Star Tribune
Everything you need to know to cast your ballot in Minnesota’s presidential primary
Minnesotans can start casting their first ballots in the 2024 presidential race on Friday, beginning with the nominating contest for the major political parties.
Early voting kicks off in Minnesota’s presidential primary election, which will be held on March 5 — Super Tuesday — along with 15 other states. The results will decide how many delegates candidates get at national conventions this summer. It’s the first of three statewide elections this year.
“There’s no question that this election year will be among the most intense in history,” Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon said. “The presidential candidates will likely inspire strong feelings, people will be passionate, and that’s OK. We are, after all, electing the most powerful person in the United States and probably the world.”
It’s only the second presidential primary in Minnesota after decades of using the caucus system. Some of the rules are different from voting in the state’s regular August primary election.
Here’s what you need to know about how it works, who will appear on the ballots and how to cast your vote early or on March 5:
Do all political parties participate in the presidential primary?
No, only those with major party status in Minnesota will participate: the DFL Party, the Republican Party and the Legal Marijuana Now Party.
Will all parties be on the same ballot like in the August primary?
No, each major party has a separate ballot in the presidential primary. You need to request the ballot for the party whose primary you wish to vote in this year.
Which candidates are on the party ballots?
The chair of each party submitted a list of candidates to the Secretary of State’s Office. For the Democratic Party, the ballot has nine candidates: President Joe Biden, Californian Eban Cambridge, software developer and Californian Gabriel Cornejo, New Yorker Frankie Lozada, Maryland entrepreneur Jason Palmer, California educator Armando “Mando” Perez-Serrato, Minnesota U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips, Turkish-born political commentator Cenk Uygur and spiritual author and speaker Marianne Williamson.
The Republican ballot lists five candidates: former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and former President Donald Trump.
The Legal Marijuana Now ballot also lists five candidates: Edward Forchion, Krystal Gabel, Rudy Reyes, Dennis Schuller and Vermin Supreme.
Wait, haven’t some of those candidates already dropped out of the race?
Yes, both Christie and Ramaswamy dropped out of the race in the days leading up to and immediately following the Iowa caucus, but changes cannot be made to the ballot once a party’s list is submitted. Obviously, avoid candidates on your ballot who have dropped out.
What if I vote early for a candidate who then drops out of the race?
That’s a risk, especially with Minnesota’s primary falling on Super Tuesday in the nominating calendar. The Secretary of State’s Office says voters have until close of business on Feb. 15 — 19 days before the presidential primary — to go to their local election office and vote again. Their old ballot will be discarded and only the new ballot will be processed and tabulated. Simon said some voters might want to wait to submit their absentee ballot if they’re worried their candidate could drop out of the race before March 5.
What if I want to vote for someone who’s not listed?
The Democratic, GOP and Legal Marijuana Now presidential primary ballots will have a write-in option, as well as an “uncommitted” option on the Democratic ballot.
Who can vote in the presidential primary?
Any voter registered in Minnesota can also cast a ballot in the presidential primary. Voters can register before the contest through Feb. 13, or register in-person at their polling place on March 5. Voters must be 18 or older by March 5, a resident of Minnesota and a citizen of the United States to register to vote. While individuals recently released from incarceration can now vote, those still in prison cannot.
Do I need to register as a member of a certain party?
Unlike many states, Minnesota doesn’t have party registration. However, voters must attest that they generally support the principles of a specific party in order to get that party’s ballot in the presidential primary contest. If you’re voting early by mail, you need to check a box on the absentee ballot application attesting to the party’s principles.
How do I vote in the presidential primary?
Just like the August primary election, registered voters can request an absentee ballot to vote by mail up to 46 days before the election. Voters can track their absentee ballot on the Secretary of State’s website. Cities will also have in-person early voting locations — usually a local elections office — though hours will vary from county to county.
You can also vote in-person on March 5 at your polling place from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. The main difference for the presidential primary is that you must request the ballot for the party of your choice. Voters who don’t select a party will not get a ballot.
Is any of my voting information public?
The chair of each major political party gets a list of voters who request their party’s ballot, data they can use to help with get-out-the-vote efforts. That’s a change from four years ago, when party chairs got the lists for all the other major parties too. The information is not posted anywhere publicly, and the candidate you select is secret.
How much will this cost, and who pays for it?
Local governments cover the costs of the presidential primary, but they are eventually reimbursed by the state. Simon’s office estimates it will cost between $12 million and $14 million to administer the March 5 election.
Will there still be precinct caucuses?
Yes, precinct caucuses to debate party platforms and select delegates to state conventions will take place in schools and community centers across the state on Feb. 27, one week before the presidential primary.
Is my ballot secure?
Yes, the state conducts machine testing and other security procedures in the presidential primary, which it does for all statewide elections.
The lead pastor of Lakes Area Vineyard Church in Detroit Lakes said that a missionary was killed in an act of violence Friday in Angola, Africa.
Beau Shroyer moved there in 2021 with his wife, Jackie, and five children. They were working with the missionary organization SIM USA, founded in 1893 in Charlotte, N.C. SIM USA president Randy Fairman shared in a message to the Lakes Area Vineyard congregation that the Shroyers were one of the first families to move to Angola after pandemic lockdowns eased.
Fairman said many details are still unknown about Shroyer’s death. He said he got a call Friday “informing me that Beau Shroyer was killed while serving Jesus in Angola and is now with his Savior.”
“It is my belief that from his vantage point, he can see how his family will be cared for, and it is not hard for him to trust our good Father,” Fairman wrote. “From our perspective and the perspective of Jackie and the kids, we now must trust Jesus in a season that we never imagined. We must trust Him without requiring Him to give us an understanding of why He allowed this. It is difficult and stretches our faith.”
Troy Easton, lead pastor of Lakes Area Vineyard Church, said in a message to congregants that “Moments like these create so many unanswerable questions for us and it adds to the pain to know that we may never understand why our Father has allowed something like this to happen.”
“As more details became available regarding what’s next for the family, what arrangements are being made to celebrate and honor Beau’s life, and practical ways you can love and serve them, we will be certain to share them with you.
Along with his wife, Shroyer, 44, a former Detroit Lakes police officer and real estate agent, leaves behind children Bella, Avery, Oakley, Iva and Eden.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
This year, its jump-scares and lore landed it on Forbes’ list of “7 of the World’s Scariest Haunted Houses” alongside a 160-room mansion in California filled with “occult oddities,” a house built on an old cemetery near Chicago, and a haunted theme park in New Zealand built on the grounds of an old psychiatric hospital. The Haunted Ship, as the Irvin is known in October, is open just one more night — from 6:30 to 10 p.m. on Halloween.
“But this isn’t just a manufactured scare factory,” according to Forbes’ scare scouts, who reportedly visited the ship and had the VIP experience — which includes controlling the dialogue of a disembodied skull as visitors stream past. “In 1964, a sailor died on the ship during a boiler room accident, prompting the Duluth Paranormal Society to investigate the ship. Employees have reported seeing unexplained shadows, hearing phantom footsteps, and had objects thrown at them while doing maintenance work.”
The pilot house of the William A. Irvin is covered in cobwebs during October, a stop on the VIP tour of the seasonal Haunted Ship. (Jana Hollingsworth / The Minnesota Star Tribune)
The tour twists through the ship’s nooks, crannies and areas specific to its life on the Great Lakes — like a few gruesome dining areas where bloodied limbs are scattered about. There are creepy clowns and Victorian-era beings who stare wordlessly. A sink runs with bloody-colored water and a skeleton sits in a muddied bathtub surrounded by its innards.
The VIP experience offers a chance to roam through the ship’s living quarters alongside an ethereal character in the role of Irvin’s second wife. She sashays through the space with tales from the past, then allows you entry into private spaces where a saw blade rests in a sink and a body meant for the morgue vibrates with electrical waves on a bed. It offers a chance to dip into the pilot house, where wheels and gears are draped in cobwebs, offset in the opposite direction by a fresh perspective on the Aerial Lift Bridge.
The view from the Haunted Ship offers a new perspective on the Aerial Lift Bridge. (Jana Hollingsworth / The Minnesota Star Tribune)
There are countless dark corners for jump scares, strobe lights and tight spaces with hidden exits. There is a place designed to trigger claustrophobia. And there are mind-bending questions: Is that a person in that chair or isn’t it? Who is making that growling-moaning sound? What is that smell?
The final question is answered at the exit of the ship, where there is a running tally of how many people haven’t been able to finish the tour (90 as of Friday night) and how many have wet their pants (35).
How many people have opted out of the Haunted Ship? (Jana Hollingsworth / The Minnesota Star Tribune)
Police said they will be releasing details Monday about the shooting death of a 23-year-old man last week in New Hope.
Carnell Mark Johnson Jr., of Bloomington, was shot in the chest Thursday in the 7300 block of Bass Lake Road and died that same day at North Memorial Health Hospital, the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office said.
A police official said more information will be released about the shooting later Monday. No arrests have been announced.
