Every vote counts, even in primaries

There is an election coming up next Tuesday, Aug. 13, in Minnesota. It hasn’t received a lot of attention, especially here in Dodge County and southeastern Minnesota. A lot of you may even have forgotten about it, or consider it not as important as that big General Election coming up on November 5.

Next week’s election is a primary, basically a partisan primary.

Back in March there was a Presidential Primary to choose the candidates to run this November.

Candidates for other state and federal offices were chosen by the political parties. In Minnesota that meant candidates for the Minnesota House of Representatives and U.S. Senator and House of Representative.

But there was also a time when people could file for those offices if they chose to run against the person selected by the party members.

What that means is next Tuesday, voters will have an opportunity to decide which of those candidates running they want to see in the November General Election.

Locally, the only contests on the ballot Tuesday will be for the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives.

U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar has a couple of challengers for the DFL endorsement while eight Republicans will be vying for the chance to unseat her in the General Election.

For First District House of Representatives there is a contest on the Republican side. Two challengers are running against incumbent Congressman Brad Finstad. For the Democrats, there is no primary challenge to Rachel Bohman.

In local races for the State House of Representatives there are also no challengers. The two candidates running in November for the District 24A seat will be Republican incumbent Duane Quam and DFL’er Heather Holmes.

But despite the lack of competitive primary races, they are still important.

For one thing, it goes to show that not all candidates are chosen by those most active in the respective parties. If you disagree with the party’s choice, here is a chance to make your choice known.

Remember, of course, that this is a partisan primary and you have to choose which party to align with.

But voting is still important. It is after, all your right and many of us would say, it is your responsibility as a citizen to vote.

Polls will be open in most precincts 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday. Towns and townships with less than 500 residents are not required to open at 10 a.m. but many still choose to open at 7 a.m. and they must stay open until 8 p.m.

According to the Minnesota Secretary of State website, Dodge County townships choosing to open at 10 a.m. include Ashland, Claremont, Ellington, Hayfield, Ripley, and Westfield.

And while we are talking about Tuesday, it is also worth noting that individuals who want to seek a spot on a City Council or School Board have until 5 p.m. on that day to file as a candidate. City Council and mayoral candidates can file at their respective city hall and School Board candidates at their school district offices.

Everyone’s voice can be heard but only if you vote.