More Freeborn County registered voters came out to cast their ballots in the Tuesday primary election than they did in the last presidential primary election, according to the Freeborn County Auditor-Treasurer’s Office.

Nicole LaFrance, Freeborn County elections administrator, said the county had a 31 percent voter turnout Tuesday, which county leaders were pleased with. In the 2008 primary election there was an almost 22 percent turnout locally.

That means that 5,841 out of 18,627 registered Freeborn County voters participated in the election.

LaFrance credited the relatively high primary turnout to the countywide sheriff’s race, which included incumbent Sheriff Mark Harig and challengers Bob Kindler, Marc Johnson and Ryan Merkouris. Kindler came out on top, followed by Harig. Kindler and Harig will move on to the general election, while Johnson and Merkouris’ race came to an end.

Another important race for Albert Lea residents was the choice for mayor.

About 32 percent of the registered Albert Lea voters cast their ballot for mayor, according to the Minnesota Secretary of State’s website.

All county residents also were able to vote for a governor candidate within their party lines, among other offices.

LaFrance said there were roughly 300 new registrants and 325 absentee ballots cast across the county.

“It was very good,” she said. “We had a little glitch at the end of the night, but that only lasted a few minutes.”

Election workers were finished tabulating the results by 11 p.m.

One of the most surprising races of the night was the DFL gubernatorial race, which came down to Mark Dayton and Margaret Anderson Kelliher. Dayton won.

Freeborn County DFL Party Vice Chairwoman Rose Anderson said she and her husband, Art, were pleased with the results of Tuesday’s primary election when DFLer Mark Dayton surpassed Margaret Anderson Kelliher.

“We were kind of pulling for him because he has more of our ideas,” Rose Anderson said.

She noted she hopes the party is able to pull together and unify their support for Dayton.

Freeborn County Republican Party Co-Chairman Al Arends said he was surprised Dayton won the primary.

“He has definitely the most controversial positions,” Arends said, noting that the gubernatorial candidates who made it through to the general election have a big contrast between them.

The general election will be Nov. 2.

Statewide

Nearly 590,000 Minnesota voters went to the polls in Tuesday’s primary for a turnout of 15.5 percent, with absentee voting rising to a new high.

Secretary of State Mark Ritchie released unofficial numbers on Wednesday, calling the first August primary a “big success.”

The primary was held a month earlier than usual under a new law meant to give military and overseas voters more time to cast absentee ballots in the general election.

Turnout was the highest since 2000, including more than 31,000 absentee ballots.

The numbers are unofficial and may change before election results are certified next Tuesday.