Cook County auditor explains why there are no local elections in 2023

Tuesday will be a relatively quiet day at the Cook County Courthouse in Grand Marais.

It certainly will be compared to many other voting and election offices across Minnesota. While other polling places expect a surge Nov. 7 for certain elections, no ballots are being mailed as there are no local races this year for Cook County voters.

“We’re on the state schedule and the state is every other year, and the even years,” Cook County Auditor-Treasurer Braidy Powers said this week. “So we’ll have our big races next year.”

Across the state, including the Duluth mayoral race, elections are receiving an abundance of media coverage ahead of Election Day 2023, which falls on Tuesday, Nov. 7. School board races, city council seats that are up for election, and even a county board seat in nearby Lake County are all on the ballot this year in Minnesota. The county board seat in Lake County is for a special election, one that was necessary following the passing of the late Lake County Commissioner, Pete Walsh.

Looking ahead to next year, the ballot will be full in Cook County in 2024, with two seats on the local county board that will be on the ballot, a presidential race, and a number of state offices that are up for election. Regarding the county board, the seats for District 2 and District 4 are up for election, with those currently being held by Stacey Hawkins and Ann Sullivan, respectively. Earlier than that, presidential primaries will kick off the election season in Cook County, with those occurring next spring, Powers said.

To learn more about the local election process and timeline in Cook County, listen to the interview below from Nov. 6 with Cook County Auditor Braidy Powers.

Joe Friedrichs November 6, 2023