Hennepin Co. Reports Voter Turnout Of 84 Percent
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Election results show that Hennepin County had a high voter turnout of 84 percent, officials say.
Hennepin County issued a release saying results certified Tuesday showed that more than 610,000 turned out to vote in the county and that 11 percent of voters (72,000) voted absentee.
Which precinct had the highest turn out? Precinct 1 in Shorewood (94 percent).
In Minneapolis, Ward 7, Precinct 1C had the highest turnout (92 percent).
Rachel Smith, the county's elections manager, credits Minnesota's generally high voter turnout -- reported to be 76 percent this election -- to policies that encourage voting, such as same-day registration, the right to be absent from work to vote, the right to serve as an election judge without losing pay, and the right to assistance.
Many precincts in the following cities had voter turnouts of more than 90 percent: Bloomington, Brooklyn Park, Edina, Golden Valley, Greenwood, Minnetonka, Minnetrista, Plymouth and St. Louis Park.
Only 59 of the county's 401 precincts had less than an 80 percent turnout, officials said.
Smith said 5,000 election judges worked throughout the county to make the election a success.
"These election judges are essentially volunteers – they work long hours and put in an incredible amount of effort to make this voting process happen," she said. "Together with the collaboration of the cities and county, this is an enormous effort to make sure that every vote counts."
