Crow Wing County officials are reporting a significant increase in both absentee and mail-in ballots for the upcoming election.

The county has around 40% of registered voters choosing to vote via absentee or mail-in ballots thus far, which is an increase of 15% compared to several previous election years. Deborah Erickson, Crow Wing County Administrative Director, believes the jump is due to both the ongoing pandemic and also a greater sense of urgency by voters to cast their ballots for this year’s presidential race.

Crow Wing County officials anticipate ballot counting to continue past election day for up to seven days due to an influx of mail-in voting.

By — Lakeland News