Many Waited In Long Lines To Vote Early

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MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Polls are about to open in Minnesota, but hundreds of thousands of people have already taken care of the business of voting.

Many of them waited a long time to do it, too. On Monday, Art Meadowcroft and his sister took sandwiches with them to nibble while they waited to vote in the western Minneapolis suburb of Plymouth.

The 62-year-old independent voted for Donald Trump because he said he admired his business successes -- including after some failures. Meadowcroft said Trump has "question marks" but not "when it comes down to what is in his heart and what he wants for the country."

Taryn Kelzer, 41, of Minnetonka, is a Democrat who was voting for Clinton because she sees her as well-qualified. Kelzer says she thinks Trump's beliefs "are kind of anti-civil rights."

More than 15 percent of the state's registered voters had voted before Tuesday.

There's a high-stakes fight for control of the Minnesota Legislature to be decided. Also, congressional races around the Twin Cities suburbs and in northeastern Minnesota have yielded millions of dollars in attack ads.

Also on the ballot is a constitutional amendment that would create an independent panel to set lawmaker pay.

The weather shouldn't be a problem on Tuesday. The National Weather Service forecast calls for sunny skies and high temperatures in the 40s and 50s.