Voters line up to cast ballot in the previous presidential election. (FM Extra file photos.)

Nancy Edmonds Hanson

Election Day may still be three weeks away, but some Clay County voters have already gotten a jump on making their voices heard.
Since Sept. 20, the Auditor’s Office has been accepting applications for absentee ballots. Some will be returned by mail. But those who pick theirs up in person at the Clay County Government Center at 3510 12th Ave. S. can complete them on the spot … crossing one important task off their “to-do” lists without standing in line at the polls or even applying a stamp to an envelope.
“You can pick up your absentee ballot right here between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday,” county auditor-treasurer Lori Johnson explains. “Stop in, mark your choices, seal it in the envelope and hand it back across the counter.”
But it gets even better Oct. 18. Beginning that Friday, voters can insert ballots directly into a voting machine in the service center lobby. The timing is extended, too. The office will be open on two Saturdays, Oct. 26 and Nov. 2, as well as the Sunday before Election Day. Weekend hours are from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
While Election Day is expected to draw the greatest number of voters, early voting plays a substantial part in elections across the county. Johnson, who has handled elections for nearly 30 years, says the COVID pandemic of 2020 accelerated its popularity. “That year, more than 50% of our ballots were absentee – 17,795 out of a total of 32,413,” she reports. “That compares with 5,835 mail-in votes out of 29,685 in the previous presidential election in 2016.”
This year, she says she expects to see fewer than 10,000 cast by mail or early voting. It remains an essential part of the election, however. Twenty-two of Clay County’s precincts are mail-in only, primarily due to the difficulty in recruiting volunteer poll workers. Among them are Moorhead, Oakport and Kurtz townships and the cities of Comstock, Georgetown and Hitterdal.
Johnson and her staff have been deeply involved in election preparations for months. One of their first tasks was designing and printing the 30,000-plus ballots that will be completed in the county’s 87 precincts. The version that residents receive is different in each and every precinct, with local issues and candidates varying between school districts, townships, and city and county boards and commissions.
Moorhead residents will decide on a capital projects levy submitted by District 152, as well as council candidates in four wards. Across the county, four candidates are running for seats on the Clay County Commission, two without opposition; other cities also have seats to be filled. Residents of Independent District 152 in Moorhead and part of Dilworth will be voting on a capital projects levy for the schools. Among other issues to be settled are Dilworth’s proposed half-cent city sales tax to support a new community center; Ulen’s decision on permitting Sunday liquor sales; and three proposed school referendums for District 146 in Barnesville.
Every voting machine that will be used on Nov. 5 is being tested with 80 sample ballots. While she and two members of her regular staff have primary responsibility for preparing for the election and insuring the accuracy of the vote, she has hired several temporary part-timers to test the machines and fill in at the counter as it becomes busier.
Johnson is confident of the accuracy and security of the vote. “Technology-wise, nothing is connected to the internet. There’s no way to breach the results,” she says. “Our IT department works with the Secretary of State’s IT group to regulate the voter registration system. After the polls close, we do transmit the results periodically to St. Paul, but everything is checked and confirmed the next day.”
She disagrees with the occasional suggestion of hand-counting ballots. “Our machines are far faster and far more accurate than counting by humans,” she points out. PERs – mandated post-election reviews – are conducted after every election. Three Clay precincts are picked at random, and their paper ballots are carefully counted by hand. Those numbers are compared with the totals recorded by voting machines. “In all my years of doing this,” she says, “we have never had those totals differ from the machine count by even one vote.”
Voters who plan to vote absentee by mail or in person can submit applications for ballots either in person at the Government Center, or online through the Minnesota Secretary of State (www.sos.state.mn.us) or Clay County (claycountymn.gov). Ballots are usually mailed out within two days.