by Dennis Dalman
It’s not too early for Sartell and St. Stephen residents to start thinking about and planning to vote for federal, state and local candidates in the Nov. 5 general election.
Local voters will help decide who will be the next U.S. president and Minnesota U.S. senator, as well as many other local and state officials, including judges.
Polling places, staffed by many trained judges, will be open Tuesday, Nov. 5 from 7 a.m.-8 p.m. on that day, Election Day.
Sartell
There are seven precincts – thus seven polling places – in Sartell. For a list of polling places and early voting options, see related story in this newspaper.
St. Stephen
St. Stephen has just one precinct so all of that city’s residents will vote at St. Stephen City Hall at 2 Sixth Avenue SE.
Local candidates
Among local candidate choices St. Stephen voters will decide who will be their next mayor, their next city council members and three candidates who will serve on the Sartell-St. Stephen School District’s School Board.
Please note for every voting category, there will be spaces on the ballot on which voters can write in their own choices for candidates if they are not pleased with candidates whose names are on the ballot.
(In the information below, please note that STL is an abbreviation for Sartell; SS is an abbreviation for St. Stephen.)
SS Mayor
Competing for St. Stephen mayor are Lisa Marvin (incumbent) and Edward Paul Peternell.
There is no mayor race in Sartell this year.
SS City Council
The two council candidates are Stephen Trobec and Thomas Vouk (both incumbents whose seats are both up for re-election).
STL City Council
For Sartell City Council, the choices are Rustin Deters, Marshall Grams and Pat Lynch. Voters may select two of the three candidates.
School Board
Voters in both Sartell and St. Stephen have the option to vote for school-board candidates since both cities are united in one school district. The choices are the two incumbents (Tricia Meling, Matt Moehrle), as well as four challengers: Aaron Alexander, Michael Gruber, Michael Ringstad and Chelsea Thielen. Voters may choose up to three.
East Sartell
The Newsleader contacted the Benton County Auditor/Treasurer Office to clarify some confusion about eastern Sartell voting choices.
This is what we learned:
Those who live in Sartell Precinct 2 on the eastern side of Sartell (Benton County side of the river) will vote in the Sartell Public Utilities Facility on west side of the river (Stearns County). There, they will be able to vote for Sartell candidates, including those vying for the six who are competing for three open seats on the Sartell-St. Stephen School Board.
Those on Sartell’s Benton County side who are not within Precinct 2 will vote for Sauk Rapids-Rice School Board candidates. East Sartellians who are or are not in Precinct 2 depends upon their residential addresses.
To find out ahead of time what will be on the ballots for east Sartell, go to www.mnvotes.gov, then type in your address to see what exactly will be on your ballot, including which school district.
If the Sauk Rapids-Rice School Board is on your ballot, here are the five candidates you will see. (You may vote for up to four of them): The incumbents are Ryan Butkowski, Samantha Dwyer, Mark Hauck and Tracy Morse. The challenger is NiCole Broman.
U.S. Senator
The choices for U.S. senator are Amy Klobuchar, Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (incumbent); Joyce Lynne Lacey, Independent Alliance Party; Royce White, Republican Party; and Rebecca Whiting, Libertarian Party.
Representative
(This choice is on the St. Stephen ballot only, not on the Sartell ballot.) For U.S. House Representative District 7, the candidates are incumbent Michelle Fischbach, Republican, and challenger AJ (John) Peters, Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party.
Representative
(This choice is on both ballots – St. Stephen and Sartell.) For the Sixth District Minnesota House Representative, the candidates are Tim O’Driscoll (incumbent), Republican, and Dusty Bolstad, Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party.
Commissioner
Sartell and St. Stephen voters have a choice of two candidates for Stearns County Commissioner District 2: incumbent Joe Perske and challenger Jerry Theisen.
U.S. President
Last but not least, there are 10 candidate teams for U.S. President/Vice President: Donald J. Trump/JD Vance (Republican Party), Kamala Harris, Tim Walz (Democratic Party), Chase Oliver, Mike ter Maat (Libertarian Party), Robert F. Kennedy/Nicole Shanahan (We the People Party), Jill Stein/Samson Kpadenou (Green Party), Claudia De la Cruz/Karina Garcia (Socialism and Liberation Party), Rachele Fruit/Dennis Richter (Socialist Workers Party), Cornel West/Melina Abdullah (Justice for All Party) and Shiva Ayyadurai/Chrystal Ellis (Independent Party).
Other candidates
Voters will also have the chance to choose candidates for some county offices, justices for the Minnesota Supreme Court, for Courts of Appeals and for District Courts.
Questions
In addition to choosing candidates, two questions will be on the ballot. One of them is a proposed Minnesota Constitutional Amendment, concerning lottery proceeds, that states the following:
“Shall the Minnesota Constitution be amended to protect drinking-water sources and the water quality of lakes, rivers, and streams; conserve wildlife habitat and natural areas; improve air quality; and expand access to parks and trails by extending the transfer of proceeds from the state-operated lottery to the environment and natural-resources trust fund, and to dedicate the proceeds for these purposes?”
The other question is whether or not to help fund the proposed Stearns County Justice Center with a voter-approved county sales tax. This question will not be on the ballot of those who live in eastern Sartell since the question concerns Stearns County residents only, not Benton County (eastern Sartell) voters. Here is the question:
“Shall Stearns County be authorized to impose a sales & use tax of three-eighths of one percent (0.375%) to finance up to $325,000,000, plus associated bonding costs, for the construction of a Justice Center facility, consisting of law enforcement, judicial center and jail? The sales tax would be used solely to finance construction, upgrades and financing costs for the Justice Center and remain in effect for 30 years or until the project is paid for, whichever comes first. These services and facilities are mandated by the State of Minnesota to be provided by Counties.”
Who can vote?
Anyone wanting to vote must be a U.S. citizen and at least 18 on Election Day (Nov. 5 this year), a Minnesota resident for at least 20 days, not currently incarcerated for a felony conviction and not under a court order that revokes one’s right to vote.
Register to vote
People can register to vote at polling place on Election Day or at early voting locations before Election Day. Those who choose either of those options should bring along with them a valid Minnesota driver’s license, a learning permit or another identification card with photo. Also valid is a tribal identification card (for Native Americans) showing name, address, photo and signature.
Other forms of valid identification cards are a U.S. passport; a U.S. military or veteran I.D. card; a Minnesota university, college or technical college I.D. card; or a Minnesota high school I.D. card.
Those who register in person at the polls should, in addition, bring a document showing the current address where they live. Such documents could be a bill or start-of-service statement dated within 30 days before the election; phone, TV or internet service bill; utility bills; a banking or credit card; rent or mortgage statements, a residential lease or rent agreement valid through Election Day; or a current student fee statement.
All eligible voters are automatically registered to vote when they get a state-issued I.D. card.
Yet another way to verify your address is to bring with you to the polls a person living in your precinct to “vouch” for you that you do, indeed, live at your stated address.
Help available
For those who need help with registration, they can call 1-877-600-VOTE (8683) or contact their county’s election office. The Stearns County Election Office number is 320-656-3920. The Benton County Election Office number is 320-968-5006.
