Long Wait

High turnout had some Brainerd School District residents waiting up to an hour to vote in Tuesday's election.

At Baxter City Hall, the only polling place in the city, lines extended through the lobby and out onto the sidewalk. The average wait around 2 p.m. was 45 minutes and some people said they had waited an hour.

"This is disgusting," said Bruce Arganbright as he left Baxter City Hall. "We waited too long and in the cold, too. It seems to me they should have opened at 7 a.m. or had more polling places."

Polls for school elections opened at noon Tuesday. Several people said they arrived at Baxter City Hall at 8 a.m., only to be told the polls wouldn't open for four hours. Some people arrived at noon, only to leave and return later after seeing the long lines.

In even-year elections for city, state and federal offices, polling places are required to be open at 7 a.m. in cities and as late as 10 a.m. in some townships, depending upon population. Polling places for school elections are historically open from noon-8 p.m.

Steve Dickinson, Brainerd School District business manager and election official, said the busiest precincts with the longest lines Tuesday afternoon were Baxter and Unorganized Territory. He said though voter turnout was expected to be a record the decision was made to have only one polling place in those precincts.

"In hindsight, yeah, I think we should have done at least two," polling places in each precinct, Dickinson said.

Dickinson said the last election to have a high voter turnout was the Forestview Middle School bond referendum, with about 8,500 voters. He said school officials estimated between 11,000-12,000 for this year's election.

"I would expect we're going to exceed that possibly," he said.

MATT ERICKSON may be reached at matt.erickson@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5857.