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Photo slideshow by Cynthia Johnson

The economy, taxes and education were on the minds of Minnesotans who packed polling places shortly after they opened on Tuesday to choose a new governor and to vote for their favorites for Congress, the Legislature and local offices.

For some, Election Day brought a sense of relief, knowing the negative campaign advertising would come to an end. Others said they were voting because of a desire for change, and many expressed an overall frustration with the current administration in Washington.

“I have a feeling that there’s going to be a lot of big-time guys falling at the state and federal level,” said Scott Blazek, 50, a voter in Woodbury.

There were minor reports of problems with tabulation machines in some precincts, but officials said the problems were not unusual. Secretary of State Mark Ritchie said the election was running “smooth as silk” early in the day. He said there was a chance turnout could surpass his pre-election estimate of roughly 60 percent of eligible voters.

“Excellent reports of morning turnout can give us hope that it will rise above that, plus the good weather,” he said. Temperatures were expected to peak in the 50s statewide. Ritchie noted there was a big morning turnout in 2008 that tailed off later in the day.

University of Minnesota political science professor Larry Jacobs also said turnout could push above 60 percent of the state’s 3.79 million eligible voters because of the competitive governor’s race, plus closely watched congressional races involving Reps. Jim Oberstar, Michele Bachmann and Tim Walz.

“You’ve got money going into those districts, you’ve got the parties mobilized,” Jacobs said. “You’ve got a sense by voters that the races are up for grabs. … This is an unusually intense election.”

Richard Hess, 19, of Roseville, voted for the first time Tuesday, smiling as he brought his registration form to Galilee Evangelical Lutheran Church. The political science major at the University of St. Thomas said he would wear his “I voted” sticker proudly.

“I felt a little nervous at first, honestly. Not knowing if I was going to fill it out right. But once I filled in that first circle, it was pretty easy after that,” he said.

Hess, who called himself “more conservative with some libertarian views” said he chose Republican Tom Emmer for governor because Hess believes in a small, centralized government.

“He’s not for big government and he wants to cut taxes,” Hess said of Emmer. He added he considered voting for Independent candidate Tom Horner, “but I felt that he wanted too much government.”

Chris Wittich, 25, of Edina, said he voted for Horner, saying “Horner’s OK and I hate the other two.”

“Tom Horner’s ideas were generally more rational and realistic – somewhere in between all tax increases and spending cuts would be good,” said Wittich, a Republican.

Caroline Odima, 45, a native of the Philippines who has been a U.S. citizen for 37 years, said Democrat Mark Dayton seemed the most trustworthy.

“I’ve been a nurse for 20-some years and I think it’s important that we all are able to provide for our families,” said Odima, of Roseville. “I don’t think anybody should be homeless or have no jobs, especially in this country.”

There were only minor reports of problems Tuesday.

In Hennepin County, precinct judges had what Elections Manager Rachel Smith called “very firm exchanges” with “aggressive” people challenging the validity of some voters. Smith said the vote challengers were wandering around the polling place and challenging voters for the wrong reasons.

She said challengers may only sit behind registration tables and challenge someone’s right to vote based on their personal knowledge, not how the voter “looks or acts.”

Minnesota Majority was part of a coalition of conservative groups that recruited 8,000 volunteers to seek out voter fraud at the polls. Executive Director Dan McGrath said he hadn’t heard of any confrontations.

The Republican Party issued a statement saying complaints about machines in Duluth, Olmsted County, Lakeville, Faribault, Mendota Heights and Eagan were “completely unacceptable.” But local officials said they had no major complaints. The issue in Olmsted County, for example, involved one machine that was plugged into a faulty outlet for a short time.

Ritchie spokesman John Aiken said his office received some complaints about faulty machines, but the problem doesn’t appear worse than in most years. People can still vote by placing their ballots in a secure slot in the counting machines.