The race for the Minn. Supreme Court
Associate Justice Natalie Hudson and Michelle MacDonald were the top vote-getters in Tuesday's primary race for a seat on the Minnesota Supreme Court.
Hudson and MacDonald, who ran an unsuccessful bid for the state's highest court in 2014, beat out Craig Foss, who says he is unemployed.
Appointed by Gov. Mark Dayton, Hudson is the only candidate with experience as an elected judge. Minnesota's judicial elections are nonpartisan.
Hudson and McDonald will face off in November.
Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan race for school board
Sachin Isaacs of Burnsville captured a seat on the Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan school board in a special election Tuesday after a longtime school board member resigned.
Seven candidates were running to replace Rob Duchscher, who resigned in March because he moved outside the district. The term runs until Jan. 6, 2020.
Isaacs had won almost 29 percent of the vote (1,252) with 34 of 61 precincts reporting at press time. The other candidates were Craig Angrimson of Apple Valley, Michael Atherley of Rosemount, Wendy Brekken of Inver Grove Heights, Christopher Dahling of Rosemount, John Millea of Rosemount and Rachel Wetzsteon of Lakeville.
District 196 is Minnesota's fourth-largest school district, with 27,000 students.
Walk your dog, vote in the primary
Election judges in a North Loop precinct in Minneapolis decided to allow voters to bring their dogs into the polling place.
Conrad Zbikowski, an election judge, said they had at least two voters with small dogs on leashes. The dogs did not bark and were well-behaved, he said.
Judges were not sure pets were within the rules, but Zbikowski and the other judges assumed the rules were similar to children in strollers. They reviewed the guidelines and saw nothing about excluding dogs.
"We want to make sure the polling place is welcoming to all Minneapolis residents," Zbikowski said. "We have also had voters bring along future voters. Parents really appreciate being able to show kids how to vote."
Turnout results expected Wednesday
Minnesota election officials said they were not expected to have election turnout results by the end of Tuesday's primary.
Ryan Furlong, spokesman for the Minnesota secretary of state, said that the state would eventually have a preliminary turnout total, but that it probably won't be until Wednesday once the counties have entered all of their data.
In 2012, only about 9 percent of eligible voters showed up. That compares to approximately 16 percent who turned out in the primary in 2010, the first year Minnesota held its primary in August rather than September.
In 2004, just 9 percent of eligible voters showed up for the primary, the lowest percentage in recent history.
Election officials in Minneapolis' Cedar-Riverside neighborhood said a spike in absentee voting may have cut into the number of voters who showed up at the polls on primary day.
"The campaigns have really encouraged folks to vote early, and I think they listened," said Paul Landskroener, head election judge at the Seward Tower East polling place.
Staff reports
