Blue Earth County debuts new polling places this election

Holly Marie Moore, The Free Press, Mankato, Minn.
·1 min read

Aug. 9—Several voters will have their polling places moved around this election season due to redistricting, but in Blue Earth County, some voters will head to brand new polling places that have never been used for elections.

The county is debuting polling places at the the former Caledonia Curling Club now the Mankato Curling Club and the U.S. Army Reserve building.

Sites are chosen in-part if they are well known in the community and are accessible to voters.

County election official Tiffany Ahearn said part of the process of setting up a new polling place involves making sure the set up works for voters.

"It's not too bad of a process. We just have to gauge the space and see what a good flow for the voters would be," she said.

Head election judge Shirley Piepho added that her team works to make sure they are prepared the night before so there are no hiccups on Election Day.

"We have to make sure that we have enough electrical (outlets) and tables and chairs to set up, so that when we're ready at 7 a.m. (Tuesday) we have a little bit of a leeway that we've at least set up tables and chairs and got our electrical done," she said.

Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. To find out where to vote, visit the Minnesota Secretary of State's website.