Photos: Voters Turn Out For Often Heated State And Local Election

ACROSS AMERICA — Voters across the country headed to the polls Tuesday in state and local elections, some with national significance.

In Minneapolis, voters are deciding whether to replace the police department in Minneapolis, where the 2020 murder of George Floyd, a Black man, with a police officer's knee on his neck sparked a national reckoning on police brutiality, racism, inequality and colonial transgressions.

In New York City, residents will elect a new mayor. A tight gubernatorial race in Virginia is seen as referendum on Joe Biden's presidency. The New Jersey gubernatorial race, similarly, is a key test of conservatism.

Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon said the 2021 elections are "a great dress rehearsal for 2022," when midterm elections offer voters a chance to express their approval, or disapproval, of Biden's presidency so far, and decide the balance of power in Congress and statehouses across the country.

Below is a sampling of photos from Election Day across America.

Voters emerge from Sabathani Community Center after casting their ballots during municipal elections Tuesday in Minneapolis, where voters are deciding whether to replace the city’s police department with a new Department of Public Safety. The election comes more than a year after George Floyd’s death launched a movement to defund or abolish police across the country.

Voters hold their ballots as they wait in line to register their votes at a school in Midlothian, Virginia, Tuesday. Voters are deciding between Democrat Terry McAuliffe and Republican Glenn Youngkin for governor.

Voters cast their ballots on Election Day Tuesday at city hall in Alexandria, Virginia.

A voter, who is wearing a protective face mask as a precaution against the coronavirus, steps from the voting booth after casting a ballot at a polling place at the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia on Tuesday.

Voters in special and general elections in Miami-Dade County cast their ballots Tuesday at Miami Beach Fire Department, Station 3.

Voters wait in line to check in to vote at a school in Midlothian, Virginia, Tuesday.

New York Attorney General Letitia James walks from the voting booth after casting her ballot at a school in the Brooklyn borough of New York on Tuesday.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey casts his vote on Election Day alongside his family at the Marcy Arts Magnet Elementary School. Voters in Minneapolis are deciding whether to replace the city’s police department with a new Department of Public Safety. The election comes more than a year after George Floyd’s death launched a movement to defund or abolish police across the country.

Mayor Jacob Frey casts his vote on Election Day alongside his family at the Marcy Arts Magnet Elementary School in Minneapolis on Tuesday.

Sean Luke (right) took his sons Giacomo (left) and Matteo along with him Tuesaday when he went to vote in Alexandria, Virginia, on Tuesday.

The Associated Press contributed reporting.