Minnesota and North Dakota Voter's Guide

Forum Communications Co., in collaboration with the League of Women Voters of Minnesota and of North Dakota, is providing this voter guide to help keep you informed ahead of the 2024 election.

  • Learn where candidates running for office in your community stand on the issues.
  • Build your ballot before voting. Print or email the information to use as a reference when you actually vote.

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Voter Guide

Olmsted County Commissioner District 1

County commissioners are the county s key policymakers. They oversee the administration of the county, set county budget, and participate in county long-range planning. County services that they oversee include a wide variety of social service and welfare programs, as well as certain public health programs. Learn more about the day in the life of a county commissioner in this video from the Association of Minnesota Counties.

Click a candidate icon to find more information about the candidate. To compare two candidates, click the "compare" button. To start over, click a candidate icon.

  • Candidate picture

    Laurel Podulke-Smith
    (NP)

Biographical Information

If elected, what will your top three priorities be and why? (750 characters)

How would you ensure election laws do not create barriers to Minnesotans’ freedom to vote while also ensuring safe and secure elections? (500 characters)

What do you see as the biggest challenges to mental health and social services in your county, and how would you address them? (500 characters)

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I believe that healthy counties are vitally important to a healthy democracy. Counties take our nation’s ideals and deliver them to the people. The job of local government is to provide a solid foundation residents can rely on to build their lives. Olmsted County departments provide wide-ranging services including human services, voting and elections, garbage and recycling, public safety and law enforcement, parks and recreation, safe roads and bridges, soil and water protection, and much more. My top three priorities for 2025 are expanding our affordable housing options, maintaining our strong public safety services, and advancing our exemplary social services division.
Minnesota ranks among the nation's top organizations for running safe, accurate, and accessible elections. Operating as an arm of the State, Olmsted County runs high-integrity elections with exceptional accuracy. Elections officials update commissioners regularly on elections practices and keep us informed of statutory changes impacting local elections. The Olmsted County elections office is especially skilled at minimizing barriers to access while maintaining election safety and accuracy.
Olmsted County's Human Services department stands out as a national leader in providing programs, resources, and wrap-around services for our most vulnerable residents, including children, adults and families. One of the greatest challenges we face as a county is educating residents about the resources and services available to them. Education, greater community engagement, and working through cultural and language barriers are some of the ways to address these challenges.
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The League of Women Voters of Minnesota and North Dakota crafted the questions sent to the candidates in the Spring of 2024. They reached out to candidates based on contact information in their public candidate filings. Candidates with email addresses were invited and reminded with emails. Candidates with only mailing addresses were sent a letter. Candidates with phone numbers received a phone call as well.

Candidate responses are published as they responded and have not been edited, except when responses were longer than the given character limit. In those cases, the responses are truncated.

VOTE411 is brought to you by the League of Women Voters Education Fund and League of Women Voters of Minnesota Education Fund. The League of Women Voters does not support or oppose any political party or candidate for office.