Long vote count in one county

Photo: Comstock, Photos.com

Nov 5, 2012 at 12:41 pm

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (KNSI) Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie says it might take until Wednesday until all election results are tallied in St. Louis County.

Not only is the county the largest geographically in Minnesota, but some ballots will be counted by hand because of write-in candidates in District 7B, which includes part of Duluth.

Kerry Gauthier withdrew from a re-election campaign in the wake of a sex scandal.

Ritchie says St. Louis County has traditionally been one of the last reporting counties because of its size. But, because of hand counting, results from Tuesday's election might not be known until 1 a.m. or 2 a.m. Wednesday.

Statewide, Ritchie expects 500,000 or more voters to register at the polls.