More than 568,000 Minnesotans have already voted

It's not yet Election Day but more than 568,000 Minnesotans have already voted.

The state is crushing previous absentee voting records in the first presidential year that allows early voting. Minnesota required voters to provide an excuse to cast an absentee ballot until 2014.

Data released by the Secretary of State's office Monday shows that 568,196 absentee or mail-in ballots had been accepted. That's more than 15 percent of the state's registered voters. Just 183,000 absentee votes had been processed at the same point in 2012.

Both political parties have put a big emphasis on getting residents to vote early, intensifying their get-out-the-vote efforts. Absentee ballots can be accepted through Election Day.