Olmsted County likely set a new record for voter turnout
Olmsted County’s voters have made their voices heard in big numbers for the 2020 election, according to the county’s election leader — likely setting a new all-time record for turnout among registered voters.
Mark Krupski, Olmsted County election administrator, says the proportion of registered voters that cast a ballot will likely finish above 95 percent. While the final number will not be known until the final mail-in ballots arrive on November 10, he says it is probable that 2020’s turnout will eclipse the previous record of 95 percent, set in 2004.
Krupski could not give a final turnout number, citing the way the county processes information from voters that registered on Election Day. While the county processes all in-person votes on Election Day, it may take days — or even weeks — to update the total number of registered voters with the Minnesota Secretary of State’s website.
That means any calculation of voter turnout will remain slightly higher than until those same-day registrations are counted — although Krupski does not believe the final numbers will stray far from the current estimate of 97.5 percent.
“It’s [going to be] 95 percent-plus,” Krupski said in an interview Wednesday afternoon. “I don’t think it’s going to change that much.”
Nationally, the term ‘voter turnout’ refers to the proportion of eligible — not registered — voters that cast a ballot in any given election. Even under those parameters, though, Olmsted County looks poised to outperform Minnesota’s statewide turnout rate.
Roughly 82 percent of all eligible voters in Olmsted County cast a ballot in the 2020 election, slightly above the statewide total of 79.1 percent — which broke the previous statewide record, also set in 2004, and was good for best in the country.
Krupski said that 52,261 absentee ballots have been processed at the Olmsted County Elections Office so far, a total he said would likely be good enough to cross the 50 percent threshold. (As of Monday evening, there were 101,302 registered voters in Olmsted County.)
The amount of mail-in ballots that have arrived in the past 24 hours, however, seem to close the door on any races flipping from the current projected winners: Krupski said just 21 ballots arrived between 8 p.m. Tuesday and 7 p.m. Wednesday.
“I think the word got out about getting [mail-in ballots] in early,” said Krupski, referencing a decision from a Minnesota appellate court requiring presidential votes received after Election Day to be separated from other ballots. “I could be wrong, but I'm not expecting a lot more mail.”
The final vote counts will be made available November 10, with the local certification process taking place on November 13.
Isaac Jahns is a Rochester native and a 2019 graduate of the Missouri School of Journalism. He reports on politics, business and music for Med City Beat.
Cover photo via Canva
