Long lines and waits at some Minnesota early voting sites

Some wait two hours to vote in Lakeville

The Twin Cities suburbs are seeing long lines for early voting with some waiting two hours to vote in Lakeville

LAKEVILLE, Minn. (FOX 9) - Some Minnesotans waited in line for hours before casting their ballots on Friday.

In Lakeville at the city hall, hundreds of residents waited in line for more than two hours. At times the line wrapped around the building. Long lines were also seen in Chaska, Minnesota. However, other places in Twin Cities metro saw much shorter lines and waits.

More than 1.5 million absentee ballots in Minnesota have been accepted, according to the latest numbers released Friday by the Minnesota Secretary of State Office.

Long voting line in Lakeville

Long voting line in Lakeville at City Hall on October 30

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.
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

HOW TO VOTE EARLY IN PERSON

You can vote early in person at your county election office. In addition to your county election office, some cities and towns offer in-person voting.

On the last Saturday before Election Day every county must have at least one absentee voting location open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The last day to vote early in person is Monday, Nov. 2.

Find your in-person early voting location here.

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.