Though it may not feel like it, we're only six weeks removed from the 2012 election. It's OK, you can check the calendar. On election day, students from visiting assistant professor Henriet Hendriks' St. Olaf College political science class conducted exit polling throughout the Second Congressional District, which contains all of Rice, Carver, Scott, Goodhue and Le Sueur counties, as well as most of Dakota and Washington counties. This week, Hendricks' class finished analyzing the more than 500 responses from Rice, Dakota and Scott counties, which asked respondents how they voted for the …

After unofficially being named the winner by 78 votes the morning after election day, Kevin Dahle can now officially call himself senator-elect. Dahle, a DFLer in a tight race with Republican Mike Dudley in Senate District 20, won with a 71-vote edge after a three-day recount of all the ballots concluded Friday. The recount added six votes in Dudley's column, while Dahle lost one vote from the election day totals. (Full results below.) On Dec. 4, the elections board will go over the challenged ballots (one by each Dahle and Dudley) and certify the results. Recount results State Senator …

One day after telling Northfield Patch that he was weighing all his options after being narrowly defeated in the Senate District 20 race, Republican candidate Mike Dudley on Thursday said he'll let the procedure move forward according to state statute. Because the vote totals from Tuesday's election are within one-half of 1 percent of each other (50.03 percent for DFLer Kevin Dahle and 49.84 percent for Dudley), an automatic recount is triggered, according to Minnesota statute. Check out a precinct-by-precinct breakdown of the race. However, according to statute, a losing candidate may waive …

Here's how residents in a selection of Minnesota cities voted on the proposed Voter ID amendment to the state Constitution, which would have required photo ID at polling places. Statewide, the ballot measure failed to pass the 50 percent level of support it needed (46.34 percent with all but three Minnesota precincts' results). But if citizens in 14 of these 36 Patch communities had their way, the state Constitution would have a new amendment. Support for the amendment in these cities covered by Patch ranged from 19.30 percent in Southwest Minneapolis to 61.23 percent in St. Michael. (Lake …

It's not a secret that Northfield has a reputation that favors Democratic-Farmer-Labor candidates. In the 2008 presidential election, then-DFL candidate Barack Obama won each of Northfield's nine precincts by a large margin. Overall, he collected 71.8 percent of the 10,860 votes cast in his race against Republican candidate John McCain. In 2010, DFLers Kevin Dahle and David Bly easily carried Northfield but lost their re-election bid for the Minnesota Senate and House, respectively, to their Republican counterparts. It'll be no surprised that the DFL momentum continued in Northfield for this …

With the Senate District 20 race separated by a mere 82 votes and an automatic recount in sight, here's a look at the 46-precinct breakdown in the race between the DFL's Kevin Dahle and Republican Mike Dudley. The second table shows the 25-precinct breakdown between DFLer David Bly and Republican Brian Wermerskirchen in the House District 20B race. All results are unofficial until verified by a canvassing board. You can also visit other pages on Northfield Patch to see: The Northfield City Council, mayoral, school board and Dundas City Council results. The Rice County Board of Commissioners, …

The results are in and Dana Graham is Northfield's new mayor. Graham received 4,947 votes and defeated Councilor Rhonda Pownell, who received 3,461 votes. "First of all I want to thank Rhonda for running a very positive campaign and I look forward to working with her on the Council," Graham said when told the results by Northfield Patch. "I'm going to work very hard to show the people that their votes tonight are justified. We're going to do some good things in the next four years." Graham previously served on the Northfield City Council and was defeated by 13 votes in the 2008 At-Large race…

UPDATED: 8:15 a.m. Wednesday Editor's note: The full update on the Dahle, Dudley race can be found here. Northfield's David Bly and Kevin Dahle are heading back to St. Paul. Bly, who lost a re-election bid to the Minnesota House in 2010 by 37 votes, beat Republican Brian Wermerskirchen 57 percent to 43 percent on Tuesday in the House District 20B race. Dahle's race was much closer, besting Republican Mike Dudley by 82 votes, according to the Minnesota Secretary of State's preliminary results, which were updated at 7:45 a.m. Wednesday. Around 1 a.m., MPR and WCCO reported that Dahle had won by…

Patch caught up with students outside of Buntrock Commons at St. Olaf College on Tuesday to talk to them about Election Day and what it means to them. Buntrock serves as the polling locations for Ward 4-Precinct 2. Earlier in the morning, Patch was outside St. Peter's Lutheran Church where voters lined up as early as 6:15 a.m. to cast their ballots in today's election. On the Northfield Patch Facebook page, Rebecca Bliss posted that she was the sixth person at the Ward 1-Precinct 1 polling location, which is First United Church of Christ. Shannon Schulz was No. 166 at W2-P2, which is the …

Northfield voters lined up as early as 6:15 a.m. to cast their ballots in today's election. When polls opened at 7 a.m., about 50 people were in line at St. Peter's Lutheran Church.  On the Northfield Patch Facebook page, Rebecca Bliss posted that she was the sixth person at the Ward 1-Precinct 1 polling location, which is First United Church of Christ. Shannon Schulz was No. 166 at W2-P2, which is the Northfield Community Resource Center. Brea Cruce, who voted at St. Peter's, wrote she was No. 325.  If you still need to head to the polls today, be sure to know where to go and find out what …

Minnesota and Wisconsin voters have, including those in Richfield, until 8 p.m. to cast their Election 2012 ballots, but voting in other key states ends as much as two hours before then, and exit polling could provide an early indication of whether President Obama or Mitt Romney wins the White House. The earliest key state to watch for is Virginia, where polls close at 6 p.m. Minnesota time.  Voting ends 30 minutes later in swing states Ohio and North Carolina. At 7 p.m. swing states Florida, Pennsylvania and New Hampshire close their polls. Nevada and Iowa, which could be pivotal swing …

Election season is nearly done and Northfield City Council and mayoral candidates have released their finance reports that were due last week to the state's Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board.  Are you ready for election day? Check out our Voter's Guide. Do campaign signs matter? Campaign Finance Reports for Northfield's Legislative Candidates Campaign Finance Reports for Rice County Candidates Some candidates have raised thousands of dollars during the election cycle. With Election Day only hours away, some candidates still have cash on hand, at least according to the most recent …

Nov. 6 has been circled on the calendar for some time. Finally, Election Day is here. Northfield Patch has created a guide so you know when you can vote, where you can vote and who's asking for your vote. On this post you'll find a breakdown of the races and issues with several links that'll lead you to more information on Patch and other sources. Words that are blue are links that will bring you to more information. Be sure to keep your browser on Patch on Election Day as we bring you updates throughout the day and share results as they come in. Voting is open between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. on …

In their only forum of the campaign season, Northfield School Board candidates Dan Cupersmith, Rob Hardy, Ellen Iverson, Anne Maple and Noel Stratmoen met Oct. 26 in front of students and community members at Northfield High School. The forum was hosted by the Mayor's Youth Council. You can also find all the information you need to be informed for Election Day in our Voter's Guide. Follow Northfield Patch on Twitter | Like us on Facebook | Sign up for our free newsletter 

Election season is nearly done and Rice County Board of Commissioner candidates have released their finance reports that were due last week to the state's Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board.  Are you ready for election day? Check out our Voter's Guide. Do campaign signs matter? Campaign Finance Reports for Northfield Mayoral, City Council Candidates Campaign Finance Reports for Northfield's Legislative Candidates Here's a look at the totals through Oct. 29. Special notes: Not all reports are equal and some candidates have more detailed reports than others. In some cases, money spent…

Campaign season breeds heavy discussion and, in some cases, arguments. One decades-old argument questions the effectiveness of door-knocking, mailers and, yes, campaign signs.  But while door-knocking and mailers can sometimes provide some context behind a candidate or issue, what affect does a sign with a person’s name and hopeful elected office have? Is there more to it than just the words? "Signs only matter if you can read them at a distance—no fancy fonts, sans serif is best, red and white is the best combination, big letters, relatively few words,” said Steve Schier, a professor of …

Election season is nearly done and Northfield's legislative candidates have released their finance reports that were due last week to the state's Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board.  Some candidates have raised tens of thousands of dollars during the election cycle. With Election Day only hours away, some candidates still have sizable amounts of cash on hand. Are you ready for election day? Check out our Voter's Guide. Do campaign signs matter? Campaign Finance Reports for Northfield Mayoral, City Council Candidates Campaign Finance Reports for Rice County Candidates Here's a look …

Editor's note: Submitted by Prairie Creek Community School. The basket of gourds didn’t look like a civics lesson at first.  Students in the fourth- and fifth-grade classes at Prairie Creek each chose a gourd, named it, and interviewed it as part of a creative writing assignment. But their gourds were citizens of the United States of Gourd—and a presidential election was coming up in a few weeks.  They feverishly began preparing, learning about the Declaration of Independence from King Gourd III, the three vines of government and, of course, the platforms of the two political parties, the …

Northfield school board candidates Dan Cupersmith, Rob Hardy, Ellen Iverson, Anne Maple and Noel Stratmoen recently met with members of the Mayor's Youth Council to answer a simple question: If elected, what would you do for youth? In this short video, the five candidates, who are each asking for your vote on Nov. 6, share their thoughts. You can also find out more information about all candidates in Northfield-related races by checking out our election guide. Follow Northfield Patch on Twitter | Like us on Facebook | Sign up for our free newsletter 

Editor's Note: Submitted by the Mayor's Youth Council. As part of their ongoing efforts to ensure a youth voice in the 2012 elections, the Mayor’s Youth Council hosted a “Youth Vote” on Friday, Nov. 2, 2012, during the lunch hours at the Northfield High School.  A total of 399 youth, or roughly one-third of the student body, cast their votes in upcoming local, state and national contests. **************************************** Results included: U.S. President and Vice PresidentBarack Obama and Joe Biden (Democratic-Farmer-Labor) – 65.4%Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan (Republican) – 25.3%Other – 9…