ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - The earliest final numbers from the 2020 election will not be available until a full week after Election Day, Minnesota election officials explained Tuesday.
On a call Tuesday morning, Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon and his office outlined how Election Day 2020 will look and how ballots will be processed statewide this year. Early voting in Minnesota is already underway.
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Minnesota Secretary of State says final election results will take at least a week
In this unusual election year, the Minnesota Secretary of State says final election results will take at least a week.
New this year, the state of Minnesota will start counting absentee ballots 14 days before Election Day and will continue counting ballots until the close of business Nov. 10, a week after the Nov. 3 Election Day. Other states, like Pennsylvania and Michigan, aren’t allowed to start counting ballots until Nov. 3.
2020 ELECTION GUIDE: How to register to vote, find your polling place, vote by mail in Minnesota
Secretary Simon said Nov. 10 would be “like Election Night, but one week later,” adding, “We are confident we will have substantially final results by that night.”
In the week between Election Day and Nov. 10, each Minnesota county has been urged to report and process its results daily. The Secretary of State’s office plans to make those numbers available each night as well.
MORE: Don't want to wait until Election Day? A guide to voting early in Minnesota.
The Secretary of State’s Office said it wants Minnesota voters to understand how this process works to avoid confusion during the week after the election.
“We worry that this period after Election Day could be fertile ground for misinformation and disinformation,” Simon said Tuesday.
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Officials hoping to quell fears about voting by mail
Minnesota officials want voters to not fear voting by mail.
While all of the ballots won’t be tallied on Election Day, Simon’s office said some races will still be able to be called as soon as that night. This is possible because a candidate’s lead might be larger than the number of absentee votes remaining.
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Simon reiterated that 1.3 million Minnesotans have already requested mail ballots for this election.