MINNEAPOLIS— While most of the attention on Election Day this year will be on the presidential election, there are also plenty of downballot items that deserve attention.
In Minnesota, there are a few interesting local ballot measures that voters should be aware of, including how lottery money is allocated, subsidizing money for childcare and more. Below you will find an overview.
Want to see everything that’s on the ballot in Minnesota this year? WCCO has you covered.
Should lottery money continue to go to the state’s environmental fund?
Every voter in Minnesota will see this constitutional amendment on their ballot.
Forty percent of lottery proceeds go to the state Environment and National Resources Trust Fund, which finances projects such as Thompson Park in Dakota County. Every 25 years, voters must reaffirm the amendment.
This is what the question will look like on your ballot:
“Shall the Minnesota Constitution be amended to protect drinking water sources and the water quality of lakes, rivers, and streams; preserve wildlife habitat and natural areas; improve air quality; and expand access to parks and trails by transferring of proceeds from the state-run lottery to the Trust Fund for the Environment and Natural Resources, and to use the proceeds for these purposes?”
If you skip this question, your vote will count as no.
St. Paul: Childcare Subsidy
A ballot measure in St. Paul would create a special tax levy (which means an increase in property taxes). Subsidize child care costs for low-income families. It would be the first city in Minnesota to try such an approach.
The levy would raise $2 million in the first year and increase to $20 million in the tenth year of implementation, for a total investment of $110 million over ten years.
Advocates believe it’s a step in the right direction to find solutions to a persistent problem facing young families. Opponents, including St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter, believe the plan promises more but will not deliver enough. Carter told the City Council last month that city staff would not be able to implement the grant program if it were successful.
Here is the full language:
SHOULD THE CITY RATE TAXES TO PROVIDE EARLY LEARNING GRANTS?
To create a dedicated early care and education fund for children to be administered by a city department or office that provides grants to families and providers so that early care and education are at no cost to low-income families and in a sliding scale available for, the City of Saint Paul shall be authorized to levy property taxes in the amount of $2,000,000 in the first year, and to increase the number of child care spaces and support the child care workforce, to levy property taxes in the first year to levy $2,000,000, to be increased by the same amount per family. the following year for the next nine years ($4,000,000 in property taxes assessed in year two, $6,000,000 in year three, $8,000,000 in year four and so on until $20,000,000 in property taxes is assessed in year ten).
St. Paul: Should city races switch to presidential election years?
The capital is also asking voters if they want change when they vote for local races.
The measure would change city races, such as mayor and city council, from odd years to presidential election years.
Supporters say it is intended to increase voter engagement, as odd-numbered elections traditionally have very low turnout. Meanwhile, opponents like Carter say the city deserves to have its own election conversation, separate from the big headline-grabbing races.
If approved, the change would be phased in by 2028.
Bloomington: Should ranked choice voting be repealed?
In Bloomington, voters are asked if they want that repeal of ranked choice voting for their local elections, four years after voters chose to implement it in the first place.
Four other Minnesota cities – Minneapolis, St. Paul, Minnetonka and St. Louis Park – use it ranked choice voting in their local elections.
A similar repeal efforts failed last year in Minnetonka.
WCCO personnel
