In the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson wrote about the government deriving its powers from the consent of the governed. We call it voting, and those of us adults who are governed have our say at election time, which culminates this year with final voting on Tuesday, Nov. 8.
Can’t vote on Tuesday? In-person early voting remains available at the Eden Prairie City Center, 8080 Mitchell Road, at the following times:
- 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. through this Friday, Nov. 4.
- 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 5.
- 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Nov. 7.
Drop-off ballots are being taken until 3 p.m. on Election Day at the Eden Prairie City Center.
Through Wednesday, Nov. 2, there were 7,160 residents who had voted early, either in person or via an absentee ballot mailed to them, according to City Clerk Nicole Tingley. That’s more than 17% of Eden Prairie’s 41,612 registered voters.
On Tuesday, precinct polls across Eden Prairie will be open for voting from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. The Office of Minnesota Secretary of State has an easy-to-use, online Polling Place Finder that provides your assigned voting location. You must be at least 18 years of age to vote.
Not a registered voter? You can register at the polls, but need to provide proof of residency. The Secretary of State Office has details on identification requirements.
Tingley said precinct polls are typically busiest before and after work hours on Election Day, so voting “middle of the day” is one way to avoid a lengthy wait.
A long list of elective offices are on the ballot, from city council and school board on up to Minnesota governor and U.S. representative from the Third District.
At the local level, voters will be electing an Eden Prairie mayor, choosing between incumbent Ron Case or challenger Tracey Schowalter. Four people are running for two seats on the city council: incumbents Mark Freiberg and Kathy Nelson, and new candidates Greg Lehman and Micah Olson.
Mandatory reports on campaign spending by city candidates are available on the city’s website. (Note: the list of candidates on the website also includes persons who ran for city office in 2018 and 2020.)
The Eden Prairie School Board election has two candidates – Isaac Kerry and Dennis Stubbs – competing for the remaining two years of one unfilled term, and six candidates seeking to fill four other seats of four years each: incumbents Steve Bartz, Aaron Casper, Debjyoti “DD” Dwivedy, and Francesca Pagan-Umar, and new candidates Abby Libsack and Jody Ward-Rannow.
School candidate spending reports are on the Eden Prairie Schools website.
Voters in the Eden Prairie School District are also being asked to decide on two school referendum issues: an increase in the operating levy and renewal of the capital-project levy.
Other races on the election ballot include those for Hennepin County officials, such as county sheriff and county attorney, and a variety of contests for state office beyond governor, including state attorney general and secretary of state.
For more information about local voting, you can also call the City of Eden Prairie’s Election Line at (952) 949-8415. Or, check out the following websites:
The Voter Guide assembled by Eden Prairie Local News can be found on this website under “Election.”
Comments
We offer several ways for our readers to provide feedback. Your comments are welcome on our social media posts (Facebook, X, Instagram, Threads, and LinkedIn). We also encourage Letters to the Editor; submission guidelines can be found on our Contact Us page. If you believe this story has an error or you would like to get in touch with the author, please connect with us.