Beltrami County outperforms state average in voter turnout

Nicole Ronchetti, The Bemidji Pioneer, Minn.
·2 min read

Nov. 18—BEMIDJI — Beltrami County saw a slightly higher voter turnout than the Minnesota average, with 18,221 individuals, or 62%, of registered voters, casting a ballot in the 2022 midterm election.

In comparison, the Minnesota Secretary of State currently estimates that just over 60% of all Minnesotans participated in the midterms,

still well higher than the national average of 47%.

In the city of Bemidji, just over 5,000 people voted, but the overall turnout was 58%, slightly lower than the county average.

Looking at Bemidji's five wards separately, this breakdown compares the total registered voters in each ward to those who participated in the 2022 election.

* Ward 1: 684 of 1,350 registered voters, or 51%.

* Ward 2: 903 of 1,688 registered voters, 53%.

* Ward 3: 1,131 of 1,904 registered voters, or 62%.

* Ward 4: 1,066 of 1,810 registered voters, or 57%.

* Ward 5: 1,278 of 1,940 registered voters, or 66%.

Of all the precincts in the county, Red Lake saw the lowest voter turnout, with just 28% of its 1,682 registered voters taking part in the midterm election.

Steenerson Township had the highest voter turnout with 84%, but with relatively small numbers. Of the 19 voters registered in the precinct, 16 voted.

Of the precincts with more than 1,000 registered voters, Frohn Township had the best voter turnout, with 75% of its 1,143 registered voters casting a ballot.

Turtle Lake Township and Northern Township, also both with more than 1,000 registered voters, similarly had turnout rates of over 70%.

Like most midterm elections, 2022 saw a decrease in voter turnout compared to the 2020 presidential year. There was also a decrease in turnout from the last midterm elections in 2018.

Compared to the last midterm election in 2018, there was a slight increase in how many people voted, however. In 2018 Beltrami County saw 18,077 voters, compared to 2022's 18,221.

A total of 39 of the county's 63 precincts showed a higher number of voters, but these increases were counterbalanced by decreased voter numbers in others, including in Northern Township, Ponemah, Red Lake, and Redby.

Overall Beltrami had a lower turnout than in the last midterm, which saw over 74% of the county's registered voters cast a ballot, compared to this year's 62%. Midterm voter turnout as a whole was down in the state from 2018, which saw a record midterm high turnout of just over 64%.