Douglas County primary election to be held Tuesday

Primary elections will be held in Douglas County on Tuesday, August 14. Three commissioner districts, 2, 3 and 4 will be on the ballot.

Non-partisan county commissioner candidates Norm Salto, Jim Hafdal and James Stratton are on the primary ballot for District 2; Bev Bales, Jerry L. Rapp, Bert Pexsa and David Erickson are listed for District 3 and Paul C. Anderson, Charlie Meyer, Don Korte Jr. and Bill Dropik vie for the District 4 opening.

The purpose of a primary is to narrow down the partisan candidates to one per political party and reduce the number of non-partisan candidates to two per office, explained Douglas County Deputy Auditor/Treasurer Vicki Doehling.

Winners of the primary elections will be declared and the nominated candidates will be on the general election ballot in November.

If a candidate dropped out of a race after the withdrawal period, his or her name will still appear on the ballot. Primary ballots contain all the political party offices for the district in which a voter lives.

Voters cannot vote for more than one party. If a ballot is fed through the vote tabulator in which a voter has crossed party lines, the tabulator will alert the voter that they have voted for more than one political party, Doehling said.

The voter then has the option to have the ballot returned and can request a new ballot. Should the voter decide to proceed with the original ballot, only the non-partisan side of the ballot will be counted.

Democratic Farmer-Labor (DFL) party candidates Bruce Campbell and Bob Cunniff are in the running to compete against Republican Mary Franson in the District 8B race for state representative. Cunniff won the DFL endorsement.

Nine individuals are on the ballot for a U.S. Senate seat: Independence party members Stephen Williams and Glen R. Anderson Menze; Republicans David Carlson, Bob Carney Jr. and Kurt Bills and DFL members Jack Edward Shepard, Amy Klobuchar, “Dick” Franson and Darryl Stanton.

Two Minnesota Supreme Court justice positions are also on the primary ballot. Jill Clark, Lorie Skjerven Gildea (incumbent) and Dan Griffith are running for chief justice and Alan Nelson, David R. Stras (incumbent) and Tim Tingelstad are vying for associate justice 4.

Polls in Douglas County will open at 7 a.m. in most locations and close at 8 p.m. Belle River Township, Leaf Valley Township and Solem Township will open at 10 a.m. and Lund Township will open at 9 a.m.

The general election will be held on Tuesday, November 6. To find your polling place, visit http://pollfinder.sos.state.mn.us.

COMMISSIONER DISTRICTS ON PRIMARY BALLOT

DISTRICT 2

Hudson, LaGrand and Lake Mary townships, the city of Forada and parts of Alexandria – Ward 1, precinct 1 and Ward 5, precinct 1

DISTRICT 3

Miltona, Spruce Hill, Osakis, Orange, Carlos and Belle River townships, and the cities of Osakis, Miltona, Nelson and Carlos

DISTRICT 4

Alexandria Township and parts of the city of Alexandria – Ward 1, precinct 2 and Ward 2

POLLING PLACES

Alexandria City – Ward 1 – Precinct 1 and 2 – Lake Community Church, 1751 Co. Rd. 44 NW, Alexandria, MN 56308

Alexandria City – Ward 2 – Living Waters Church, 1310 North Nokomis, Alexandria, MN 56308

Alexandria City – Ward 3 – New Life Christian Church, 1910 Hwy. 27 E., Alexandria, MN 56308

Alexandria City – Ward 4 – Cornerstone Church, 202 7th Ave. E. Alexandria, MN 56308

Alexandria City – Ward 5 – Precinct 1 and 2 – Alexandria City Hall, 704 Broadway, Alexandria, MN 56308

Alexandria Township – Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, 2702 Hwy 29 N., Alexandria, MN 56308

Belle River Township – St. Nicholas Church, 9473 Co. Rd. 3 NE, Carlos, MN 56319

Brandon City – Brandon City Hall, 105 Holmes Ave. N., Brandon, MN 56315

Brandon Township – Brandon City Hall, 105 Holmes Ave. N., Brandon, MN 56315

Carlos City – Carlos Town Hall, 210 Victoria Ave., Carlos, MN 56319

Carlos Township – Carlos Town Hall, 210 Victoria Ave., Carlos, MN 56319

Evansville City – Evansville City Hall, 106 State St., Evansville, MN 56326

Evansville Township – Evansville City Hall, 106 State St., Evansville, MN 56326

Forada City – Forada City Fire Hall, 10991 Tobys Ave. SE, Alexandria, MN 56308

Garfield City – Garfield City Hall, 116 Sanstead St. W., Garfield, MN 56332

Holmes City Township – Holmes City Town Hall, 11180 Tewes Trl. SW, Farwell, MN 56327

Hudson Township – Forada City Hall, 10991 Tobys Ave. SE, Alexandria, MN 56308

Ida Township – Ida Town Hall, 4700 Co. Rd. 6 NW, Garfield, MN 56332

Kensington City – Kensington Community Center, 19 Central Ave., Kensington, MN 56343

LaGrand Township – LaGrand Town Hall, 501 Town Hall Rd. SW, Alexandria, MN 56308

Lake Mary Township – Lake Mary Town Hall, 4791 Co. Rd. 4 SW, Alexandria, MN 56308

Leaf Valley Township – Leaf Valley Town Hall, 15240 Co. Rd. 6 NW, Garfield, MN 56332

Lund Township – Town Hall in Melby, 17443 Lakeview Ave. NW, Evansville, MN 56326

Millerville City – Millerville City Fire Hall, 16560 Co. Rd. 7 NW, Brandon, MN 56315

Millerville Township – Millerville City Fire Hall, 16560 Co. Rd. 7 NW, Brandon, MN 56315

Miltona City – Miltona Community Center, 5590 Co. Rd. 14, Miltona, MN 56354

Miltona Township – Miltona Community Center 5590 Co. Rd. 14, Miltona, MN 56354

Moe Township – Moe Town Hall, 14188 Moe Hall Rd. SW, Garfield, MN 56332

Nelson City – Nelson City Hall, 120 N. Nelson St., Nelson, MN 56355

Orange Township – Ed Pollard Community Center, 18 E. Nokomis St., Osakis, MN 56360

Osakis City – Ed Pollard Community Center, 18 E. Nokomis St., Osakis, MN 56360

Osakis Township – Ed Pollard Community Center, 18 E. Nokomis St., Osakis, MN 56360

Solem Township – Kensington Runestone Park (Barn), 8755 Co. Rd. 103 SW, Kensington, MN 56343

Spruce Hill Township – Spruce Hill Town Hall, 12055 Willow Dr. NE, Miltona, MN 56354

Urness Township – Urness Town Hall, 2160 Co. Rd. 1 SW, Evansville, MN 56326

Crystal Dey

Crystal Dey is a staff reporter for the Echo Press. Originally from Minnesota’s Iron Range, Dey worked for newspapers in North Dakota, Florida and Connecticut before returning to her home state to join the Echo Press in October 2011. Dey studied Mass Communications at Minnesota State University Moorhead with an emphasis in Online Journalism. Follow Staff Reporter Crystal Dey on Twitter at @CrystalDey_Echo.

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