Every Minnesota county has early voting location open Saturday
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - You can vote early and in-person at your county election office on Saturday, Oct. 31 in all 87 Minnesota counties.
On the last Saturday before Election Day, every county in Minnesota must have at least one absentee voting location open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. In addition to your county election office, some cities and towns offer in-person voting. Find your in-person early voting location here.
The Minnesota Secretary of State’s Office confirmed a hardware issue was impacting the online tools for voters and some SVRS (Statewide Voter Registration System) functionality on Saturday. The online tools, such as the ballot tracker and polling place locator, were fixed by 10 a.m. but there have been lingering issues with SVRS.
While the system issue persists, voters at polling places will not be placing their ballots directly into voting machines, but will instead their ballots into secure envelopes. Elections officials will the run the ballots through the tabulator when the system is back online.
While Minnesotans can still vote Saturday, the process is slowed down. Many polling places are experiencing long lines. In Chaska, voters waited about 90 minutes to cast a ballot Saturday morning. Similar wait times were noted on Friday in the suburbs, including a nearly two-hour wait in Lakeville. Polling places in Minneapolis and St. Paul have seen shorter wait times.
The last day to vote early in person is Monday, Nov. 2.
Minnesota Voter Guide: How to register to vote, find your polling place, drop off absentee ballot
ABSENTEE BALLOT GUIDANCE
Election officials say it is too late to mail an absentee ballot. They are urging people to either return their ballot in-person to the election official office that mailed your ballot or vote early in-person.
Due to a recent federal court ruling, absentee ballots in Minnesota must be received by 8 p.m. on Election Day or 3 p.m. if they are being dropped off in-person at the designated county election office.
Voters who have already put their ballot in the mail can track their ballot at http://www.mnvotes.org/track. If their ballot has not yet been received, the voter can vote in-person either by absentee, or at their polling place on Election Day.
FAQ: What happens if my ballot gets rejected?
Minnesota voters have options:
Voters can deliver their ballots to their county election office by hand (or have someone they trust hand-deliver it for them).
Voters can cast their vote in-person with an absentee ballot at their local election office up until November 2, 2020.
Voters can cast their votes in-person on Election Day
WHERE TO VOTE ON ELECTION DAY
You can look up your polling place at this link.
WHAT TIME DO THE POLLS OPEN ELECTION DAY AND WHEN DO THEY CLOSE?
Most polls will open on Election Day at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m. As long as you are in line by 8 p.m. you will be allowed to vote, even if you do not reach the front of the line until after 8 p.m.