ST. PAUL, Minn. — While we are just about a month and a half away from the presidential election, Minnesotans can start casting ballots as soon as Friday.
With Election Day fast approaching, election officials say now is the time to make plans to vote.
You can vote in person on Election Day at your designated polling place, and you can vote early, either in person or by mail.
If you decide to mail in your ballot, it has a tracking code to ensure ballots reach their destination.
An important note: mail ballots need to be received by 8 p.m. on Election Day to be counted.
This year in particular, Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon is really stressing that absentee ballots should be mailed sooner rather than later, due to nationwide delays with the postal service.
Simon suggests mailing absentee ballots at least a week before Election Day. Despite the mail delays, he’s somewhat optimistic things will go smoothly.
“If we could handle, and the USPS could handle 2020, with that massive volume of mail and voting by mail, then surely they can handle the challenges this year,” said Simon.
Election officials say the integrity of the election will be preserved, thanks to the following, long-standing security measures:
- All ballots are on paper and have to be preserved for two years.
- All local elections offices conduct public accuracy tests to ensure election equipment is working.
- On election night, every precinct must ensure the same number of ballots were cast as registered voters.
- After the election, all precincts conduct an audit, to ensure elections worked with perfect accuracy.
“All these steps make sure that our elections are free, fair, secure and accurate,” said Simon.
For info on everything you need to vote, you can head here.
Voters cast their ballots early
“I just wanted to get it done as soon as possible,” said Sam Goetz, early voter.
About an hour after early voting opened, Minneapolis residents took time out of their day to cast their ballot.
“I know who I want to vote for. I don’t need to see any more debates,” said Rebecca Louk, Minneapolis.
“I always vote. I travel a lot and I love the early voting,” said Wanda Adefris, Minneapolis.
The election center on Hennepin Avenue in Minneapolis was steady Friday morning, but far from the high early turnout election directors saw in 2020.
“For 2020, during the national pandemic, we saw a lot of people choosing to vote by mail or vote early to avoid the polls on Election Day,” said Katie Smith, director of elections and voter services in Minneapolis.
But Minneapolis residents who did decide to vote in mid-September had hot button-issues on their minds.
“The right to choose,” said Chris from Minneapolis.
“The big one for me is reproductive rights are important. I wanted to make sure that got protected. The climate is another really big one for me,” said Goetz.
In Anoka County it was much the same. People had their reasons for showing up early to cast their ballot.
“Just seemed like something new to do,” said Nina English.
English and Scott Groethe drove from Blaine to the Anoka County Government Center hoping to make a difference in this year’s election.
“My wife is from Asia, she’s a U.S. citizen now. She did it the tried and true way, she stood in line. Immigration and inflation. There’s are my big two,” said Groethe.
