The polls for the special primary for the 5th District seat of the Mower County Board of Commissioners opened this morning and will close at 8 tonight.

The candidates for the 5th District seat are Mike Ankeny, Ralph Donkers, Ron Felten, Mary Keenan, David Kolb, Marvin Repinski and Derek Hyland.

The primary will select two candidates to advance to the Feb. 10 special election.

To save money, election judges will hand count the ballots after the election, and the results will likely be released before 10 p.m.

Only voters in the 5th District — Precinct 1, Ward 2 and Precinct 2, Ward 1 — will vote in the election. The two polling places are Southgate Elementary School’s gym and the south gym at Austin High School.

Voters who are waiting in line to vote by 8 p.m. will still be allowed to vote, but no one who arrives after 8 p.m. will be allowed to vote.

As estimated in 2008, there are about 38,080 citizens in Mower County in about 15,978 households. About 7,600 people live in the 5th District and roughly 4,079 are registered to vote.