TruthToTell, Nov 5: HANDICAPPING ELECTIONS: What to Do to VOTE/Who might Win? – Audio PODCAST Below!

Election Night, I was privileged to anchor a great team of reporters and analysts at KFAI under News Director Dale Connelly that brought you election results, analysis and conversation from the moment polls closed at 8:00PM until Midnight. Look for an audio podcast of that four hours of conversation elsewhere on this site soon. We’ll try to highlight some of the good stuff from that evening’s conversations and post those tidbits later as well.

But, before that came Monday’s TruthToTell…

TruthToTell covered a number of the election issues voters confronted last Tuesday.

Minnesota voters, thank god, turned out in record numbers once again – and in almost every precinct in the state – to the tune of some 79% of the eligible electorate. Now, if we could only repeat those numbers for local races, next year and thereafter – perhaps we can really claim that our local governments represent a majority of the whole city or county or school district.

Elected officials respond to the constituents who put them in office, but even more to those who show up beyond Election Day and insist that the public interest is served by that official’s work in office.

An important function of the Minnesota Secretary of State is to provide Voter Information – and that website is loaded with it.

And, thanks to the defeat of the Voter ID Amendment, you will still need only walk in to your precinct polling place and vote, if pre-registered, or to register right there if you’re not by simply showing something with your current address on it and voting then and there. 

In addition to the much-discussed and critical State Constitutional Amendments proposed, all of Minnesota’s Legislative offices and three State Supreme Court Justices were up for election this year, along with all Federal offices.

While most major cities and school districts elect their board and council members in odd-numbered years, some Minneapolis and suburban Metro cities and school board races and a St. Paul Schools Levy Referendum are on the ballot in this even-numbered year. So some, not all, of you will elect local officials in 2013.

Over the course of the horrendously fatiguing campaign season, we heard and saw almost too much about the Presidential candidates, a bit less about the US Senate race, even less about our Congressional races unless there are battles royal under way – such as that for the 6^th (Bachmann/Graves) and 8^th (Nolan/Cravaack) Districts – and almost nothing about some very important contests, especially about your state and local judges and justices – truly important people who determine the application of the law and its impact on our lives. So buried are these elections, it’s a wonder that anyone bothers to make them elected – until someone tries to take that power away.

TTT’S ANDY DRISCOLL and MICHELLE ALIMORADI consult four elections and political experts and analysts to generate some enlightened interest in some of the more obscure races and handicap the Legislative make-up to come. Now we know who will be in charge after last Tuesday? It will be you, and me – US.