Minnesota Voter Participation 'Off The Charts' This Fall

MINNESOTA — It's only October, but Minnesota's voter participation is already "off the charts," says Secretary of State Steve Simon. The state's rate of early voting is even higher than it was in the 2016 presidential election.

Since 2014, Minnesotans have had the option to vote from home, or use "no-excuse absentee" voting. All county election offices throughout the state also offer in-person absentee voting, commonly referred to as "early voting."

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Since 2014, Minnesota voters have increasingly used vote from home and early in-person voting to cast their ballots. Voting for the 2018 statewide general election began on Sept. 21.

As of Thursday morning, more than 301,000 absentee ballots have been requested. A total of 159,660 have been accepted by election officials.

The rate of absentee ballot requests is an increase of 170 percent over the same time in the 2014 (last statewide non-presidential election) calendar.

The rate of accepted ballots is an increase of 252 percent over the same time in 2014.

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