Minneapolis Voters Feel 'A Bigger Burden' On Election Day 2021

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Voters across Minnesota Tuesday are electing city officials, sometimes deciding school levies and weighing in on controversial questions.

Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon said everything is "so far, so good" on Election Day.

"I think there's a pretty brisk traffic," he said. "All the ingredients are there for a higher than normal turnout. We'll see. There's a lot of passion, there's a lot of energy. And the election judges report that they're sort of surprised with the morning traffic so far."

MORE: WCCO's Full 2021 Election Coverage

Voters in Minneapolis woke up early to get to the polls when they opened at 7 a.m.

The race for mayor is what many have their eyes on this election. Seventeen candidates are running, including incumbent Mayor Jacob Frey.

Besides the mayoral race, the amendment over the future of policing is getting a lot of attention. Voters will decide to keep the Minneapolis Police Department intact or reimagine it as a Department of Public Safety with mental health experts and social workers on staff.

This is an issue garnering national attention, which voters told WCCO has added pressure.

"It just feels like a bigger burden, a bigger responsibility," Abra Coleman, a voter in northeast Minneapolis, said. "There have been so many things that have happened, so it's hard to metabolize everything and keep it straight and hope for the best, because things don't feel that hopeful, but you got to keep it up."

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"Minnesota has, and Minneapolis in particular, have historically been early voters and have killer turnouts in the polls. We've seen this time and time again," south Minneapolis voter Todd O'Dowd said. "It just makes me have pride in this city that we actually care enough that we will march to the polls."

Polls close at 8 p.m. The city clerk said results will likely start coming in around 9:30 or 10 p.m.

The amendment questions will be fast results since they're simple yes or no answers on the ballot. The mayoral results may take a day or two with re-tabulations since it is ranked choice voting on the ballot.