MINNEAPOLIS -- It was another runaway year for Minnesota voter turnout, but it doesn't appear to be quite the showing that election officials hoped for.
Secretary of State Mark Ritchie said he wanted to get "80 in '08" -- meaning 80 percent of eligible voters.
With 99 percent of precincts reporting, it appeared that about 2.9 million people cast ballots. With about 3.71 million eligible voters, that's about 77.5 percent turnout.
Minnesota turnout hasn't topped 80 percent since 1956, when 83 percent of eligible voters showed up. That was a presidential year that saw Dwight D. Eisenhower win re-election over Adlai Stevenson.
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
