SAINT PAUL – Unofficial election results will begin to be reported on Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State’s website starting at 8 p.m.
Unofficial election results from all precincts are reported by county officials directly to the Office of the Secretary of State. Results posted on the Office’s website include combined vote counts for both polling place and mail/absentee ballots. The results are not separated by voting method.
Absentee Ballot Deadline Later Starting This Year
In 2023, the deadline for receiving absentee ballots by a county or city who administers absentee voting was extended by five hours from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. These ballots may be delivered by a voter or by the postal service or other package delivery.
Most counties are expected to process the absentee ballots received by 8 p.m. before reporting any election results. Results may be reported later than in the past due to this change.
Counties have the option under state law to instead report the results of absentee ballots received between 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. separately. If so, the county must report the number remaining to be processed, which will be shown on the Unprocessed Absentee Ballot Counts webpage.
Constitutional Amendment
Constitutional amendments are ratified if a majority of voters in the election vote “Yes.” This is different than most ballot questions which only look at the number of votes for that question. Because of this, constitutional amendment results are only available from the special Constitutional Amendment link on the main results page. Those results pages show Actual “Yes” votes, Actual “No” votes, Estimated Blanks, and Estimated “Yes” Percentage.
Results Certification
Election results will become official on Thursday, November 21, 2024, when the State Canvassing Board will meet to canvass the votes for state and federal candidates for the election. Prior to that, county canvassing boards will meet to canvass the votes for county, state, and federal candidates. Counties will also perform a post-election review to publicly hand count results in select precincts to confirm the accuracy of the voting equipment. Municipal and school district canvassing boards will canvass their own results.
Learn more about canvassing boards.
Recounts
If a recount occurs, a Recount Official will be appointed to conduct the recount. For federal and state offices, the State Canvassing Board will then reconvene to receive the report of the Recount Official, and to resolve any remaining disputes about counting ballots for a candidate. The final vote total from the recount may be different than the vote originally counted at the Canvassing Board. If so, the recounted total, as approved by the Canvassing Board, becomes the official election result.
Learn more about recounts.