Early Voters Cast Their Ballots in Minnesota
Duluth, Minn. — Early voting is officially open in Minnesota, giving you the chance to cast your ballot ahead of November 5.
For City of Duluth residents, like Corey Salmela, the early polling site is City Hall.
Corey will be gone on election day, so he stopped by to vote today, with the presidential race in mind.
"Well I think this is a very important election, a very stark choice between the two candidates for president and so that's the biggest race on the ballot and I wanted to make sure that my vote was counted."
"There is always an uptick in interest in presidential election years, and that's been the case this year as well. More people just turn out to vote when it's a presidential election."
Duluth City Clerk Ian Johnson links the rise in early voting to increased demand during the pandemic.
"I think 2020 really changed the way we look at early voting. For a lot of people, that was their first experience, and they found that it was pretty convenient."
Johnson went on to say, "So since then, we've seen an uptick. We're not quite at 2020 levels this year because, obviously, situations have changed pretty profoundly, but for a lot of people, once they learn it's an option, they've just taken advantage of it."
"With our busy lives, this seems to be the future of what people want in their democracy," said early voter Corey Salmela.
Looking ahead, Johnson said, "We will be wheeling out the voting machines themselves and people have the ability to put their ballots through the machine. The process is still a form of absentee voting in that the voters are absent from the poles, but closer to election day you won't need to deal with envelopes, and it will be a little bit quicker."
When asked about ballot security, Johnson emphasized that Minnesota's voting systems are secure.
"There are multiple safeguards in place to make to prevent people from voting more than once or casting illegitimate ballots. Ultimately, the process very safe and secure."
In Minnesota, you can vote both in-person and by mail until Monday, November 4.
As for Wisconsin residents, voting by mail is currently an option, but in-person absentee voting won't begin until Tuesday, October 22.
To find your spot for early voting, head to the Minnesota or Wisconsin Secretary of State's website.
