DULUTH — Nov. 5 might feel like a long way off, but it's already here as Duluthians can start casting ballots Friday in this fall's city election.
The mayor's office and a majority of City Council seats are on the Nov. 5 ballot, as are three school board races that could prove pivotal in determining the district's next leader.
According to the Duluth City Clerk's office, at least 450 absentee ballots have already been requested. About 600 were cast in the August primary.
"The city of Duluth has been seeing a steady increase in early voting year to year when compared to similar elections," City Clerk Chelsea Helmer said.
Duluth had just shy of 53,000 registered voters the morning of the last municipal election two years ago.
Since early voting was expanded in 2014 to allow early voting for any reason, absentee balloting has ballooned, according to the Minnesota Secretary of State's Office.
"The response ... has been particularly strong this year," Secretary of State Steve Simon said in a news release last October.
In St. Louis County, the number of absentee ballots doubled between 2014 and 2018, and statewide they tripled in that time.
