MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota — Sandra Johnson doesn't skip an opportunity to vote.
"I vote because I hear my daddy's voice in my ear saying, 'We fought for that privilege for you to vote, so you best vote every time there's an election,'" Johnson said.
Johnson is a resident at Evergreen — part of the Catholic Charities Higher Ground Minneapolis campus. On this campus, 250 people live in their apartments and about 200 stay in the shelter each night.
"We're quite a community and we've been putting the word out," said Johnson, who is also a resident volunteer.
Johnson has been putting the word out about a one-day event at the campus. For Leap Day, the city of Minneapolis held a pop-up early voting event. It's the first one here and only the second for the city, thanks to a law change last year that lets election officials open temporary early voting centers. Voting at this location was open to all Minneapolis residents but it was particularly helpful for those at Higher Ground.
"We really want to target these sites to underrepresented communities so we can bring the ballot box to them," said Jon Martin, deputy director of elections for the city of Minneapolis. "Oftentimes, folks who are experiencing homelessness have trouble voting. They have trouble proving their residency, so being able to bring it here, it allows us to facilitate voting in an easy way for these residents who otherwise might not be able to vote."
Resident Trent Wright, who could be seen greeting people at the door, said, "Usually we would have to try to find somewhere or get someone to take us to go vote. But since we're having it here, it's much better and it's easier."
Brandon Johnson, senior property manager at the Higher Ground Minneapolis campus, said, "It's really about making sure that our residents have a voice. That they are able to express themselves on issues that mean something to them, making sure that we bring back dignity. There's many people who don't necessarily feel that they have much dignity or are seen."
According to Martin, so far in Minneapolis, about 4,000 people have voted early. That's compared to approximately 12,000 around this time in 2020.
"Turnout has been kind of light," Martin said. "One of the main factors for people deciding to vote is the competitiveness of the race, what the content of the ballot is. So it just could be that folks don't see that this presidential primary is as competitive as it was four years ago."
Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon said it's pretty typical for an election like this one where candidates could still drop out of the race. According to Simon, 204,000 Minnesotans have requested an absentee ballot so far; about 38% of those ballots have been sent in.
"My suspicion, just like four years ago, is that voters are sort of hedging their bets. They want to vote very close in time to the election and submit their ballots at the last minute because they're not quite sure who's going to be in or who's going to be out," Simon said.
But Simon said it also wouldn't surprise him if numbers are lower for this primary.
"The two main drivers of turnout among many are candidates that inspire strong feelings and perceived competitiveness. At least the pundits out there are perceiving not so much competitiveness in either party," Simon said.
Voters must choose only one party ballot.
"It is not public which party you chose, but the party whose ballot you chose will know. That's the only one who will know. The analogy that they have sometimes used is... think of it as sort of a sign-in sheet. If you went to a political party event and they had a sign-in sheet, obviously they would know you attended, but no one else would. So it's at least tapped within some pretty narrow boundaries," Simon said. "It's meant only for the state party, not any sort of regional or local party... and just for their sort of data purposes. They can't disclose it or share it widely."
Those with absentee ballots have until 8 p.m. on Super Tuesday, March 5, to get it in. The city of Minneapolis recommends mailing it by Friday or else dropping it off in person.
"This is not a postmark situation where it's postmarked by that day. It's got to get there that day by the time polls close at 8:00 p.m.," Simon said. "The other thing I would tell folks is if for whatever reason at your polling place there is a line, you can vote even if you're in line by 8:00 p.m."
You can find more information on early voting, finding your polling place and more at mnvotes.gov.
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