It’s all over … almost, that is.

Voters go to the polls today to cast ballots in the 2008 State General Election, ending over a year of attack ads, debates and forums, junk mail and telephone calls.

Election officials in the city of Austin and Mower County are predicting a 90 percent turnout.

If that occurs, a record 19,700 voters (21,889 registered as of Oct. 27) will cast ballots when Election Day is done.

Polls opened at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m.

At stake: federal offices, starting with president and vice president candidates (seven duos in all), and including five U.S. Senate candidates and three U.S. House of Representatives candidates.

Also on the ballot are two state representative hopefuls and a constitutional amendment to designate three-eighths of one percent of taxable sales to clean water, wildlife, cultural heritage and natural areas.

By Minnesota law, not voting “yes” or “no” for a constitutional amendment is considered a “no” vote when the ballots are counted.

There are also Mower County offices, including Soil and Water Conservation District commissioners and (outside the Austin city limits) two Mower County Commissioner Districts I and 2.

City of Austin voters will also elect a mayor and four council members.

In addition, there are three Austin Utilities Board of Commissioner candidates running for re-election.

Mower County voters will also cast ballots for Minnesota Supreme Court and Minnesota Court of Appeals justice candidates and Third Judicial District hopefuls.

Both sitting judges, Donald Rysavy and Fred Wellmann are seeking re-election.

There’s more on

ballots

Voters in northern Mower County, who live within the Blooming Prairie Independent School District, will decide on an operating levy school referendum.

This year, 52 Minnesota school districts are asking voters’ approval of operating levies: 42 will be decided Election Day.

Thirteen of 36 Minnesota school districts will decide capital improvement bond referendums.

Elsewhere, school districts will decide school board elections and municipalities will vote on mayor and city council candidates.

Four Mower County townships — Lodi, Bennington, Grand Meadow and Sargeant — are breaking from tradition and moving their township board elections from March to November this year in Mower County.

Turnout predictions

Mower County Auditor-Treasurer Doug Groh and Austin city clerk-recorder Lucy Johnson have been preparing for this day, perhaps since the last presidential election in 2004.

Johnson is predicting a 90 percent turnout in the city. In 2004, the turnout was 84.19 percent, she recalled.

Johnson has experience on her side: She started working for the Mower County Auditor in 1966, when paper ballots were used and hand-counted.

Since 1978, she has worked for the city.

The advent of the electronic voting machine with optical scan counting capabilities in 1994 has been the most significant change in elections she has seen in her career.

Johnson said both the equipment and the people at the city’s six voting precincts are “good to go.”

The unsung heroes today will be the election judges at the six precincts: 16 at the largest (Banfield Elementary School) and between 11 and 13 at each of the other five precincts.

Groh has seen an increase in absentee voting in the 2008 election. “The number of accepted absentee ballots has been significantly higher than other years,” Groh said Monday afternoon.

More absentee votes tallied

There were 503 absentee ballots entered in September, an incredible 1,423 in October and another 122 in the first days of November.

For the year, 2,455 absentee ballots were entered and 1,888 accepted. Only 23 absentee ballots have been rejected thus far.

No provisional ballots have been handed out in Mower County.

“I think the turnout will be 85 percent,” Groh said. “With the weather sunny and warm, I’m sure it could be higher than that and, maybe, close to 90 percent.”

There are 39 voting precincts in Mower County, including Austin’s six.

A minimum of three election judges must staff each voting precinct.

School districts that cross county boarders into Mower County will have school board members on some ballots.

Lyle, Grand Meadow, Southland and Hayfield will elect school board directors.

“About 99” of the total absentee ballots have come from overseas’ voters, including U.S. military personnel, according to Groh.

Like the city’s Johnson, Groh said the switch-over to electronic voting machines with optical scanning (now four years old in Mower County) was the most significant change in voting. “A long time ago, when we had paper ballots, we had gray, yellow, pink and white ballots and then we went to just one ballot with everything, all three races, on the same ballot instead of many,” he said.

Receiving the Mower County Board’s designation for an absentee ballot board will also increase the efficiency of today’s election, according to Groh, by allowing election judges three specific reasons for rejecting absentee ballots at an individual voting precinct.

“Mower County has very fee absentee ballots that have been rejected to date,” Groh said. “We sent out 2,100 absentee ballots. I’m aware of only four or five rejections.”

To achieve that high rate of acceptance among those who request absentee ballots, the Auditor-Treasurer’s office staff makes personal calls — prior to Election Day — to tell people if they have failed to sign or otherwise properly complete their absentee ballots correctly.

“That has helped minimize the number of rejections considerably,” he said.

Where are most of the absentee votes coming? “Ward I Precinct 2,” Groh said. “They have a county commissioner race in that precinct, so that may have increased interest.”

It’s a lot of work, but important work to be sure, preparing for what could be a record-setting presidential election both in the city, the largest population center in Mower County, and throughout the county.

Groh found one event that stood out leading up to today’s voting.

“Charley Painter voted,” he said. “We had an individual, who is 103, vote this year.”

Painter is a retired agricultural educator.

Both Johnson and Groh said voters need to observe a simple checklist at the polls:

Know where your polling place is in advance.

Confirm your voter registration before heading to the polls.

Know your ballot in advance.

Bring identification with you where necessary.

Try voting during non-peak hours or consider alternative means of voting.

Ask to vote a provisional ballot if you are not allowed to vote a regular ballot. For local, national and state results, visit www.austindailyherald.com. Results will be updated every half-hour on the Web.