Ramsey County ballot counting center opens to public

The count center in downtown St. Paul opened on Wednesday with a record number of absentee ballots that need to be counted.

New this year, the public is invited to attend.

"We have never had any public come view our count center," said Heather Bestler, Ramsey County deputy director of elections.

Bestler says there are 10 viewing spots available at a time inside the count center in St. Paul’s Metro Square. Four of those spots are for Minnesota’s major political parties, two for news organizations and the remaining four for the general public.

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"The auditorium behind us would normally hold 200-300 people, it’s limited to 60 people right now due to COVID," Bestler said.

Coronavirus restrictions are strictly enforced. From required masks to plexi-glass dividers in between workers, those are just a couple of the safety measures in place.

"COVID has impacted elections in a big way," Bestler said.

In a year with so much controversy surrounding the integrity of counting the votes, election officials say transparency is key.

"It’s vitally important that all steps of the process are transparent. Our goal is to make sure that the public’s confidence remains high in the election outcome," Bestler said.

The counting will take place weekdays through Nov. 10 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.