In 14 Cities Patch Covers, Voters Favored MN Voter ID Amendment

In Hopkins, 38 percent of voters favored the amendment.

Here's how residents in a selection of Minnesota cities voted on the proposed Voter ID amendment to the state Constitution, which would have required photo ID at polling places. Statewide, the ballot measure failed to pass the 50 percent level of support it needed (46.34 percent with all but three Minnesota precincts' results). But if citizens in 14 of these 36 Patch communities had their way, the state Constitution would have a new amendment. Support for the amendment in these cities covered by Patch ranged from 19.30 percent in Southwest Minneapolis to 61.23 percent in St. Michael.* (Lake Minnetonka Patch covers several cities, including Minnetrista, Tonka Bay, Wayzata, Mound, Shorewood, Orono, Spring Park, Deephaven, Long Lake and …

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DFL Still Faces Challenges After 'Blue Wave' Sweeps out GOP

‘(The win) does mean a little less overt political friction, but there are still meaningful limits on what can be done,’ said Hopkins Rep. Steve Simon.

On Tuesday night, Republicans lost control of both the House and Senate after just two years at the helm of the Minnesota Legislature. At least some Democrats are attributing that in part to the marriage and voter ID amendments. But DFLer Steve Simon, who easily won another term representing Hopkins and St. Golden Valley, has another idea: The current Republican majority over-interpreted their win in 2010 and over-reached in their attempts to push through policies. The DFL legislators should remember that as they pursue their own legislation, he said. “(The win) does mean a little less overt political friction, but there are still meaningful limits on what can be done,” Simon said. “It’s a different kind of limitation. It’s a self-imposed …

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FINAL RESULTS: Students Pick Obama and Klobuchar, Reject Amendments

‘Hopkins Votes’ is a mock election that teaches students about the democratic process.

Hopkins students may have come to the same conclusions as Minnesotans who can actually vote, but the races in their districtwide mock election were decided in a much more one-sided fashion than the real races that had voters staying awake late into the night. Hopkins students picked President Barack Obama by more than a three-to-one margin and favored Sen. Amy Klobuchar nearly five to one. The amendment questions that were up in the air for so long in the actual election lost in a landslide. “Hopkins Votes” is a mock election organized by the Hopkins school district. Students learn about how voting works, voting etiquette and what it means to be a good citizen. Fourth through sixth graders vote for both president and senator, using only …

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Voter Turnout Surges in Hopkins

The community had nearly 300 more voters in 2012 than in 2008.

Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly listed the number of the precinct that had the second-lowest increase in voter turnout. That error has since been fixed.   Minnesota still has several precincts uncounted, but Hopkins is on track to surpass the already substantial voter turnout seen across the state, according to results from the Secretary of State’s office. Hopkins had 292 more people vote in the 2012 presidential election than in 2008—an increase of 3.38 percent. By contrast, Minnesota is currently showing a .71 percent increase with 99.05 percent of precincts reporting. The biggest increases in Hopkins came in Precinct 2, which includes the Presidential neighborhood, Interlachen and the Blake Road Corridor. That…

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2012 Election Brings Little Change to Hennepin County Board

All incumbents in county commissioner races defended challenges from opponents touting their fiscally conservative credentials.

Election Results 2012: Cutter, Conroy Win Contested Races for Fourth District Court Judicial Seats

Most of the judicial races were uncontested in the Fourth District Court.

In two judicial races during the Nov. 6 general election, both Elizabeth V. Cutter and Lois Conroy emerged with top votes, according to unofficial results from the Minnesota Secretary of State website. Cutter received 68.45 percent of the vote. Challenger Steven Antolak received 30.78 percent of the vote for the Judge - Fourth District Court 22 position. Conroy received 58.31 percent of the vote with Marc Berris trailing with 40.90 percent of the vote for the Judge – Fourth District Court 44 position. Uncontested, winning races included: Judge Court 2 – Francis Magill Judge Court 6 – David Piper Judge Court 15 – Phil Carruthers Judge Court 17 – Denise D. Reilly Judge Court 29 – Nancy E. Brasel Judge Court 33 – M. Jacueline Regis Judge …

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Election Results 2012: Voters Name Lorie Skjerven Gildea Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice

Barry Anderson and David R. Stras retain Minnesota Associate Justice seats.

Incumbent Lorie Skjerven Gildea will retain her role as Minnesota Supreme Court Justice in her win over Dan Griffith in the Nov. 6 general election, according to unofficial results posted on the Minnesota Secretary of State website. In the statewide race, Skjerven Gilda received 59.99 percent of the votes and Dan Griffith received 39.62 percent of the vote.  Skjerven Gildea was appointed Chief Justice January 2006 and her term was set to expire January 2013. Other statewide judicial winners included incumbent Barry Anderson for Associate Justice - Supreme Court 1 (Seat 1) over Dean Barkley. Anderson received 58.93 percent of the votes to Barkley’s 40.68 percent of the vote. Incumbent  David R. Stras for Associate Justice - Supreme Court 4…

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