With early voting in Minnesota to begin Friday, Sec. of State gives update

ST. PAUL, Minn. (GRAY) – Starting Friday in Minnesota, you'll be able to cast a ballot for the 2024 election. Early in-person voting is set to kick off statewide with 46 days left until Tuesday, November 5.

On Thursday, Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon previewed the start of early voting as his office prepares to receive the very first votes of the election cycle this week.

"Between now and November 5, I want to see high turnout and low drama," said Simon. "One essential component for both of those outcomes is to make sure that Minnesotans have the information they need about our elections."

This general election cycle is the first for several new state laws. Since the last election cycle, the state has implemented things like automatic voter registration and reintroduced the right to vote for felons. According to Simon, those new laws ought to make an impact.

"55,000 people now, folks in Minnesota who have left prison behind, can vote again," said Simon.

Ahead of the first ballots being cast, the Office of the Secretary of State also worked to quell any concerns about election integrity and security. He explained that the state makes sure the system is tamper-proof.

"We always use paper ballots. Just think about that. There's been a lot of misinformation about election equipment and tabulators, but remember, the ultimate backup is paper," he said.

Simon said that all state election machines are tested, and that the ballot machines are assessed after the election to make sure they match perfectly.

"All local election offices must, under state law, conduct what's called public accuracy tests on their election equipment to seek to ensure that every item is working perfectly. Then on election night, every precinct must ensure that there are the same number of ballots cast as registered voters," he said.

"Our election security navigator team partners closely with a wide range of state and federal agencies and local election offices across Minnesota to monitor physical and cyber threats to our elections," said Bill Ekblad, Elections Security Navigator for the Secretary's office.

Early voting can be done in person or by mail.

Simon warned that those voting by mail ought to do so as early as possible this year to avoid hiccups with the US Postal Service.

"We are seeing some delays nationally with the US Postal Service. It's not everywhere, and Minnesota has fared better than many places across the country, but we just want to make sure that if you plan to vote by mail from home, you're requesting your ballot and returning your ballot early," he said.