Record Numbers For Early In-Person Voting In Dakota County
MINNESOTA (WCCO) -- Early voter turnout continues to bring in record numbers across the metro.
Lines were out the doors Saturday afternoon at Burnsville and Eagan City Halls.
In Burnsville, Deputy City Clerk Megan Hamilton says voter turnout in Burnsville is typically pretty strong, but she's seeing a lot more early voters this election than she did in 2016.
"It is definitely busier this year," said Hamilton, "We're seeing numbers of about 600-700 early numbers each day this week, which is phenomenal."
Despite a long line, voters were relieved to get the task over and done with.
"We had conversations in the line and just kind of laughed and just made good of it," said Marcelle Davis-Carter, a Burnsville voter.
For Burnsville voter Peder Jacobsen, this election was too important for him to miss out.
"I remember one year I got caught up at work with an emergency and the polls were closed by the time I got out, and it's important enough this year that I wanted to be absolutely certain that I was able to make it to the polls," said Jacobsen.
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In Eagan, over half of the city's registered voters have already early voted. The city clerk says they're seeing on average 800-1,000 people to show up here at city hall each day to early vote.
"I was kind of sweating, man am I going to get in and vote by Tuesday, but I'm glad city hall is open on the weekends," said Minh Nguyen, who voted Saturday in Dakota County with his mom Beatrice.
They are immigrants from Vietnam, who are now proud Americans.
"I think participating in every election is important for my family since we got our citizenships in 2012, we have not missed any elections," said Nguyen.
A diverse turnout in Dakota County was as obvious as the long lines on Saturday.
"I love to see all the diversity of people that are out here casting their vote that was awesome," said Jacobsen.
Nearly 2 million Minnesotans requested an absentee ballot. More than 1.5 million of those ballots have already been returned successfully. That means more than 388,000 absentee ballots are still out there or in transit.
Dakota County has three service centers available as polling locations:
- Administration Center: Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.–4:30 p.m.
- Western Service Center: Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.–4:30 p.m.
- Northern Service Center: Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.–4:30 p.m.
Eagan is also offering curbside voting at their City Hall. If you're interested, call (651) 675-5000.
More info at: https://cityofeagan.com/elections
More info on Burnsville polling hours and locations: https://www.burnsvillemn.gov/629/Elections
