Why the Mpls. elections was tweeting bears, bacon and Tom Petty

Anyone who followed the Minneapolis Elections Twitter account this week has been treated to animated GIFs of frolicking bears and pictures of bacon along with the usual helping of election results and instructions.

@VoteMpls tried to get important information about the election in front of residents, partly by making it fun to read, said 25-year-old Mitch Kampf of the City Clerk's office, who had the keys to the account.

"Sometimes there's a divide, especially with government, with treating social media and Twitter as very official forums, and that everything that comes out has to be a mini-press release," Kampf said. "Those networks aren't really made for that."

Everyone from Tom Petty to Doctor Who to Pokemon characters made appearances in this week's tweets.

"Waiting is the hardest part" likely resonates with residents waiting for officials to finish tabulating the city's sometimes misunderstood ranked choice voting.

"Humor sells in some respects," Kampf said. "If you make someone laugh they're more likely to share that because they think it's funny and they want to show other people."

The tweets also acknowledged the intensity of the municipal election, which drew record numbers of voters in the city.

"It helped relieve some of the stress, people are very anxious for results," Kampf said. "Keeping the communication open with people, saying, 'We're working on these things and they're coming,' helps from the public perspective."

Kampf has only worked for the city for a year and a half. The philosophy major from St. Olaf College is looking into Masters of Fine Arts programs.

Even though his experience with the election has been fun, including unexplained pans of bacon and mini donuts while votes were being tabulated, he said he's got no plans to get into politics.