The earliest ballots in the 2024 presidential election are now being cast, with Minnesota among the country’s earliest states to allow voting.

As of Friday, Sept. 20, early voting is open in Minnesota — 46 days before Election Day on Nov. 5. Voters can cast absentee ballots by mail or in person at a local elections office.

At a Thursday news conference, Secretary of State Steve Simon, Minnesota’s top elections official, repeated a line that has become familiar at his pre-election briefings — that he wants a “high turnout, low drama” election.

He said he hopes Minnesota can again lead the country in voter turnout, which it has done in three of the last four elections. In the 2020 presidential election, nearly 80% of eligible voters cast a ballot. About 1.9 million voted absentee, a number driven by a push for mail-in voting due to the pandemic.

What’s on the ballot?

This year, the presidential election, one U.S. Senate seat and seats in the Minnesota House of Representatives, as well as various municipal and school board races are on the ballot. All eight of Minnesota’s Congressional seats also are up for election.

More information on the ballot for your address can be found on the Secretary of State’s website at myballotmn.sos.state.mn.us, or by calling 1-877-600-VOTE (8683). General election information can be found at mnvotes.gov.

Early voting and registration

Absentee ballots can be requested from the state and must be received by an elections office by 8 p.m. on Election Day. Minnesota requires polling places to offer in-person early voting starting 46 days before Election Day and until 5 p.m. the day before. Some locations offer expanded hours.

Those who choose to send in an absentee ballot can “claw back” their ballot if they want to change their vote, though the deadline to do so is before the close of business 19 days before the election — in this case Oct. 17. To do so, contact your local election office.

Voters have until Oct. 15 to register to vote or can register to vote at the polls on the day of the election.

Eligibility

Anyone 18 or older who is a citizen of the U.S., has been a resident of the state for 20 days before Election Day, is not currently incarcerated, and hasn’t been stripped of the right to vote by a court can vote in Minnesota.

Students who are in college should vote from the address they “currently consider “home,” according to the Secretary of State’s Office. If college students visits their parents but no longer consider the address “home,” they should register to vote where they live at for school.

Out-of-state college students can vote in Minnesota elections if they consider Minnesota home, even if they have out-of-state tuition or have a driver’s license from another state.

Postal issues

State elections officials earlier this month warned U.S. Postal Service delays could disrupt absentee voting. Simon said absentee voters should have their ballots in the mail at least a week ahead “to be safe.”

“It could be different in Owatonna or Duluth or Bemidji or wherever, but the all-purpose general advice is give yourself at least a week, even if the place you’re mailing it to is just down the street,” he said.

Still, Simon said he believes the state of Minnesota and the postal system are well equipped to handle large numbers of mail-in ballots since they did so during the pandemic when many turned to mail-in voting. Simon said he hopes the USPS will take action suggested by state elections officials to ensure mail-in ballots arrive in a timely manner.

“The reason I’m somewhat optimistic is if we could handle and if the USPS could handle 2020 with that massive volume of mail and voting by mail, then surely they can handle the challenges this year. “

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