AP Decision Notes: What to expect in Minnesota on Election Day

WASHINGTON AP The two-term mayor of Minneapolis who led the city during the murder of George Floyd is seeking reelection Tuesday against more than a dozen challengers including a democratic socialist advocating for a change to the status quo Beyond the mayoral race voters will fill two vacancies in state Senate districts one seat previously held by a Democrat who resigned after a burglary conviction the other by a Republican who died in office Democrats in the present hold a one-seat majority in the chamber Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey a Democrat is one of candidates on the ballot His best-funded and highest-profile challenger is state Sen Omar Fateh who describes himself as a democratic socialist Minneapolis implemented ranked choice voting in allowing voters to choose up to three candidates in order of preference on their ballot If no candidate receives a majority of first-choice votes the candidates with the weakest performance are dropped including the candidate with the lowest number of first-choice rankings and those with no mathematical path to win The votes from those eliminated candidates are reallocated to voters next-highest choices That process continues until a candidate receives of the vote Related A heated mayoral forum enlivens St Paul s poll season Frey has been the top benefit in the race and has encouragement from a political action committee that is funding digital ads criticizing Fateh Frey also has backing from Gov Tim Walz and Sen Amy Klobuchar Fateh has framed his campaign as a fight against the status quo and solicited his supporters to rank DeWayne Davis and Jazz Hampton as their two other top choices All three are running as Democrats Fateh has been endorsed by Rep Ilhan Omar who represents Minneapolis in Congress Fateh the son of Somali immigrants could make inroads with the city s sizable Somali American population in neighborhoods like Cedar-Riverside His Senate district includes the heart of the city s Somali American society Every mayoral race since has gone to at least a second round of ranked-voting In Frey won after two rounds of tabulation in a reelection race that put a spotlight on his leadership after Floyd s killing In when Frey ousted an incumbent it took six rounds of tabulation In it took rounds to declare Betsy Hodges the winner of the mayoral race State senate vacancies District is vacant after its former senator Democrat Nicole Mitchell resigned She was convicted of burglary for current into her estranged stepmother s Detroit Lakes home The Democratic nominee state Rep Amanda Hemmingsen-Jaeger won the nomination with of the vote The Republican nominee is Dwight Dorau who ran unopposed in the primary Then-Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris carried the district with about of the vote in and Mitchell last won with of the vote The greater part of the suburban district falls in Washington County with a small portion stretching southward into Ramsey County In Minnesota each state Senate district is divided into two state House districts and Hemmingsen-Jaeger represents half of District in the state House Hemmingsen-Jaeger s House district includes parts of Maplewood and Woodbury She won her seat in and won her reelection with about of the vote State Sen Bruce Anderson a Republican who was first elected to the Legislature in died in July prompting a special poll Greater part of District falls into Wright County with smaller slices of the district stretching into Meeker and Hennepin counties Related As Minneapolis mayoral candidates edge for strategy points the battle for likeability looms large The Republican nominee Michael Holmstrom Jr won the August primary with of the vote He s campaigned as a Buffalo business owner with a background in Republican activism including opposition to abortion He faces Democrat Louis McNutt who ran unopposed in the primary Past results indicate that the district favors Republicans Anderson won his last several reelection campaigns with upwards of of the vote and Republican Donald Trump carried the district in with about Here s a look at what to expect on Tuesday How late are polls open Polls close at p m local time What s on the ballot The AP will provide vote results and declare winners in the Minneapolis mayoral race and in the two state Senate special elections Municipal elections will be held for local offices across the state such as the Minneapolis City Council St Paul mayor and Duluth School Board but those contests will not be included in AP s vote tabulation Who gets to vote Any eligible voter in Minneapolis may participate in the mayoral general poll Eligible voters in state Senate districts and may participate in the special elections in their district What do turnout and advance vote look like As of June there were about registered voters in Minneapolis In the mayoral electoral process turnout was about of registered voters About of ballots in that balloting were cast before Referendum Day As of Oct a total of ballots had been cast in Minneapolis before Vote Day Both state Senate Districts and had about registered voters as of June About of registered voters in District voted in the general poll with about of those voters casting ballots early or by absentee In District turnout in was about of registered voters with about of voters casting ballots early or by absentee How long does vote counting usually take In the presidential polling the AP first released results in Hennepin County at p m ET or minutes after polls closed The electoral process night tabulation ended at a m ET with more than of total votes counted In the general referendum the AP first revealed results in state Senate District at p m ET and in District at p m ET Vote tabulation in District stopped for the night at a m ET with about of total votes counted In District the polling night vote tabulation stopped at a m ET with nearly of the vote counted Are we there yet As of Tuesday there will be days until the midterm elections and days until the general balloting Associated Press writer Robert Yoon contributed to this description Follow the AP s coverage of the electoral contest at https apnews com projects election-results- The post AP Decision Notes What to expect in Minnesota on Ballot Day appeared first on MinnPost