Politics & Government

MN Marriage Amendment Got Majority Support in Only One Patch City

Voters in the mostly suburban cities Patch covers were more opposed to the proposed gay-marriage ban than Minnesota voters generally.

Here's how residents in a selection of Minnesota cities voted on the ballot measure that would have added a definition of marriage as only between one man and one woman to the state Constitution.

Statewide, the ballot measure failed to exceed the 50 percent level of support it needed in the Nov. 6, 2012 general election. It got 47.53 percent, according to unofficial results from all but two of Minnesota's 4,102 precincts' results.

Taken together, people in cities served by Patch—mostly in the Twin Cities suburbs—rejected the marriage amendment in greater proportion (61.21 percent) than Minnesotans on a whole (52.47 percent).

Find out what's happening in Burnsvillewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Support for the amendment in places covered by Patch ranged from 14.51 percent in Southwest Minneapolis to 54.23 percent in St. Michael—the only Patch city where a majority of voters backed the measure.

Even without Southwest Minneapolis' urban neighborhoods where opposition ran deep, the combined vote from the rest of the Minnesota cities with Patch websites registered 59.54 percent against the marriage amendment.

Find out what's happening in Burnsvillewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Do your views align with how your city voted?

COUNTY CITY YES % YES VOTES NO VOTES BLANKS # VOTES NO % Wright St. Michael 54.23% 4,945 4,095 78 9,118 45.77% Dakota Lakeville 48.58% 15,565 16,345 129 32,039 51.42% Hennepin Minnetrista 47.58% 1,946 2,087 57 4,090 52.42% Dakota Rosemount 46.42% 5,965 6,758 126 12,849 53.58% Washington Oakdale 46.21% 7,313 8,319 193 15,825 53.79% Hennepin Spring Park 46.10% 485 538 29 1,052 53.90% Scott Shakopee 45.86% 8,554 9,844 256 18,654 54.14% Washington Lake Elmo 45.64% 2,253 2,640 43 4,936 54.36% Washington Oak Park Heights 45.52% 1,143 1,339 29 2,511 54.48% Dakota Inver Grove Heights 45.27% 8,640 10,241 205 19,086 54.73% Anoka Fridley 45.09% 6,473 7,689 194 14,356 54.91% Dakota Burnsville 44.76% 15,210 18,300 469 33,979 55.24% Hennepin Maple Grove 44.67% 17,406 21,073 488 38,967 55.33% Hennepin Mound  44.39% 2,522 3,093 66 5,681 55.61% Dakota Apple Valley 43.30% 12,867 16,524 324 29,715 56.70% Washington Woodbury 42.76% 15,673 20,613 369 36,655 57.24% Hennepin Minnetonka Beach 41.75% 167 222 11 400 58.25% Ramsey Roseville 40.58% 8,664 12,404 280 21,348 59.42% Hennepin Eden Prairie 40.08% 14,683 21,400 547 36,630 59.92% Hennepin Plymouth 40.04% 17,772 26,005 613 44,390 59.96% Hennepin Orono 39.44% 2,019 3,031 69 5,119 60.56% Hennepin Shorewood 39.30% 1,966 2,974 62 5,002 60.70% Hennepin Tonka Bay 39.06% 414 633 13 1,060 60.94% Dakota Eagan 39.05% 15,126 23,136 472 38,734 60.95% Hennepin Wayzata 38.46% 977 1,515 48 2,540 61.54% Hennepin Long Lake  38.32% 423 667 14 1,104 61.68% Washington Stillwater 37.88% 4,272 6,906 101 11,279 62.12% Hennepin Richfield 37.59% 7,091 11,408 367 18,866 62.41% Dakota Mendota Heights 37.36% 3,037 5,022 70 8,129 62.64% Hennepin Excelsior 36.60% 482 809 26 1,317 63.40% Hennepin Deephaven 36.31% 930 1,602 29 2,561 63.69% Hennepin Hopkins 35.29% 3,222 5,730 179 9,131 64.71% Hennepin Minnetonka 34.74% 11,905 21,984 383 34,272 65.26% Hennepin Edina  34.37% 10,944 20,380 517 31,841 65.63% Hennepin Golden Valley 29.48% 4,145 9,699 218 14,062 70.52% Rice Northfield 27.64% 3,271 8,551 13 11,835 72.36% Hennepin St. Louis Park 26.37% 7,738 21,153 450 29,341 73.63% Hennepin SW Minneapolis 14.51% 6,098 35,432 497 42,027 85.49% Patch Cities Total 38.79% 252,306 390,161 8,034 650,501 61.21% Minnesota Statewide Total 47.53% 1,398,770 1,506,172 37,768 2,942,710 52.47%

Lake Minnetonka Patch covers several cities, including Minnetrista, Tonka Bay, Wayzata, Mound, Shorewood, Orono, Spring Park, Deephaven, Long Lake and Excelsior.

Stillwater Patch covers Stillwater, Lake Elmo and Oak Park Heights.

Northfield has one precinct in Dakota County and the rest in Rice County.

Southwest Minneapolis Patch covers these precincts:

  • Ward 8: Precincts 2, 6, 7
  • Ward 10: Precincts 3–6
  • Ward 11: Precincts 1–3
  • Ward 13: Precincts 1–9

NOTE: These are unofficial figures until canvassing boards verify them. They are the figures available on Nov. 9, 2012, but they may change as election workers revise estimates of total ballots cast, and tallies of ballots with Yes, No, or no vote at all for the amendment.

Here are the Minnesota Secretary of State's definitions for the columns in the table above:

  • Estimated Percent of YES: YES divided by Estimated Total Number of Voters, displayed as a percentage
  • Yes: Actual YES votes cast
  • No: Actual NO votes cast
  • Estimated Blanks: Estimated total number of voters minus Yes votes and No votes
  • Estimated Total Number of Voters: Calculated using votes for U.S. President & Vice President or actual statistics


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