Early voting for the 2024 primary began Friday, July 26. The primary will take place Aug. 13 with in-person voting occurring at both the Hastings City Hall and Dakota County Administration Center until Aug. 12.
Races appearing on the Hastings primary ballot include one of Minnesota’s seats for the US Senate, District 2 for the U.S. House of Representatives, two seats for the Minnesota Supreme Court, a seat on the Minnesota Court of Appeals and District 5 for Dakota County Commissioner.
Primary races for both partisan and non-partisan races dictate who will be on the ballot come November.
For nonpartisan primary races, including judges and county commissioners, parties do not dictate which candidate will represent it. Instead, twice the number of candidates for available seats will be allowed to run on the ballot in November and if there are more than that number, they compete in a primary according to Minnesota Statute Section 204D.10.
For example, there are two seats open on the Minnesota Supreme Court which means that two candidates will be able to be on the November ballot for each seat and if more than two candidates are running per seat, they will compete in a primary to determine which two candidates will move forward.
Unlike the federal Supreme Court, Minnesota Supreme Court Justices are elected to six-year terms with a mandatory retirement age of 70. Chief Justice Natalie Hudson is running against Stephen Emery for seat 7 on the bench after Gov. Tim Walz elevated her to Chief Justice after the retirement of former Chief Justice Lorie Skjerven Gildea in 2023.
To fill the seat left by then-Justice Hudson moving to the Chief Justice role, Walz appointed Karl Procaccini to seat 6 of the Minnesota Supreme Court. Justice Procaccini is running against Matthew Hanson.
A full list of polling places can be found on the Hastings website at https://www.hastingsmn.gov/city-government/elections/upcoming-elections