By Rich Larson, News Director | Rich@kymnradio.net
Early voting has begun at Northfield City Hall, and Lynnette Peterson, the Northfield City Clerk, said voting has been busy since the polls officially opened on Friday. She said she is especially grateful for the election judges that have come forward from the community this year, for their hard work and dedication. The work to recruit election judges began about a year ago, as the hiring and training was done in November in advance of the presidential primary last March.
Northfield employs more than 100 election judges. There are 8 voting precincts, and Peterson said the city wants eight judges on duty in each precinct. On election day there are two shifts for judges, plus an all-day shift option, so many judges are needed.
The training for election judges, she said, is a continuous process. After the primaries were over, there was more to learn in advance of the general election in November.
Election judges are a non-partisan group that are not officially beholden to a political party. Parties are allowed to place poll watchers in precincts, but they are not judges. With that said, Peterson indicated that Northfield could use more election judges who hold a certain point of view, because the city likes to see balance in the precincts.
“We could use a few more from certain political parties. We are full on the one political party, but if someone is interested, then definitely give me a call and we can send out an e-mail. Political parties can have poll watchers, but in our realm of things, we just like to have party balance at the precinct.” City Clerk Lynnette Peterson on the KYMN Morning Show
Early voting will continue through November 4th. For voting hours, or to contact City Clerk Peterson, visit the Northfield website at northfieldmn.gov.
