For those with minds made up, Minnesotans can start casting their midterm ballots Friday
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Fresh off a historic primary turnout, an even wider pool of Minnesota voters will begin casting their ballots in the general election on Friday.
In Minnesota, the entire Legislature and a slate of statewide offices are on the ballot, including governor, attorney general, secretary of state and auditor. So is every U.S. House seat and one U.S. Senate seat.
Absentee voting begins Friday. Ballots will begin to be mailed to voters who request them and select early voting locations will be open for in-person absentee voting.
The Minnesota secretary of state’s website is the one-stop-shop for all things voting. That’s where voters can request mail-in ballots, track their mail-in ballots, register to vote, find their polling location and more.
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What’s on my ballot?
Every eligible voter will get to make their picks in the statewide races.
No matter what, Minnesota is set to make history by electing its first woman governor; voters will decide between Republican Lisa Demuth and Democrat Amy Klobuchar. Demuth is speaker of the state House while Klobuchar is a U.S. senator.
Democratic nominee Peggy Flanagan and Republican nominee Michele Tafoya are vying for retiring U.S. Sen Tina Smith’s seat. Flanagan is lieutenant governor and Tafoya is a former sports broadcaster and a conservative commentator.
Meanwhile, DFLers Attorney General Keith Ellison and Secretary of State Steve Simon are running to keep their seats and face Republicans Ron Schutz and Tad Jude, respectively. Three candidates, two from the major parties and one from Forward Independence, are facing off to fill the open state auditor position.
Every U.S. House seat in Minnesota is up for election, but most incumbents are running for reelection and are expected to win. However, Rep. Angie Craig declined to run for her seat in the 2nd District to launch her unsuccessful bid for Senate, leaving a competitive contest between DFLer Matt Little and Republican Eric Pratt. Little is a former state senator while Pratt is a sitting state senator.
Depending on where you live, you’ll have the chance to vote in plenty of downballot races. You can find your sample ballot here.
What is absentee voting?
Absentee voting begins 46 days before the election in Minnesota. Absentee voters need a witness to look at their blank ballot and then sign a signature envelope after the voter fills out the ballot. Voters tuck their ballots in special envelopes and a ballot board verifies the envelope. Election officials don’t actually generate vote results until after the polls close on Election Day.
Voters can vote absentee by mail or in person.
Katie Smith, director of elections in Minneapolis, said her office is busily preparing to receive voters Friday. She said she expects everything to go smoothly.
“If you're already registered, you don't need to bring anything with you,” Smith said. “If you need to register, that's when you're gonna need to bring your proof of residency with you.”
Is absentee voting the same as early voting?
Yes and no. The terms are often used interchangeably because most voters vote absentee before Election Day, which is early.
But there’s also an official early voting period that starts 18 days before an election — Oct. 16 for the 2026 general election — when voters can deposit their ballots directly into a tabulating machine. That early voting process mimics the Election Day process and doesn’t involve an absentee ballot application or envelope.
Can I change my vote?
If you vote early but later change your mind about candidates you supported, you can claw back your ballot. However, you have a limited window to do that. You have to contact your local election office by the close of business on the 19th day before the election, which this year is Oct. 15.
Besides voting, how else can I get involved in the election process?
The biggest need election offices across the state have is election judges. Certain duties on Election Day can only be performed by party-balanced election judges.
A recent Minnesota Supreme Court decision made it clear that cities and counties must hire election judges to staff early voting locations during the early voting period in the 18 days before an election as well. Minneapolis hadn’t been doing that and historically has had difficulty finding enough Republican election judges in a Democratic-dominated city.
Smith said Minneapolis will comply with the order and can look to other jurisdictions to find enough Republican judges if necessary.
“We're always looking outside of the city. When you are an election judge in the state of Minnesota, you don't necessarily have to serve where you live,” Smith said.
Smith said some voters are concerned about federal interference in Minnesota’s elections and have asked how they can get involved in the election process.
“We're discouraging people from just showing up. There's a lot of laws and rules that specifically say who is and isn't allowed to be at the poll or within the 100 feet of the polling place itself,” Smith said.
However, Smith said her office has put together a list of ways people can help others vote, including giving rides to the polls and providing translation.
“Just some good ways to get involved and be a part of how we can support democracy together this year,” Smith said.
Is the Trump administration changing mail-in voting?
The Supreme Court is set to consider a Trump administration to plan to restrict mail-in voting. For now, a federal judge has blocked the implementation of the plan.
In March, President Donald Trump directed the U.S. Postal Service to only send mail ballots to voters on citizenship lists created by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and the Social Security Administration, arguing a voter list would ensure only eligible voters get ballots.
A whistleblower came forward alleging the online portal USPS created to implement the plan is "rushed," "risky" and "haphazard" and could reject batches of ballots if just one can't be verified.
States including Minnesota and several nonpartisan voting rights groups have sued the Trump administration on the grounds that states run elections, not the federal government. They also argued the federal lists violate voters’ privacy, and they say are unnecessary because studies have shown noncitizen voting is negligible and the lists could be incomplete and disenfranchise voters.
“Right now, we're business as usual for anybody who wants to cast their ballot via the mail,” Smith said.
