Early Voting At Record High In Minneapolis

MINNEAPOLIS, MN — Minneapolis is seeing a high number of voters casting ballots in the two weeks since early voting began in Minnesota. More people are voting by mail or in-person early due to the spread of coronavirus.

As of Wednesday:

• The city mailed out 133,442 requested mail ballots

• 12,236 completed ballots have been returned

• Another 4,842 voters have cast their ballot in person at the Early Vote Center

• 2,243 ballots from Minneapolis voters have been received by Hennepin County Elections

In total, 19,321 voters in the city have now officially cast their ballots. Voters still have about a month left if they wish to case their ballot early.

In 2016, Minneapolis recorded 60,538 total early votes throughout the entire general election, according to a news release.

At this point in the 2016 election, 12,754 requested mail ballots had been sent out. Of those, 2,559 completed ballots had either been returned by mail or dropped off to election officials, 1,270 voters had cast a ballot in person at four Early Vote Centers and 292 ballots from Minneapolis voters had been received by the County – totaling 4,121 votes cast.

Request an absentee ballot

Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon is asking all eligible Minnesota voters to apply for their absentee ballots using the online absentee ballot request tool.

"We need to treat the upcoming statewide elections as a public health issue," Simon said in a statement.

"To slow the spread of COVID-19 we need to reduce large gatherings, including at polling places. I'm challenging all eligible Minnesota voters to cast their vote from the safety of their home. In the face of this pandemic, it is the right thing to do to protect Minnesotans who are most at risk - and the people who care for them. Fortunately, it's very easy to do."

Also read: 2020 General Election: What's On My Ballot In Minneapolis

This article originally appeared on the Southwest Minneapolis Patch