What Northland voters can expect before heading to the polls this primary election

DULUTH, MN. (KBJR) - The Minnesota and Wisconsin State Primaries are just one week away and voters may have a few changes to look out for before heading to the polls on August 9.

Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon is gearing up for the state’s primary.

“One thing that we always do is try to gather as much useful information as possible for voters,” Simon said.

Minnesota voters can only vote for one major party’s candidates in the primary. According to the Secretary of State’s website, all candidates for each party will be listed in the same column on ballots.

In both Minnesota and Wisconsin, if you are 18 or older on election day, you can register to vote the day of the election at your polling place.

“In Minnesota, there’s no cutoff for voter registration,” Simon said, “so anyone in Minnesota can go into their polling place on election day.”

August 9 is the last day you can return your absentee ballot in both Minnesota and Wisconsin.

In Minnesota, voters can expect changes regarding where to vote this year too. Simon said because of redistricting, polling locations may have moved.

“I used to vote in the basement of a church, now this year, I’ll be voting in an elementary school,” he said “so that might happen to some folks just because of how the maps were redrawn, again it only happens every 10 years.”

Meanwhile, in Wisconsin several primary candidates have dropped out of their races, causing people to want to change their absentee votes. According to the Wisconsin Election Commission, voters can do this by spoiling their ballot.

Wisconsin voters can contact their local clerk and request to spoil their ballot. This has to be done by 5 p.m. on August 5.

For more information on the Minnesota State Primary, click here.

For more information on the Wisconsin State Primary, click here.

correction: On-air we had mentioned that you could contact your county clerk to spoil your ballot in Wisconsin, but you should contact your local municipal clerk or polling place on Election Day.