Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 5, but more than 1.1 million Minnesotans have already voted either by mail or in person, Secretary of State Steve Simon said Monday.

As of Monday, nearly 151,000 absentee ballots still hadn’t been returned. Those voters still have options, said Simon.

Absentee voters have until 8 p.m. on Election Day to return their ballots to their local election office or have a trusted person deliver the ballot on their behalf.

People with absentee ballots also can choose to vote in person at their polling place on Election Day instead of returning their absentee ballot.

Absentee voting stats

More than 1.3 million Minnesotans requested absentee ballots this year, per state figures.

That’s down from the pandemic-era 2020 election when 58% of eligible Minnesota voters chose early voting options, but Simon said he wouldn’t be surprised if this year’s numbers showed a continued “slow and steady” increase in early voting totals.

About 24% voted absentee in 2018 and 26% in 2022.

It won’t be clear what exact proportion of voters chose absentee or early voting until after all ballots are counted, though the number of returned absentee ballots as of Monday represents more than 30% of the roughly 3.7 million currently registered voters in Minnesota.

Minnesota often has the highest voter turnout in the country, though Maine took the No. 1 spot in 2022.

Simon said he hopes Minnesota can claim the top spot once again in 2024, joking it would be “just as nature intended.”

Around 80% of eligible voters cast a ballot in the 2020 presidential election.

Eligibility

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 revoking a right to vote.

The deadline to register to vote before Election Day was Oct. 15. However, Minnesotans can still register to vote on Election Day.

2024 is the first presidential election in Minnesota where felons on supervised release can vote. More than 55,000 people on probation or parole following a felony conviction got their voting rights back under a 2023 law.

How to vote

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.

Early in-person: Residents could vote absentee in person at their local election office during business hours until 5 p.m. Monday.

In-person on Election Day: Minnesotans can vote in person at their local polling place Tuesday. Polling places can be located at mnvotes.gov/pollfinder. All polling places generally open from 7 to 8 a.m. and are open until 8 p.m. If voters are in line to vote by 8 p.m. they can vote.

Restrictions at polls

Minnesota has laws restricting campaign activity inside and near polling places. Campaigning or wearing shirts, buttons or anything else in support of a candidate on the ballot is prohibited within 100 feet of a polling place. Campaign apparel includes slogans, party names or branding that could be associated with a candidate or ballot question.

Simon described Minnesota polling places as “oases of calm” and at a Monday press briefing said state laws restricting campaign activities at voting sites deserve some of the credit.

If you have questions

Minnesotans may 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 election workers. The service is available from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Election Day.

Voters can also call the Secretary of State to report potential incidents of voter disenfranchisement at the polls.

Local candidate information

General information about the Nov. 5 election is online at twincities.com/news/politics/elections, where you can find information on candidates for Ramsey, Dakota and Washington county races.

How will state report totals?

The Minnesota Secretary of State will report votes as the office receives totals from county election offices across the state. Vote counting occurs at the local level and state officials do not count ballots, Simon said.

Results should start to appear on the Secretary of State’s website soon after polls close at 8 p.m. and will update throughout the evening and overnight.

“We should expect to have nearly all results in before folks sit down to breakfast on the morning of Wednesday, Nov. 6,” Simon said.