Minneapolis Precinct Registers Zero Votes

While Minneapolitans were relatively lackadaisical in their voting habits this primary election—total numbers of voters dropped by about 30 percent from the 2008 elections by Patch's count—one part of a precinct in Southwest Minneapolis registered precisely zero votes in Tuesday's balloting. 

Of course, such an outcome might be expected—fishes and lake creatures can't vote. Ward 10, Precinct 3B is entirely made up of the eastern waters of Lake Calhoun, plus a tiny snippet of parkland adjoining the lake.

Elsewhere in the city, though, real news was happening.

Over 24,000 people showed up to vote, pushing at-large school board candidates Carla Bates and Doug Mann over the line and into the running for the November election. Because school board races are non-partisan, primaries serve only to narrow the field down to two candidates. Bates won about 55 percent of the votes, or 9,034 votes, while Mann took home almost 18 percent, or 2,895 votes.

Tracine Asberry is the only candidate running to represent Southwest Minneapolis' District Six seat on the school board, and none of Southwest Minneapolis' state representative or state senate candidates had to face off in a primary.

State-wide, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) appears to be facing off against Republican Kurt Bills in November, while Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) easily beat back challengers Gary Boisclair and Gregg Iverson.