3 charts that explain Minnesota’s high voter turnout 

Minnesotans show up. On Tuesday, the state set a midterm record for ballots cast and finished second only to Maine in voter turnout, preliminary unofficial figures show. Nearly two out of three Minnesotans cast a ballot Tuesday, according to figures from the University of Florida’s Election Lab. Unofficial preliminary results show 2.87 million ballots were cast. Here are three charts that help explain the state’s turnout. Institutional civic engagement The state’s high turnout is “not an accident,” said Larry Jacobs, a politics professor at the University of Minnesota. Rather, it’s woven into the state s institutions and culture. Colleges, universities and employers are committed to voter turnout, as is the Minnesota Secretary of State’s office, Jacobs said. And for many Minnesotans, going out to vote is an extension of “the same civic muscles as the volunteerism” that residents are also known for. Same-day voter registration State law also makes