Voting was so intense during the August primary that patches of St. Louis County were running out of ballots. Polling places in Duluth, Eveleth, Hibbing and elsewhere were affected.
That was despite the county adding more ballots to the polls in anticipation of a busy primary, St. Louis County Auditor-Treasurer Donald Dicklich said.
"We took what we felt we needed and added 30 percent to it," he said. "It still wasn't enough."
It presages an even busier general election on Nov. 6.
"It was higher than we expected," Dicklich said, "and if the trend continues, we'll certainly have a lot more voters in the general."
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The state's early voting period begins Friday - 46 days from election day and the legal day voters can begin to request and turn in absentee ballots.
In the primary, more than 3,600 St. Louis County voters turned in absentee ballots, including 1,251 from Duluth. Voters statewide are using absentee ballots and other early voting mechanisms with greater frequency. Direct balloting, for instance, allows people to vote at a polling place for seven days prior to election day. In St. Louis County, those polling places are set up at the Duluth and Virginia district courthouses and City Hall in Duluth.
Absentee ballots can be requested online at the Minnesota Secretary of State's Office website. Voters can turn in absentee ballots in person to the county auditor's office or mail their absentee ballots, which are required to be received by election day.
During the primary, record turnout in the county saw 33.7 percent of registered voters arrive at the polls or vote absentee. Some 42,000 of an estimated 122,000 registered voters took part in the primary.
In anticipation of a busy election year, Dicklich said the county hired two full-time temporary employees last spring to work in the auditor's office. They'll work through the general election.
Election officials in polling places that ran out of ballots were able to copy ballots on site and hand count the results following the close of polls.
Asked if the county can avoid running out of ballots again, Dicklich said it depends. There are factors to consider, including cost, he said. Plus, not all ballots are the same from place to place depending on which local elections appear on the ballots, he said.
"We can't order an endless amount," Dicklich concluded. "We'll have to use our best judgment."
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Online
To request an absentee ballot, visit mnvotes.sos.state.mn.us
