This Year's Early Voting Surpasses Previous Municipal Elections In City Of Minneapolis

Press release from the City of Minneapolis:

October 22, 2021

More people have now voted early in this year’s municipal election than voted early in any recent municipal elections in Minneapolis.

Through today, the City has received 12,564 early ballots for the Nov. 2 election. That’s higher than the total number of early ballots received for municipal elections in 2017 (12,174) and 2013 (5,023), and there are still 10 days left of early voting.

Early Vote Center begins weekend hours

The Early Vote Center now has extended hours, including weekends. Anyone who can vote in Minneapolis on Election Day can vote early at the Early Vote Center, 980 Hennepin Ave. E.

The Early Vote Center is open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays and noon to 5 p.m. Sundays from now until the election. Weekday hours are 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. through Friday, Oct. 29. The center’s last day of service is Monday, Nov. 1, which is the day before Election Day, and hours that day are 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Mail-in ballots need to be in the mail by Tuesday, Oct. 26

People planning to vote by mail are strongly encouraged to send back their completed ballots by Tuesday, Oct. 26 in order to be processed in time to count in the election. Mail ballots sent upon request to voters come with a postage-paid, pre-addressed envelope so the completed ballots can be mailed in. All mail-in ballots must be received by 3 p.m. on Election Day in order to be counted, so returning the completed vote-by-mail ballot as early as possible helps ensure it will get counted. Voters can also drop off their mail ballots to Election & Voter Services, 980 E. Hennepin Ave., prior to Election Day. Mail ballots cannot be dropped off at polling places on Election Day.

Find more details on returning your ballot and complete ballot drop-off hours online.

Early voters can use the Secretary of State’s online absentee ballot lookup tool to follow the status of an absentee ballot that has been submitted. You can also watch this video on voting by mail for more information on how to fill out a ballot.

This election uses ranked-choice voting

Minneapolis voters will use ranked-choice voting this fall to elect a mayor and members of the City Council, Board of Estimate and Taxation, and Park and Recreation Board. Ranked-choice voting is a way of voting that eliminates the need for separate primary elections. Voters rank up to three candidates for each office. The ballot has three columns, and choices are made from left to right in those columns. In Minneapolis, ranked-choice voting is used only for municipal elections.

More information on ranked-choice voting is available at vote.minneapolismn.gov/rcv.

Get elections info at vote.minneapolismn.gov

The City has an elections-focused website: vote.minneapolismn.gov. This website is a central place to go for accurate, timely information about this year’s election and ranked-choice voting. The fresh, intuitive design is focused on the user, with content on the site arranged according to specific audiences including voters, candidates, volunteers and students.

This press release was produced by the City of Minneapolis. The views expressed here are the author’s own.