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John,
Polls open in about 15 hours, and there are local elections happening in cities and school districts around the state. If you’re still wondering where to vote and who’s all on your ballot, go to What’s On My Ballot [[link removed]] .
For voters in the RCV cities—Minneapolis, Minnetonka, St. Paul, Bloomington, and St. Louis Park—that means there is only a little over a day left to rank our ballots! All five cities have races that could go to runoffs, so it’s important to use up all your rankings for as long as you have a preference.
How to cast your vote
If you want to vote early, there is still time to do so today! Most early voting locations will be open until at least 5pm tonight. You can cast your vote there in-person, or drop off your completed mail ballot (note, it’s too late to mail in your mail ballot and if you have one, don’t bring it to the poll with you--simply arrive and vote in person).
If you vote tomorrow, remember to confirm your local polling location [[link removed]] before you go! As always, polls will be open from 7am to 8pm and you are entitled to take paid time off of work. And regardless of how you vote, you can preview your choices by downloading your sample ballot here [[link removed]] .
If you live in an RCV city, learn about all the candidates running at rankyourvote.org [[link removed]] .
Learn More About Election Day Voting [[link removed]]
Claiming our voices and choices
Voters have heard from four top candidates who collectively illustrate that there is in fact nuance within Minneapolis’ political divide. And on Election Day, residents can rank the candidate or candidates they do like — without fear of wasting their vote — along with a backup option if their top picks are eliminated.
~Eric Roper, Star Tribune
Star Tribune columnist Eric Roper had the Minneapolis mayoral race in mind when he wrote his column [[link removed]] about how RCV offers voters more choice at the ballot box, but his message also applies to contested races in St. Paul, Bloomington, Minnetonka, and St. Louis Park. In a political system where we are so often forced into binary choices, RCV gives voters options —and more than a million voters around the country will be ranking their ballots this year!!
Candidates running this year span a diverse range of ideologies, backgrounds, and views on how to move their communities forward. Eric reminds us how lucky we are to have so many choices, and be able to rank more than one. You may be hearing from some that “their” candidate alone can do the job, and to rank only that person. As you go to the polls tomorrow, reject that kind of advice and focus instead on which candidates most align with our values, and rank them 1-2-3.
A Minneapolis resident examines a demonstration ranked-choice ballot in 2009. (Carlos Gonzalez/The Minnesota Star Tribune) [[link removed]]
A Minneapolis resident examines a demonstration ranked-choice ballot in 2009. (Carlos Gonzalez/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
Results reporting in RCV cities
There are a couple of important changes this year in how results will be reported that we want everyone to be aware of:
* Ramsey County is moving forward with their first use of RCTab, an automated counting software that will deliver full RCV results in St. Paul on Election Night! This is an exciting development, and we look forward to more cities moving in this direction and getting voters results as quickly as possible. See more here [[link removed]] .
* In the other RCV cities — Minneapolis, Minnetonka, St Louis Park and Bloomington — races that result in a candidate who reaches the winning threshold will be declared tomorrow night. For all other races, election results will be reported the next day.
* Unlike previous years, the four cities that use RCV in Hennepin County will only be reporting the results of first-choice votes on Election Night. All information on second and third choices will be available when full results are reported the next day. Watch our social media Tuesday night and Wednesday for results as they come out!
For a complete briefing on what to expect tomorrow and in the days that follow, see our breakdown on our website. [[link removed]]
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We wish you all a wonderful Election Day and will be in touch in the following days with news and analysis. We’ll be reporting on elections here in Minnesota and around the country—and are excited about what RCV means for the future of our democracy in our state and nationally.
Let’s get out there and rank!
Your FairVote Minnesota Team

FairVote Minnesota
550 Vandalia Street, Suite 210
Saint Paul, MN 55114
United States
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