Minn. No. 3 for voter turnout? Ritchie says state No. 1

Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie has long been proud of Minnesota's No. 1 ranking in voter turnout. After the November election, the Associated Press said Minnesota again appeared to be tops in the nation.

But a Census Bureau report released Wednesday dropped the state to third: Mississippi had the highest voting rate, with nearly 74.5 percent of eligible voters casting ballots. Wisconsin had a 73.6 percent rate and Minnesota had 73.2 percent.

Ritchie challenges those numbers and he says the state's figures show Minnesota is still No. 1, MPR reports.

State data show Minnesota had its highest voter turnout rate ever at 76.1 percent, Ritchie says. Ritchie noted that a George Mason University report ranks Minnesota first in voter turnout, followed by Wisconsin then Mississippi in third, MPR reported.

Ritchie says he's sending his findings to a new Presidential Commission on Election Administration, MPR reported.