“I ______ solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will perform the duties of election judge according to law and the best of my ability and will diligently endeavor to prevent fraud, deceit, and abuse in conducting this election. I will perform my duties in a fair and impartial manner and not attempt to create an advantage for my party or for any candidate.”

An oath each election judge shall repeat and sign a form regarding before assuming the duties of the office, per MN statute 204B.24 ELECTION JUDGES; OATH. The oath shall be attached to the summary statement of the election returns of that precinct. If there is no individual present who is authorized to administer oaths, the election judges may administer the oath to each other.

Each and every judge at every polling location across the state utter these words before they are allowed to work as an election official. They must sign a document with the same words, and they take these words quite seriously. Once the words are spoken, what actual safeguards are put in place to prevent fraud? Lead judges have to verify information every hour, make sure the numbers at the tables match the number on the ballot counting machine.

The numbers referred too are easy to explain, but first, the process of voting, in person, at the polls, in MN.

As a voter walks into the polls, they are greeted by an election official to verify they are at the right poll. Once that is confirmed, they are directed to the next step, the check in table. Here, an official asks if you are already registered to vote, and if you are, they get your first and last name and enter it into the ‘Poll Pad’, an iPad setup with polling software. The software then checks the database to verify if you had already voted via an absentee ballot or earlier that day. If you had voted absentee and that ballot was accepted, it clearly shows the official. There were even some that tested the process, they voted early but still showed up to verify their one vote is protected and it’s all they get. They were pleasantly surprised to see the system works, at least in Minnesota. Election Results

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When the information is verified in the poll pad, a receipt prints out that the voter must sign. The official files the receipt and directs the voter to the table to get their ballot. The ballot official gives the voter directions on how to fill it out, then directs them to one of the empty booths. Once done, the voter brings their completed ballot to the counting machine where they insert it to be counted. Once the machine dings, the voter can grab their sticker and head home. Normally, the process takes about 10 minutes.

If the voter is not registered, the process is only slightly different at the poll pad table. A new registration adds a couple minutes at most. The official asks for the new voter’s ID. The ID is placed into a holder that allows the poll pad to scan the ID an auto-populate the fields on the registration. The official verifies the information with both the ID and the new voter. Once verified that it is entered correctly, the process is the same, a receipt prints, voter signs it and is directed to the ballot table. Of course, there are enough volunteers to assist voters if they run into questions during the process.

The advantage of the poll pads is obvious from the start. They connect to a live database to verify information and make sure the voter has not already voted. They also keep track of how many voters total have checked in on that particular pad as well as how many new voters registered. That brings us back to what does a head election judge need to verify every hour?

The head judge has to tally all the total voters from each poll pad and compare the total number there with the total number of ballots put into the counting machine. They also have to make sure they have a physical paper receipt for each voter. All three numbers must match, the counted signed slips, total number of voters on the poll pads and the number of ballots counted in the machine. If there is any discrepancy, they need to correct it right then and there.

With the 2020 election over locally, there are a lot of numbers to go over. The general feel of the polls around the area was a very solid turnout. Minnesota is typically in the 85% or better for voter turnout in Presidential elections, this one was clearly set to be better. Lines were long to start the day, but quickly evened out. Some social media posts mentioned longer lines in the am, but most talked about how quick and easy it was to get in.

Here are some of the comments from Facebook about the election. Thank you to those that shared a quick response with us.

Cathie R said, “Very smooth. I requested an absentee ballot early (in the summer with the primary) received it as soon as they were released. I brought it to the County Center in Stillwater in early October. There were several volunteers right in the doorway and no line. I filled it out there and submitted. Quick and easy!”

Gayle J, “I waited till Tuesday because I was somewhat undecided till then. Voted at Park Highschool after 9:30 am. Quick very little line the registration process worked great I was worried they would have trouble finding us in the tablet system because it has taken awhile early voting because of our common last name. But zero problem and really fast. I was generally really impressed with the system as I have been with every Minnesota election I have witnessed.”

Lisa J, “My ballot got wet from the table being sanitized and not fully dry, so I needed a new ballot. I thought they were extremely cautious with the COVID protocols and I was pleased.”

Jess R, “They had it down to a science at the district service center. It was great.”

Terry F, “I voted on election day at Park High School and it went smooth. The only long line was the one to put your ballet in the machine to be counted.”

Beth W, “Voted at the Armory Tuesday morning. Had to wait in line about 20 minutes but it went smoothly. They did a great job of sanitizing.”

Tim M, “We were shocked no Identification was required…”

Lindsay J, “I voted at New Life a Academy in Woodbury, my husband and I voted at 930am. There was no line. I brought my ID in with me. My husband checked in first and then I was feeding my daughter and the other guy checked me in according to what my husband said. I gave him first 3 of first name and last name. I then grabbed my ID to give him and was told he doesn’t need it. After that he showed me my information which included address, name and date of birth. I said yep that’s right and he printer a paper for me to sign then handed me a paper to give the ballot lady. Very casual. My husband voted in the privacy box and I sat at the table.”

Lene W, “I voted early in the morning, at the District Learning Center. Waited in line for 30 min. As some has said, I went to show my ID and was told that it wasn’t required.”

Most comments made show just how quick and smooth the process can be at the right times of the day. Voter ID is still something that continues to be discussed and absentee voting was up significantly. Everyone that voted early, technically voted via the absentee system. Previously, to vote absentee, you were required to have a valid reason to do so, 2020 saw that change happen fairly quickly.

Results How did the candidates do? First, where did we get the numbers? The Minnesota Secretary of State website. A quick google search of “MN election results” give you the full, long site. For this story, total voters and votes for the state level races on up include Cottage Grove, Newport and St. Paul Park. The SoS website does list total voters registered before 7 am on election day. This number does not change and will not reflect the number of first-time voters that register at the polls. Cottage Grove had roughly 81.3% of the total registered voters prior to 7am, St. Paul Park is 11% and Newport 7.7%.

We did reach out to Washington County for additional statistics on voter registration and turn out, those requests for information were not answered as of Monday. Please note, due to rounding, some percentage totals may be off by .01%. Presidential Race Donald Tump / Mike Pence – R: 12,521 44.64% Joe Biden / Kamala Harris – D: 14,656 52.48% Other: 749 2.68% US Senate Jason Lewis – R: 9,957 39.19% Tina Smith – D: 13,136 51.7% Other: 2,314 9.11% US House District 2 Tyler Kistner – R: 11,010 44.02% Angie Craid – D: 12,200 48.78% Other: 1,801 7.20% District 4 Gene Rechtzigel – R: 896 41.23% Betty McCollum – D: 1013 46.62% Other: 264 12.15% MN House 54A Keith Franke – R: 10,439 53.54% Anne Claflin – D: 9,037 46.35% Other: 20 .10% 54 B Tony Jurgens – R: 3,888 50.63% Kelsey Waits – D: 3,783 49.26 Other: 9 .12% MN Senate Leilani Holmstadt – R: 12,341 45.19% Karla Bigham – D: 14,938 54.70% Other: 29 .11% Cottage Grove City Council (Pick 2) Justin Olsen: 12,307 41.57% LaRae Mills: 9,599 32.43% Nick Cauthen: 7,404 25.01 Other: 293 .99% Newport Mayor Laurie Elliot: 1,032 52.92% Dan Lund: 907 46.51% Other: 11 .56% Newport City Council (Pick 2) Marvin Taylor: 1,017 33.02% Kevin Chapdelaine: 886 28.77% Bill Sumner: 638 20.71% Nathan Knox: 509 16.53% Other: 30 .97%