Ahead of midterm elections approaching in November, there’s indication that this season would have a much more significant turnout.

Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon visited Mower County Auditor/Treasurer Steve Reinartz as part of his annual visits to all 87 counties statewide. From their discussions, Simon shared updates regarding new election polling equipment and voter turnout during the primary elections.

“We had a very good discussion,” Simon said over the phone Wednesday. “The primary election is a good dress rehearsal to test and to work out any kinks or problems. From the sounds of it, that went well in Mower County, and voter turnout was up substantially. That’s a good sign for the general election this November.”

Voter registration numbers are often different from what the actual voting numbers are, mostly because some registered, but don’t make it out to the polls. However, Simon shared that Minnesota’s turnout had improved dramatically since the 2016 election.

“One of the things we were proud of was that we got back to being number one in voter turnout,” Simon expressed. “We had been number one in the past, and it started to sink a little bit in recent years. After the 2014 election, we were sixth in the country. We challenged Minnesota and got back up in 2016. We want to stay that way in 2018.”

Last week, the Minnesota Secretary of State’s Office released data regarding absentee ballots. Since absentee voting started on Sept. 21, more than 155,000 absentee ballots were requested, according to public data. Already 42,552 ballots were accepted by election officials. The rate of absentee ballot requests saw an increase of 204 percent over the same time in 2014 (using the last statewide non-presidential election).

The rate of accepted ballots increased by 235 percent over the same time in 2014.

“People are fired up to vote and they’re fired up to vote early,” Simon said. “We won’t know until after Nov. 6 exactly by how much, but I would say right now that signs point to yes that there may be a very high general election turnout. The numbers point to that.”

What may have potentially contributed to the increased voter registration was the political atmosphere and heightened awareness, according to Simon.

“People are fired up to vote across the political spectrum,” he said. “Something is going on that there is a greater interest and greater attention and real eagerness to register and to vote.”

Election security

With conversations reaching the national stage regarding allegations of hacking and cyber security and safeguarding the democratic process, Simon said that those issues have continued to spark conversations in Minnesota and area counties as well.

Those conversations surrounding election security was mentioned during Simon’s visit with Reinartz, he shared.

“We’re on the same page about that,” Simon said. “We need to continue to devote resources to cybersecurity. It’s a big deal whether it involves foreign governments or domestically. We both agreed to continue to spend the time, effort and money in this area to make sure our elections are secure. We’re all moving in the right direction. We can’t let our guard down.”