Minnesota’s November election: What you need to know to cast your ballot

Election Day is more than a month away, but voting in the 2024 general election is now open in Minnesota.

Voting started Sept. 20 under state law, which allows Minnesotans to cast their ballot early by mail or in person up to 46 days before an election. More than 23% of Minnesotans chose to cast their ballots ahead of time in the state’s August primary election.

A majority of voters are expected to head to their polling place on Election Day to vote this fall, and state voting officials expect high turnout with attention on the competitive presidential race.

However you decide to vote, here’s what you need to know to cast your ballot on or before the Nov. 5 election.

Voters have different candidates on their ballot depending on where they live, but everyone in Minnesota can vote on the presidential race, a U.S. Senate contest and two state Supreme Court elections. You’ll also have local congressional, legislative and other races in your area.

You can apply for an absentee ballot on the Secretary of State’s website if you’re eligible to register and vote in Minnesota. To apply online, you must provide a valid email address and either your Minnesota-issued driver’s license or state ID card number or the last four digits of your Social Security number. You can also print out a paper application to get a ballot and mail it to your local elections office.

You can vote now, but a few extra steps are required when voting by mail. You’ll need a registered Minnesota voter or a notary to act as a witness as you complete your ballot and vote. That witness must then sign a signature envelope included with your absentee ballot and list that person’s address. Notaries need to write down their name and title and sign the signature envelope.

You can mail in your ballot any time during the 46-day window before the election, as long as your ballot is received by 8 p.m. on Election Day, when polls close. You also have up until polls close to return your ballot to the local office that sent it to you (not your polling place).

If time allows, contact your local election office to ask for a new ballot. If there’s not enough time, the Secretary of State’s office recommends completely crossing out the name of the candidate you accidentally marked and then marking your ballot for the candidate you prefer.

You can spoil your ballot and submit a new one until close of business on Oct. 17. Each mail-in ballot has its own ID number, which will be invalidated if you submit a new ballot, so you won’t be voting twice.

Yes. The status of mail-in ballots can be tracked on the Secretary of State’s website.

You can vote early at your local elections office. Each county has an election office, and depending on where you live, there may be more than one place to vote early. Some cities have their own early-voting locations as well. Contact your local officials to find out where to vote.

You can use the Secretary of State’s poll finder to figure out your Election Day voting location. It’s likely a community center, church or school in your neighborhood. You can call 877-600-VOTE (8683) for help.

Polls are open on Nov. 5 from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. If you are in line at 8 p.m., you can still cast a ballot. Under state law, your employer must pay you during the time you spend voting if it falls within working hours.

The Secretary of State’s website has a tool where you can find your voter registration by typing in your name, date of birth and address.

With a few exceptions, anyone who is a U.S. citizen, is at least 18 years old and has lived in Minnesota for 20 days immediately before Election Day on Nov. 5 is eligible to vote. Exceptions include someone under a court-ordered guardianship in which the right to vote has been revoked, or a person determined by a court to be legally incompetent to vote. People can’t vote while incarcerated for a felony. Under a new law, once they are released, they are eligible to vote.

You have until Oct. 15 to register to vote before the general election, but if you missed that deadline, you can provide proof of residence at an in-person voting location on Election Day. If you don’t have proof of residence, a registered voter from your precinct can go with you to the polling place to sign an oath confirming your address.

No. Minnesota does not have political party registration, meaning you do not have to publicly declare affiliation with a party when you register to vote.

There are many layers of security around the mail-in balloting process, including the fact that voters must include their Social Security or ID information to order an absentee ballot. There are also checks in the system to make sure a ballot is counted correctly on Election Day, including accuracy tests for ballot-counting machines and post-election audits.