NOTICE TO BROWN COUNTY TAXPAYERS: Brown County is responsible for administering elections and assists many townships, school districts, and cities with the election process.
Upcoming Election:
State General Election - November 8th, 2022
The site, Minnesota Election Facts, includes a step-by-step narrative of the elections process and a Fact and Fiction section that counteracts common rumors and misinformation about voting and elections in Minnesota.
Any eligible voter can vote early in person or by mail. The official name for this is voting by absentee ballot.
Voters who wish to vote early must request an absentee ballot by completing an Absentee Ballot Application online, or they may vote early in person.
Absentee Ballot Applications and information may be found on the Secretary of State's website at MNVotes.org. For paper applications or assistance, call 507-233-6613.
Absentee Ballot packets can be tracked from the point the voter submits the request/application to the point it is accepted by the county. Track your absentee ballot here.
Ballots may be returned by mail (a postage prepaid return envelope is included when the ballots are mailed), delivered in person by the voter, or delivered by designated agent (agent must bring valid ID with to turn in any ballot that isn’t their own) to the Brown County Auditor-Treasurer’s Office, 14 S State St, New Ulm, MN. Absentee Ballots must be received no later than 3pm on Election Day.
In-Person early voting is available during the below times at the Brown County Courthouse, 14 S State St, New Ulm, MN
- During normal office hours, 8:00 am to 4:30 pm
- The Saturday before the election, from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm
- The Monday before the election, until 5:00 pm
Military and overseas voters can refer to the State's website for more information.
Full Instructions can be found on the MN Secretary of State's Website, Other Ways to Vote.
The following Precincts in Brown County have elected to vote by mail ballot procedure in statewide elections as authorized under Minnesota Statutes 204B.45. All other precincts vote at their designated polling place on Election Day.
Cities of: Cobden, Evan and Hanska
Townships of: Albin, Cottonwood, Home, Lake Hanska, Linden, Mulligan, Prairieville, Sigel, Stark, and Stately
Ballots may be returned by mail (a postage prepaid return envelope is included when the ballots are mailed), delivered in person by the voter, or delivered by designated agent (an agent must bring a valid ID to turn in any ballot that isn’t their own) to the Brown County Auditor-Treasurer’s Office, 14 S State St, New Ulm, MN. If mailing, the ballot must be received in the November 8th mail; if dropping of in person, no later than 8 pm.
Voters with disabilities and other special needs, either permanent or temporary, may access a voter assist terminal to mark their ballot by bringing their ballot and ballot envelopes to the Brown County Auditor-Treasurer’s Office at the address noted above.
Officials are also available at these locations to complete the witness requirements for mail ballots. Instructions are included with each ballot. Please be sure to read through the instructions before attempting to mark your ballot. The back of the return envelope must be signed by the voter and witnessed by any of the following:
- Anyone REGISTERED to vote in Minnesota, including a spouse or relative,
- A notary public, or
- A person with the authority to administer oaths.
Prompt return of voted ballots is encouraged so that any omitted requirements can be corrected in advance of Election Day. Ballots are processed when received (processed meaning the outside sealed envelope is either approved or rejected upon review; the secrecy envelope with the ballot is not opened at that time), and voters will be notified if there is a problem. Voters casting a mail ballot may also track their ballot on-line as stated above, by visiting the website of the Minnesota Secretary of State at mnvotes.sos.state.mn.us.
Mail Ballots can be tracked in the sent, received and accepted or rejected phases. To see your status, go here: Track your absentee ballot here.
In Addition to normal business hours, extended hours for mail ballot voting (for in-person drop off, voter assist terminal access or absentee voting for non-registered voters) is available during the below times at the Brown County Courthouse, 14 S State St, New Ulm, MN
- During normal office hours, 8:00 am to 4:30 pm.
- The Saturday before the Election, from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm.
- The Monday before the Election, until 5:00 pm.
Minnesota voters always cast their vote on paper ballots, but special equipment is often used to count ballots, mark ballots, sign in, and register voters. Brown County uses equipment made by Election Systems & Software (ES&S), KNOWiNK, and Democracy Live.
ELECTION SYSTEMS AND SOFTWARE
ES & DS 200
ES & S DS450
BALLOT TABULATORS
All ballot tabulators used in Minnesota are optical scan, so they “read” the ballot and record a vote for each candidate that has their target (usually an oval) filled in on the ballot. Brown County currently uses the ES&S DS200 to tabulate ballots at the polling place on Election Day. The ES&S DS450 is used at the Auditor-Treasurer's office to tabulate absentee and mail ballots. This equipment does not contain a modem and is never connected to the internet.
KNOWiNK Poll Pad
Electronic Pollbooks
KNOWink Poll Pads are used on Election Day to both check-in registered voters and register non-registered voters at their polling location.
DEMOCRACY LIVE OMNIBALLOT TABLET
ASSISTIVE VOTING EQUIPMENT
ASSISTIVE VOTING EQUIPMENT With a few exceptions, federal law requires that all polling places must have equipment which allows private and independent voting for voters with disabilities. Assistive voting devices fulfill this role. They are separate pieces of equipment from the tabulators, and do not tally votes but merely help a voter mark an optical scan ballot. As required by state law, this equipment is connected to a printer and produces a full-size paper ballot. This equipment is never connected to the internet.
The OmniBallot Tablet will be available on display at the Brown County Auditor-Treasurer's Office located at 14 S State St, New Ulm, for demonstrations. To schedule a demo, call 507-233-6613.
Beginning June 24th, 2022 the OmniBallot Tablet can be used for absentee ballots – during the hours of 8:00AM-4:30 PM Monday through Friday. One OmniBallot Tablet will also be available at each Polling Place on Election Day.
EQUIPMENT TESTING
Brown County Election Administrators use a number of procedures to ensure equipment will accurately record valid votes. Equipment is approved by the state, tested locally before elections, and the results audited after elections.
EQUIPMENT CERTIFICATION
Before being certified for use in Minnesota, all voting equipment must be tested and certified by test labs accredited by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission and undergo detailed additional testing by the Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State.
PRE-ELECTION TESTING
Before every election, local election officials test all equipment to be used in that election. For the preliminary testing, ballots are marked with assistive voting devices, a set of pre-marked ballots is fed into the ballot tabulators, and the machine's totals are compared with the pre-determined results. The Voting Equipment is also tested at a Public Accuracy Test which occurs before every election. Public Accuracy Tests are open to the public.
Election Results can be found on the Secretary of State Website
Historical County Election Results
County Commissioner District 1 (pdf)
County Commissioner District 2 (pdf)
County Commissioner District 3 (pdf)
County Commissioner District 4 (pdf)
County Commissioner District 5 (pdf)
County Attorney (pdf)
County Auditor (Consolidated with Treasurer in 4-21-1989) (pdf)
County Auditor-Treasurer (pdf)
County Recorder/Register of Deeds (pdf)
County Sheriff (pdf)
County Coroner (pdf)
County Surveyor (pdf)
County Superintendent of Schools (Abolished 7-1-1971) (pdf)
Historical Courts Election Results
Judge of Probate (pdf)
Court Administrator/Clerk of Court (pdf)
Historical Minnesota Legislative Results
Minnesota House of Representatives (pdf)
Minnesota Senate (pdf)
- Election Day Voting – Overview and FAQs
- Caucus Finder - Minnesota Secretary of State Voter Information Portal
- Election Results
- Historical Results of Past Elections
Minnesota State statute 211A.02, Subd6 requires local officials to publish campaign finance reports online based on jurisdiction population and dollar amounts spent. Listed below are the names of Brown County elected official candidates with links to submitted campaign finance reports by candidate.
Applicable city, school district, or town clerks with 400 or more registered voters as of January 1 of the election year and with websites are responsible for candidate filings within those entities.
All reports are in PDF Format
2022
- Jason Seidl for County Sheriff
- Chuck Hanson for County Attorney
- Mary Schreiner for County Recorder
- Anton Berg for County Commissioner District 2
- Brian Braun for County Commissioner District 4
- Jeff Veerkamp for County Commissioner District 5
- Brad Augustin for Soil & Water Conservation Supervisor District 2
- William J Eckstein for Soil & Water Conservation Supervisor District 3
- Rae L. Runck for Soil & Water Conservation Supervisor District
Redistricting is the process of redrawing the boundaries of election districts to ensure that the people of each district are equally represented after the completion of Congressional reapportionment following the Decennial Census. The Public Hearing to Consider Plans for Redistricting of County Commissioner Districts and Approve County Redistricting Plan was held during the regular board meeting on Tuesday, April 19, 2022.
For more information regarding Redistricting, please visit the Secretary of States Site Minnesota Secretary Of State - Redistricting