We have a Diebold safe here in the Minneapolis Wells Fargo History Museum, that consistently draws the attention of young and old alike. Our fourth graders are especially excited to try to crack the safe for all of the gold and money they envision stashed away inside!

The Diebold Safe and Lock Company  was founded in 1859 by a man named Charles Diebold  in Cincinnati Ohio. Wells Fargo & Co. made use of these paragons of safety and security in their agencies throughout the U.S. In 1875 Diebold created the world's largest bank vault for Wells Fargo Financial in San Francisco, and later, in 1947, Diebold entered the drive-up banking and electrical alarm systems businesses through its purchase of O. B. McClintock of Minneapolis .

Now all of this is interesting information, but what made me feel I had to bring it up? While double-checking my voter registration and voting location (which is very easy to do here ), I was reading about the machines that tally up the votes or "mechanical ballot counters," and can you guess what brand is used right here in Minnesota?

Why, Diebold, of course! The Diebold Accuvote  is one of the two ballot counters used most often in this state.

I could go on to tell you other states in which the Accuvote is used – however, I instead encourage you to go to your Secretary of State's website, read up on voting requirements, and make sure you are registered. Then, while you're at it, check out what kind of ballot counters or other tallying devices are utilized in your voting location.

This is an historic election — make sure you're a part of it.