How early primary voting works in Minnesota

Minnesota's primary election is August 11. Voting starts June 26.

For the past three years, Minnesota has been systematically expanding the ways and windows in which eligible voters can cast a ballot. For the 2026 primary, that means more than six weeks to vote on your own schedule before a single polling place opens on Election Day.

You can request a mail ballot today. You can walk into your county election office this week. Starting July 24, you can feed your ballot directly into a tabulator at an early voting location near you.

Here's how each option works, what happens to your ballot after you cast it, and why Minnesota's record on voting access is worth knowing about.

How the primary ballot works

Minnesota's primary is an open primary, which means you don't have to be registered with a party to participate. Any eligible voter can walk in and choose which party's ballot they want to vote on.

The ballot itself is laid out in columns, one per major party. You pick a column and vote only within it. If you vote for candidates from more than one party's column, those votes won't count. The instruction is printed directly on the ballot.

There are two types of offices on the primary ballot:

• Partisan offices — state and federal races like U.S. Senate, U.S. House, and Minnesota House and Senate seats. These are grouped by party column. You choose one party and vote only in that column.

• Nonpartisan offices — county, city, school board, and judicial races. These appear on the back of the ballot and aren't organized by party. You can vote for any candidate regardless of which party column you chose on the front.

The winner of each party's primary goes on to the November general election ballot. The candidate who receives the most votes wins — there's no requirement to reach an outright majority.

One thing worth knowing for absentee and early voters: when you request your ballot, you'll be asked to indicate which party's ballot you want. You're choosing a ballot, not registering with a party. In fact, Minnesota doesn’t maintain an official registry of party members!

Registering to vote for the primary

Minnesota makes registration straightforward, with several options depending on how much time you have before August 11.

Register online or by mail — deadline July 21. The quickest route is mnvotes.gov/register. You'll need your Minnesota driver's license or state ID number, or the last four digits of your Social Security number. If registering by mail, your application needs to arrive at your county election office by July 21.

Register same-day. Minnesota allows you to register at your polling place on Election Day, or at an early voting location when you cast your ballot. You'll need proof of residence — a Minnesota driver's license or ID with your current address works, or a utility bill, bank statement, or similar document showing your name and address. Registering in advance saves time, but same-day registration is a fully viable option.

Already registered? Check your current registration status at mnvotes.gov/register before you vote. If you've moved, changed your name, or haven't voted in the past four years, you may need to update your registration.

A few things Minnesota doesn't require: party registration, a photo ID to vote, and any excuse to vote early or by mail. You also don't need to be registered before requesting an absentee ballot — a registration application is included with the ballot materials.

How to vote before August 11

Minnesota offers three ways to cast a ballot before Election Day.

By mail

Request an absentee ballot at mnvotes.gov/absentee. You'll need your Minnesota state-issued ID or Social Security number to complete the online application. Your county mails you a ballot, you fill it out at home, and return it by mail or in person. Mail returns must arrive at your county election office by 8 p.m. on August 11. In-person drop-off deadline is 5 p.m.

Track your ballot at any point using mnvotes.gov/trackmyballot. The system shows you when your ballot was mailed, when it arrived back at the county, and when it was accepted.

In-person absentee voting

County election offices are accepting in-person absentee ballots as early as June 26. Most are open Monday through Friday during regular business hours, with Saturday hours available at some locations in the final week before the primary. Check your county auditor's website for specific hours and locations.

Early voting 

Starting July 24 and running through August 10, early voting is available at designated locations across the state. This works more like traditional Election Day voting — you walk in, confirm your identity, and feed your ballot directly into a tabulator. Every county in Minnesota is required to offer at least one early voting location for statewide elections.

For all three options, start at mnvotes.gov where you can access a polling place finder, registration check, and absentee ballot request in one place.

What happens to your ballot after you cast it

Minnesota has a strong elections record, and the specifics matter.

The state ranks 2nd nationally in presidential election turnout — part of the broader civic health picture covered in our State of the Nation rankings post — and the systems behind that ranking have real accountability built in.

Every ballot cast in Minnesota, whether absentee, early, or on Election Day, is a paper ballot.

How absentee ballots are handled

When your absentee ballot arrives at the county, it goes to an absentee ballot board, which is a bipartisan group of election judges. They verify your signature, check your eligibility, and record your ballot's status in the statewide system. The security envelope and the ballot itself are separated before counting begins, so no one can connect your name to how you voted.

If your ballot is flagged for a curable issue such as a missing witness signature, you have the opportunity to correct it before Election Day.

Equipment testing

Before every election, all voting equipment is tested using pre-marked ballots with known results. The test must produce an errorless result before any equipment is cleared for use. These tests are open to the public.

Post-election audits

After each state general election, counties randomly select precincts for a hand-count audit that compares paper ballot totals against the tabulator count. The audit is conducted publicly. If the hand count and the machine count differ by more than a narrow statutory threshold, the audit automatically expands. A discrepancy affecting 10% or more of total votes triggers a mandatory full recount.

Minnesota's audit law has been on the books since 2004. 

What Minnesota has done to expand voting access

Minnesota ranks 3rd in the country for voter participation in congressional elections and 2nd for presidential elections, according to the State of the Nation Project's most recent data. That standing reflects a set of policy decisions made over the past several years.

Since 2023, the state has expanded who can vote and how in several concrete ways:

• Voting rights restored for people on parole or probation. A felony record no longer affects your right to vote unless you are currently incarcerated. The Minnesota Supreme Court unanimously upheld this law in August 2024.

• Automatic voter registration. Anyone applying for or renewing a Minnesota driver's license or state ID is now automatically registered to vote if they meet eligibility requirements, with a 20-day opt-out window.

• Permanent absentee voter list. As of June 2024, you can sign up to be automatically mailed an absentee ballot before every election.

• Multilingual voting materials. Instructions in Spanish, Hmong, and Somali are available at every polling place statewide. In precincts where at least 3% of residents speak English less than very well, translated sample ballots are provided on Election Day.

• Campus voting. Colleges and universities can now request that their county establish an early voting location on campus for statewide and general elections.

• Minnesota Voting Rights Act. Signed in May 2024, this law encodes protections against voter suppression and vote dilution in state statute — a direct response to an 8th Circuit ruling that weakened federal Voting Rights Act enforcement across seven states, including Minnesota. It prohibits closing or shifting polling places, denying language access, and redistricting plans that dilute the voting strength of communities of color.

Why voting access matters

The evidence is consistent: when voting is made easier, more people vote. States that have narrowed early voting windows, closed polling places in specific communities, or added ID requirements have seen measurable declines in participation among the voters most affected. The research on this is consistent.

Minnesota has made a different set of choices, and the participation data reflects them. 

Early voting serves anyone whose work schedule, health, transportation, or family situation makes an August Tuesday difficult. That covers a wide range of people, many of whom don't otherwise follow politics closely. Expanding the window to reach them is the whole point.

Cast your primary ballot

Voting for the August 11 primary is open now.

• Request a mail ballot:mnvotes.gov/absentee

• Find early voting and absentee locations:mnvotes.gov/pollfinder

• Track your ballot:mnvotes.gov/trackmyballot

• Check or update your registration:mnvotes.gov/register

• Questions: Call 1-877-600-VOTE (8683). Assistance is available in English, Spanish, Hmong, Somali, Vietnamese, Russian, Chinese, Lao, Oromo, Khmer, and Amharic.