Absentee voting underway for Cloquet City Council Ward 3 race

Ward 3 voters in the city of Cloquet who won’t be around to cast their votes in the Cloquet City Council special election on Feb. 12 can vote absentee now.

Uriah Wilkinson and Chris Swanson advanced to the February special election following a November primary in which only 14 percent of eligible voters cast a ballot. Out of a possible 1,312 registered voters in Ward 3, Swanson received the most votes with 124. Wilkinson garnered 54 votes and Ray Schow got seven.

Swanson grew up here and has been teaching government and history at Cloquet High School since 2001 and has been involved in various volunteer and union positions. He was appointed interim Ward 3 councilor last summer after Dakota Koski stepped down because he bought a house outside of Ward 3.

Wilkinson is a 25-plus-year resident of Cloquet who has been a Realtor in the area for the last 15. He has also served on the Cloquet Planning Commission for nine years and various other boards and city groups.

Anyone living in Ward 3 who is eligible to vote may go to the Carlton County Auditor’s Office on the second floor of the courthouse at 301 Walnut Avenue to vote between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. on weekdays. There will be additional hours for absentee voting from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 8 and from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Feb. 10. Voting in the special election on Feb. 11 will take place at the new City Hall building at 101 14th Street.