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Township elections, PR referendum Tuesday [UPDATED]
Published 5:24am Monday, March 11, 2013 Updated 7:25am Monday, March 11, 2013Fifty one of the 62 townships in Otter Tail County will have elections Tuesday, March 12 for the position of Town Supervisor and Town Treasurer. All voters in the 548 School District will also be asked to complete a ballot regarding approval of bonds for Pelican Rapids High School facility improvements.
While some townships have expanded voting hours, all are required to be open at least 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Those townships that are in the 548 School District are required to have voting hours from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Most township races are uncontested. However, in Fergus Falls Township two candidates, Marvin R. Westvig and Ben Wolden, are vying to fill a term vacancy for Town Supervisor. In Star Lake Township, there is a contested race for Town Treasurer between Carol Peterson and Crystal Collins.
The townships are not required to submit candidate information to the county or state, so there may be other contested races.
If township residents write in a candidate and that person wins, the candidate must decide whether he or she wishes to accept the position. If there is no candidate or no votes for a position, it is up to the township board to appoint a candidate.
The remaining 11 townships have even year elections and will not have an election this year. Those with even year voting include: Buse; Butler; Dane Prairie; Dunn; Folden; Newton; Oscar; Pelican; Perham; Rush Lake; and Trondhjem.
