The Minnesota Star Tribune is covering this year’s local elections with the same approach it brings to statewide elections. That means marking winners in the most closely watched races, which this year include the mayoral contests in Minneapolis and St. Paul.
After 100% of precincts have reported results in a race, the Star Tribune will mark winners if the margin of victory is greater than the legal threshold for a state-funded recount in Minnesota. The only exceptions to that are if there is a potential write-in winner or a large number of uncounted absentee ballots.
If a race is too close to call on election night, winners will be marked only if one candidate has conceded or if a winner is officially identified. In ranked-choice voting races, winners can be marked if a candidate in the race is well over the threshold for election. If votes are reallocated, winners will be marked in those races only on subsequent days once they are identified by the municipalities they represent.
