Daily Journal launches Minnesota voter guide for Otter Tail County residents

Otter Tail County voters who do not want to miss a deadline now have a single place to check the basics. The Fergus Falls Daily Journal has rolled out its Minnesota Voter’s Guide, a local election hub built to pull candidate information, ballot details and voting logistics into one spot for readers across the county.

The timing matters. Election laws have changed during the 2023-24 legislative session, statewide races are already taking shape for November, and local filing windows are opening now in Fergus Falls. For voters trying to keep track of the calendar, the guide is aimed at preventing the kind of mistake that can cost a ballot, a filing, or a trip to the wrong polling place.

What the Daily Journal guide puts in one place

The guide is built as a practical election tool, not a campaign brochure. It includes candidate profiles submitted by people running for office, ballot issues and key measures, polling locations and voting times, a personalized sample ballot tool, the latest election coverage and updates, and a FAQ section that answers common voting questions.

That sample ballot tool comes from the League of Women Voters, which makes it especially useful for voters who want to see the races tied to their own address instead of a broad countywide summary. The Daily Journal says its goal is to make important local election information accessible to all readers, and it is directing voters to its vote hub for the full guide.

For Otter Tail County residents, that mix matters because the election conversation is not confined to one level of government. A voter in Fergus Falls may be looking at city races, county questions or state contests, while someone elsewhere in the county may see a different combination on the same election date.

The deadlines that can trip up local voters

The county calendar gives Otter Tail voters a long runway, but the dates arrive quickly once filing and voting season starts. Absentee voting opens June 26 and continues through August 10, which means voters who want to handle their ballot before Election Day can start well before the primary. Early voting begins July 24 and runs through August 10, the same stretch when the county’s public accuracy test for voting equipment is scheduled.

Here are the key dates Otter Tail County and Fergus Falls voters should keep on their radar:

• June 26 to August 10: absentee voting period
• July 14 to July 28: City of Fergus Falls candidate filing period, from 8:00 a.m. Tuesday, July 14, through 5:00 p.m. Tuesday, July 28
• July 24 to August 10: early voting period and public accuracy test
• Tuesday, August 11: primary election
• Tuesday, November 3: general election

Those dates matter for different reasons. The filing window determines who gets onto the city ballot, the accuracy test is part of the county’s election equipment checks, and the absentee and early voting periods give people multiple ways to cast a ballot without waiting for Election Day lines.

What will be on the ballot this fall

Minnesota Secretary of State materials say the 2026 general-election ballot will include statewide offices such as U.S. senator, U.S. representative, governor and lieutenant governor, secretary of state, state auditor, attorney general, state senator, state representative and judicial seats. Depending on where a voter lives, the ballot may also include county, city or other local races.

That is one reason the guide’s polling-place and sample-ballot tools are so important. Not every Otter Tail County voter will be looking at the same local contests, and even neighbors can face different ballot combinations depending on district lines and residence. The guide’s FAQ section is designed to cut down on that confusion before a voter reaches the polling place.

In Fergus Falls, polling places are open from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Election Day. That long window helps, but it also means voters still need to show up at the correct location and not assume every city site operates the same way. Checking the guide before heading out remains the simplest way to avoid a preventable mistake.

Why this cycle deserves extra attention

This election cycle comes with one added complication: state election guidance is still catching up to changes approved in the 2023-24 legislative session. Secretary of State Steve Simon’s office says many election laws were changed and some guidance documents are not yet fully updated, which makes current local information more valuable than older handouts or saved links.

The scale of the local electorate also underscores the stakes. Otter Tail County had 40,784 registered voters at 7 a.m. on Election Day in the 2024 general election, out of an estimated population of 60,884 on July 1, 2024. That is a substantial voting base for a county where local filing windows, polling-place details and ballot changes can affect thousands of people at once.

For voters in Fergus Falls and across Otter Tail County, the Daily Journal’s guide is meant to be the shortcut that keeps all of that straight. In a year when deadlines stack up fast and state rules are still shifting, the voters who check the calendar early will have the clearest path to the ballot box.