5 Things To Know About The Minnesota Primary in Rochester

Trust me, this whole process confused me too.

Without getting too politically specific, I'll just say that November 2016 reminded me how important it is to vote. It also taught me the importance of primaries as well. Simply put, your candidate may not have a shot if you're not voting for them early - to me, that's why primaries are important.

A lot of us have formed various opinions about the political stance of our state and federal governments since. If you're looking for a change, your first stop comes with our Minnesota primary on August 14th (a week from today).

Wanna vote? Here's what you need to know.

1. Who's running for election in Rochester? All of that info can be found here, thanks to our friends at News-Talk 1340 KROC AM.
2. When is the primary? In Minnesota, it's August 14th. However, you can vote earlier as absentee, or at the fairgrounds.
3. Where can I vote? For the life of me, I couldn't figure this out either - but here's what I learned: if not at your regular polling place (which you can find here), then at the fairgrounds.
4. Am I allowed to vote? Yep! Some of us wondered if we had to register for the primary separately. We don't. Minnesota does not employ provisional voting. If you haven't moved since you last voted, you should already be set to vote.
5. Why should I vote? Let's just put it this way - do you want to ensure your candidate is on the ballot in November?

Hope this helps! Feel free to keep checking krocam.com for more elections news.