Eagan Residents Set All-Time Record for Voter Turnout in 2012

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Editor's Note: The following is a press release from the city of Eagan.

Eagan residents take voting seriously. Perhaps that is why nearly 84 percent (83.9 percent) of registered voters in Eagan turned out to the polls on Election Day, shattering the previous high mark of 81.2 percent turnout in the 2004 presidential election.

Not only did Eagan top its own record turnout, but Eagan exceeded the statewide estimate of 76 percent by a full 8 percent, and beat the national turnout of 57.5 percent by a whopping 26.5 percent.

“We expected turnout would be high,” said Eagan City Clerk Christina Scipioni. “Reports from our election judges in all our precincts were that the polls were running smoothly, but we saw a steady stream of people the entire day. Our election judges did an excellent job assisting the high number of voters, including some 6,700 people who registered to vote that day,” Scipioni added.

While the number of same day registrants might seem high, that’s actually down from about 7,200 registrations in 2008.

Twelve of Eagan’s 20 precincts had turnouts of 85 percent or higher, with Precinct 15 south of Diffley Road and north of Wilderness Run setting the high mark of 88 percent voter turnout at Pinewood Elementary.

Eagan’s high levels can be attributed to a number of possible factors. Many are pointing to the amendments on the ballot as a catalyst for high turnout, particularly in the suburban areas of the state. Additionally, Eagan had a number of hotly contested legislative races in this cycle, which can fuel voters getting to the polls.

Eagan had more than 39,000 registered voters heading into the election, combined with 6,724 Election Day Registrations combined for 46,152 total registered voters. 38,734 actually voted, including 4,173 who voted absentee. Election results were certified at Tuesday night’s (November 13) City Council meeting.