Absentee voting gets off to a faster start this year

In the first week of early voting, 3,531 ballots have been accepted, about 50 percent more than at this point in the past two election years.

By Joe Kimball

Sept. 26, 2014

Minnesota’s new “no excuse absentee voting” has gotten off to a fast start, with the number of early voting ballots accepted in the first week significantly higher than in the same time frame in the past two election cycles.

The Secretary of State’s office says that in the first week of early voting, 3,531 ballots were approved. That compares to 2,308 ballots accepted at this time in 2012, and 2,423 in 2010.

This year, “voters do not need to provide an excuse, such as being ill or out of the precinct on Election Day, to vote with an absentee ballot,” the SOS office notes.

Online absentee requests can be made on the SOS web site.

SOS Mark Ritchie’s quote:

“It’s convenient for voters that Election Day is now essentially every day now through Nov. 4. No-excuse absentee voting can help generate greater voter participation and further improve our nation-leading voter turnout rate.”