Election Day In Minnesota

MINNESOTA — It's officially Election Day in Minnesota. Residents in Minnesota this year smashed previous early-voting records.

By Monday, 1,716,575 ballots had been accepted. In 2016, only 676,722 early ballots were accepted in Minnesota.

Polling places in Minnesota opened at 7 a.m. and will remain open until 8 p.m.

Voters who have not yet mailed in their ballots can drop them off in-person at the address that sent them, but the ballot must be in by 3 p.m.

Patch will be bringing you live results for the presidential race and other races in Minnesota once polls close. Stay with us throughout the day and into what may be a very long night.

To make sure you don't miss out on the latest from election night, subscribe to our free real-time news alerts for the most up to date results and news.

Minnesota Patch Readers Describe Their Feelings On Election Day

Minnesota Patch readers were asked to use one word to describe how they feel. "Anxious" was by far the most common answer, but it was certainly not the only reply.

Here were other answers given from readers across the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area:

• "Hopeful"
• "Excited"
• "Happy"
• "Freedom"
• "Scared"
• "COVID"

How are you feeling on this Election Day? Using one word, tell us in the comments!

TWIN CITIES, MN — Minnesotans who haven't yet voted Tuesday will head to the polls to cast their ballots in the presidential and congressional races, as well as statewide and local contests.

The coronavirus pandemic pushed the electorate to cast their ballots early and legal challenges surrounding mailed ballots ended with an Eighth Circuit panel ruling Thursday evening that election officials must "segregate" Minnesota ballots received after Election Day.

"There is no pandemic exception to the Constitution," the court ruled. The ballots that arrive after Nov. 3 will be segregated in case a later ruling finds that all post-Election Day ballots in Minnesota must be thrown out entirely. Before the ruling, mailed-in ballots postmarked by Election Day — Nov. 3 — and that arrive by Nov. 10 would be counted. Now, there is no guarantee that ballots received after Election Day will count.

COVID-19 cases and deaths began rising in Minnesota throughout the month of October. On Friday, the state Department of Health recorded a daily high 3,165 new virus cases and 18 deaths.

Before Friday, Minnesota had never seen more than 3,000 recorded cases in a single day.

Minnesota’s 10 electoral college votes are critical in deciding whether President Donald Trump wins a second term in the White House or if Democratic challenger and former Vice President Joe Biden can ascend to the presidency.

The latest polling average from RealClearPolitics shows Biden up by 4.7 points in Minnesota, a state that Trump narrowly lost in 2016 to Hillary Clinton.

Both Biden and Trump hit the campaign trail hard in Minnesota in the final weeks of the campaign. Friday featured visits from both campaigns.

The presidential race is not the only election on the ballot voters in Minnesota will decide Tuesday. Voters will also elect their representatives to the U.S. Senate, House of Representatives, the State Senate, the State House and other local seats.

As of Election Day, Republicans have a 35-32 majority in the state Senate, while the Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) Party has a 75-59 majority in the state House.

Below are the races Patch will be updating live on election night:

• Trump Vs. Biden: Minnesota 2020 Presidential Election Results
• Tina Smith Vs. Jason Lewis: MN U.S. Senate Election Results
• Angie Craig Vs. Tyler Kistner: MN U.S. House 2 Election Results
• Dean Phillips Vs. Qualls: MN House District 3 Election Results
• Peterson Vs. Fischbach: MN 7th House District Election Results
• Jim Hagerdon Vs. Feehan: MN 1st House District Election Results
• Minnesota 2020 State House And State Senate Election Results