Nearly Half Million Ballots Sent in First Week of Voting in MN

ST. PAUL (WJON News) -- Nearly a half-million Minnesotans have asked for a ballot to vote early in the general election.

The Minnesota Secretary of State's Office says in the first six days of voting, local election officials in Minnesota have distributed over 431,000 absentee ballots. County, city, and township election officials have accepted nearly 33,000 ballots.

The number of Minnesotans who are voting early in the November 5th election is fewer than in 2020 during the pandemic when over 1.2 million ballots were sent in the first week, but still nearly three times higher than in 2016 when 150,000 ballots were sent in the first week.

The Office of the Secretary of State will update absentee voting data each week through the fall.