By Shay Lelonek / News Director

ST. CLOUD, Minn. — The primary election for midterms is Tuesday, August 11 with several local races on the ballots, and polls are open from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.

In St. Cloud, two City Council Ward seats will have a primary, including Ward 1 and Ward 4. The other two ward seats will go right to the general election in November.

Candidates for Ward 1 include Charlie Hobbs, Dave Masters, and Dreyton Nichols. This city council district covers the central parts of the city, including most of downtown, as well as the SCSU campus and surrounding neighborhoods.

Ward 4 covers most of the southwest and south sides of the city. Four candidates are running for this seat including Amaan Abdi, Joe Baratta, Craig Heurung, and Zak.

Also on local ballots include Minnesota House of Representatives 14A. Four candidates are vying for a spot on the general election including Mike Conway and John Jose on the Republican side, and Abdi Daisane and Paul R.F. Schumacher on the DFL side.

MN House 14A covers parts of Stearns County in central Minnesota, including St. Augusta, Waite Park, portions of St. Cloud, parts of St. Joseph, as well as parts of St. Joseph Township.

Residents can vote by mail or in-person. Absentee ballots returned in-person must be received by 5:00 p.m. on August 11 and ballots returned by mail must be received by 8:00 p.m. to be counted, according to the Secretary of State’s office.

To vote in-person, residents can visit their local polling place until 8:00 p.m. According to the Secretary of State’s office, so long as residents are in line to vote by 8:00 p.m., they can vote.

To find a local polling place, visit mnvotes.gov/pollfinder.