Early voting proves popular

Carlton County is experiencing a steady flow of early voters and absentee ballots in advance of the Nov. 5 general election.

“Since early voting started Sept. 20, we’ve been getting 50 to 100 voters each day,” said county auditor/treasurer Kevin DeVriendt. “The mail-in ballots are rolling in, too — 150 to 200 by mail every day.”

Early voting is taking place at the auditor/treasurer’s office on the second floor of the Carlton County Historic Courthouse (Room 205).

Also called “in-person absentee voting,” early voting is available for all Carlton County registered voters at the Historic Courthouse from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday through Nov. 4.

Voters don’t have to explain why they’re voting early, but many do, DeVriendt said.

“We get a lot of snow birds who are voting before they leave to escape the colder weather,” he said.

Others, he added, are voters from bigger precincts who don’t want to wait in line on election day Nov. 5.

DeVriendt announced Tuesday at the county board meeting in Carlton that there will be a public accuracy test of the county’s voting equipment at 9 a.m. Monday at the Historic Courthouse in Carlton.

“The purpose of this testing is to ascertain that the equipment will correctly count and tabulate the votes cast for all races, candidates and ballot questions,” said a legal notice published in the Pine Knot News.

“We don’t get a lot of people who show up,” DeVriendt said, “but it is open to the public.”

The auditor/treasurer’s office will have extended hours in advance of the Nov. 5 General Election, including:

• 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 26.

• 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 29.

• 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 2 and Sunday, Nov. 3.

• 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Nov. 4.

For one day only, early voting will be temporarily available for all Carlton County residents from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Oct. 23, at the Sawyer Community Center (3243 Moorhead Road).

DeVriendt noted that the mail ballot precinct polling place also remains at the Historic Courthouse in the auditor/treasurer’s office. The following areas in Carlton County are mail ballot only — with no polls in these locations on election day: the cities of Barnum, Cromwell, Kettle River, Wrenshall and Wright, along with Beseman, Clear Creek, Corona, Holyoke, Kalevala, Progress, Red Clover, Sawyer, Split Rock, and Wrenshall townships.