Primary Turnout Below 7% in Olmsted County

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Unofficial numbers from the Minnesota Secretary of State's office show that roughly 7 percent of eligible voters went to the polls for Tuesday's primary election.

Secretary of State Steve Simon says the scarcity of statewide races and the August primary date are factors that contributed to the low turnout. A Minnesota Supreme Court race was the only statewide contest.

Simon tells the Star Tribune that the state can do better and the August date "is not serving us well."

Just over 280,000 voters cast ballots on Tuesday. There are nearly 3.97 million eligible voters in the state.

In Olmsted County, the unofficial election results put the turnout at only 6.2 percent.