Voters were out early on Sunday in Hennepin County, with election day just two days away. Ballots across the county carry important questions that will impact communities.
News Talk 830 WCCO’s Steve Simpson reported that those gathered outside the voting center at noon experienced about a 30-minute wait to cast their ballot ahead of time.
In Minneapolis, many have been debating whether or not to vote for question 2 on the upcoming ballot as it would impact the Minneapolis Police Department.
Minneapolis Chief of Police Medaria Arradondo held a press conference last week urging voters to vote no, joining other notable elected officials like Gov. Tim Walz, Mayor Jacob Frey, and Congresswoman Tina Smith, who don’t support the question.
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“To vote on a measure of reimagining public safety without a solid plan and an implementation or direction of work, this is too critical of a time to wish and hope for that help that we need so desperately right now,” Arradondo said in his press conference. “And again, I was not expecting some sort of robust, detailed word for word plan. But at this point, quite frankly, I would take a drawing on a napkin.”
Those in support of the change include the President of the Minneapolis City Council Lisa Bender, Rep. Ilhan Omar, and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison.
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Bender filed an ethics complaint against Frey and Arradondo for their comments. She also disagreed, saying that the question had been carefully thought out.
“Senior staff at the City, who are largely staff of color, have been working for years to analyze our existing public safety system and make detailed, serious recommendations informed by data and community engagement,” Bender said in the statement. “Chief Arradondo knows this because MPD has been fully involved the whole time.”
Election day is Nov. 2.
