Early-voting Minnesotans excited to weigh in on 2020 presidential race

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - The wait is over, Minnesota.

The state's early-voting period opened at 8 a.m. Friday in the 2020 presidential primary. Minnesotans joined short lines at voting centers for the opportunity to call themselves among the first in the country to weigh in on the race.

"I checked with the person before me and he voted for Bernie," said Jerry Gale of Brooklyn Park, who was second in line at the Hennepin County Government Center. "I voted for Amy, so I’m claiming to be the first person in the nation to vote for Amy Klobuchar to be the presidential candidate."

While it's impossible to tell who was the first to cast a ballot across the state, Minnesota does hold the distinction of opening early voting to all voters before any other state. The primary itself is March 3.

The campaigns of Bernie Sanders and Amy Klobuchar held get-out-the-vote events in the state Friday morning. Klobuchar is scheduled to hold a rally in downtown Minneapolis on Friday evening.

It's uncharted territory for many voters and election officials; Minnesota hasn't held a presidential primary since 1992.

Turnout in Minneapolis may reach 40 to 50 percent, said Grace Wachlarowicz, the city's elections director. The city is using social media to spread the word about how to vote, and plans a special mailer to residents.

Outside the Hennepin County Government Center, a few dozen Sanders supporters gathered with U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, who endorsed Sanders this fall.

"Today, you don’t only cast your vote, you make sure all of us have the opportunity to cast our vote for Bernie," Omar said, encouraging people to text or call five friends or neighbors and tell them to vote.

Omar later held a second small event on the University of Minnesota campus, where she told reporters that she planned to campaign with Sanders in Iowa before the Feb. 3 caucuses there.

The primary is mostly important on the Democratic side. There are 15 names on the ballot -- though three of them, Cory Booker, Marianne Williamson and Julian Castro -- have dropped out. Voters will also be able to choose "uncommitted."

DFL Party Chairman Ken Martin held a news conference with supporters of eight Democratic candidates Friday afternoon, before they early voted.

"What we’re seeing throughout Minnesota, what we’re seeing throughout the country is record excitement, record enthusiasm," Martin told reporters.

Republican voters will see only one name: President Donald Trump. They will also have the opportunity to write in a name, though it's up to the state GOP whether those votes will ever be counted for specific candidates.

"While Democrats fight it out to determine who can be the most radical, far-left candidate, Republicans across the state are energized and excited to show their support for President Donald Trump," GOP Chairwoman Jennifer Carnahan said in an emailed statement.

Voters will have the opportunity to get their ballots back until Feb. 25 and change their votes. All early votes won't be counted until the primary.

Klobuchar's campaign held eight early-voting events with surrogates around the state. Klobuchar is scheduled to be joined by Gov. Tim Walz and U.S. Rep. Angie Craig at her rally at First Avenue on Friday evening.

The Minnesota senator plans to be in Iowa for campaign events on Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

The Senate impeachment trial that starts next week will divert her attention away from the campaign trail. But rivals Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, also U.S. senators, are in the same position.