News Room

SAINT PAUL – In the past week, more than 350,000 Minnesotans cast their ballot ahead of the November 5 Election, bringing the current total number of accepted ballots to 919,581. Local election officials have distributed 1,152,900 absentee and mail ballots in Minnesota since voting began on September 20. The Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State will update absentee voting statistics again on November 1, 4, and 5.   

“More Minnesotans voted in the past week than during the first four weeks of voting for this election,” said Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon. “It’s clear that our state’s long-held commitment to voting and civic engagement remains. For those who have yet to cast their ballot, now is the time to make your plan to vote in-person on or before Election Day.”  

Nearly 195,000 ballots have not yet been returned. Minnesotans are encouraged to return their ballots in-person to their local election office as soon as possible to ensure their vote is counted. It is no longer recommended to return a mail or absentee ballot by mail.  All ballots must be received by 8 p.m. on Election Day to be counted.  Minnesotans can track their ballot at mnvotes.gov/track. 

To be eligible to vote, a person must be 18 or older by Election Day, a U.S. Citizen, a resident of Minnesota for at least 20 days, not currently incarcerated for a felony conviction, and not under a court order that revokes your right to vote.  

The deadline to register to vote before Election Day was Tuesday, October 15. Minnesotans can still register to vote on Election Day, if needed.  

Minnesotans can vote in one of three ways: 

1. By Mail: Mail and absentee 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 until November 4. There are also special early voting hours on:
   • 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.   

Text or Call with Election Questions 

Minnesotans can contact the Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State by phone call or text message. They can call 1-877-600-VOTE (8683) or text 651-217-3862 to get information from an election worker.   

The service is available from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and during the expanded early voting hours on: 

• 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 from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m.