MINNEAPOLIS — Eight days ahead of the 2021 municipal election in Minneapolis, Terry Hammink visited the Early Vote Center on Monday afternoon and cast his ballot for city council, mayor and three ballot questions, among other races.
The whole process took all but a few minutes.
"It was really smooth," Hammink said.
But it felt different.
"There's definitely more buzz," Hammink said. "I can't remember people talking about a city election as much as this one."
With voters deciding city races for the first time since the pandemic and the murder of George Floyd, early vote totals have soared, according to city data and information shared by Supervisor of Election Administration Aaron Grossman.
Entering Monday, the city had received 14,000 early ballots either in-person or by mail, already surpassing the 12,000 received during the entire early voting period for the last municipal election in 2017. The city's early vote dashboard shows that nearly 8,000 people have cast votes in-person at the Early Vote Center, with more than 5,000 utilizing mail-in ballots.
Overall, more than 5 percent of registered voters in Minneapolis have already voted.
"Each election is kind of unique, in and of itself," Grossman said. "By indication of coming and voting early, [it] shows they're enthusiastic about making their voice heard this year."
Certainly, more voters may feel comfortable utilizing early voting this year, after using it for the first time at the onset of the pandemic in 2020's presidential election.
But the consequential city races also seem to be driving interest, with an incumbent mayor running along with three huge ballot questions about mayoral power, whether to replace the Minneapolis Police Department, and rent control.
"I really think this is the most important municipal election in the modern history of Minneapolis," political strategist Brian McClung said. "You really have, on the ballot right now, a decision about the future direction of the city."
McClung, the former press secretary for Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty, also has first-hand experience in a Minneapolis city race. In 2001, he served as the campaign manager for Mark Stenglein, an independent candidate for mayor.
As he can attest, municipal races draw notably lower turnout than midterms or presidential election cycles. In the 2001 municipal election, for example, 40.2 percent of registered Minneapolis voters cast ballots. That number tumbled to 30.2 percent in 2005 and 19.6 percent in 2009, before rebounding to 33.4 percent and 42.5 percent in 2013 and 2017, respectively.
Comparatively, the 2020 presidential election drew 81.3 percent turnout in Minneapolis.
"I do think the election turnout is going to be higher than average this go-around," McClung said. "But, still, they're a lot lower than the early vote numbers we saw during the last presidential election, for example. So, while there is a big early vote coming in, it's not the kind of dramatic early vote you might see. I think in this case, the vast majority of votes will happen very close to or on Election Day."