Over 430,000 ballots sent during first week of voting in Minnesota

Early voting for the November 5 Election in Minnesota began on Friday, September 20. In the first six days of voting, local election officials in Minnesota have distributed 431,502 absentee and mail ballots, according to the Minnesota Secretary of State (SOS) office.

The Minnesota SOS reports county, city, and township election officials have accepted 32,788 ballots, as of Thursday.

“Voting season has begun and Minnesotans are clearly excited to make their voices heard,” Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon said in a press release. “There is still plenty of time left for folks to do their research on the candidates and issues that will appear on the November 5 ballot…”

Residents can visit the mnvotes.gov website to register to vote, request an absentee ballot, view their sample ballot, or find their polling place.

The number of Minnesotans who are voting early in the November 5, 2024 election is fewer than in 2020 during the pandemic when 1,246,810 ballots were sent in the first week, but nearly three times higher than in 2016, when 150,488 ballots were sent in the first week.

There are three ways to vote in Minnesota:

1. By Mail: Minnesotans can vote by mail by requesting a ballot at mnvotes.gov/absentee starting September 20. About 150,000 Minnesotans live in mail ballot precincts and will be mailed a ballot automatically if they are registered to vote. Ballots must be received by local election offices by 8 p.m. on Election Day to be counted. Voters can track their ballot at mnvotes.gov/trackmyballot.
   
2. Early In-Person: Minnesotans can vote absentee in person at their local election office during business hours between September 20 and November 5.
   
   There are also special early voting hours during the 2024 General Election:
   Saturday, October 25 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
   Tuesday, October 29 open until 7 p.m.
   Saturday, November 2 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
   Sunday, November 3 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
   Monday, November 4 open until 5 p.m.
   
3. In-Person on Election Day: Minnesotans can vote in-person at their local polling place on Tuesday, November 5. Find a polling place at mnvotes.gov/pollfinder. All polling places are open until 8 p.m. As long as voters are in line to vote by 8 p.m. they can vote. In Minnesota, people can register to vote on election day.

The Office of the Secretary of State will update absentee voting data each Thursday through the fall.