county race.
Primary election voter turnout is chronically low. Voters who show up tend to be the most partisan or highly organized interest groups. Moderate or pragmatic candidates are often weeded out early because the public wasn’t paying attention yet.
Candidate filing for offices such as school boards, hospital boards, and city/township offices runs from July 14 to July 28. Check with your county auditor’s office for details if you’re interested in running for office. It’s a great opportunity to give back to your community. It’s not too early to make sure you are registered to vote. Go to MNVotes.org; it only takes a minute. It may be a cliché to say that every vote matters, but it is true, especially in the primaries.
Over the next few weeks, look for the Northshore Journal reports on the candidates and issues that may impact you.
