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Voting by mail in Minnesota
Yes. Anyone can request a mail ballot. Any registered voter can request a mail (absentee) ballot, no reason needed. There's a deadline, so request early. Your witness must watch you with the blank ballot before you vote, then sign the white envelope.
Key dates
| Register to vote by | Tue, Oct 13 (same-day registration also available) |
| Mail ballot request received by | Mon, Nov 2 |
| Early in-person voting | Fri, Sep 18 – Mon, Nov 2 |
| Mail your ballot by | Tue, Oct 27 (USPS: allow 7 days) |
| Election Day | Tue, Nov 3 |
| ID at the polls | No ID needed at the polls. Without one: Nothing required if registration is current and active; voter signs the roster and votes a regular ballot. |
| Return rule | Mailed ballots received by 8 p.m. on Election Day. Hand-delivered ballots must reach the office that sent them by 5 p.m. on Election Day. |
| Missed the request deadline? | Voters who became a patient or resident of a hospital or care facility in their municipality the day before the election: by Tue, Nov 3, Election Day (phone for the form by 5 p.m. Nov. 2). Voters who can't get to the polls for health reasons or disability, and patients or residents of health, assisted-living, residential or shelter facilities: by Tue, Nov 3, 8 p.m. (agent pick-up and return). |
| Who can return it for you | A person you designate may return it. You may designate an agent (any person) to hand-deliver the sealed envelope to the county auditor or city clerk, or to mail it; an agent may return ballots for no more than 3 voters per election. In person the deadline is 5 p.m. Election Day. Whether an agent may use a drop box isn't clear. |
Steps
- Request your ballot now. Don't wait for the deadline.
- Confirm your registration and mailing address while you're at it.
- When it arrives, fill it out in blue or black ink and sign the envelope.
- Return it by drop box or in person if you can. Mail it at least a week early if not.
- Track it on your state's tracker until it shows received.
Don't get rejected
- Extra step in your state: a witness (any U.S. citizen who will be 18 by Election Day, or a notary) must see your blank ballot before you vote and sign the signature envelope. This is the #1 reason ballots get tossed where it applies.
- Sign the envelope. An unsigned envelope is the most common fixable mistake.
- Use the secrecy sleeve if one is included, then the return envelope. Don't tape anything.
- Keep the phone and email on your registration current. If there's a problem, that's how they reach you to fix it.
https://www.sos.state.mn.us/elections-voting/other-ways-to-vote/vote-early-by-mail/
https://mnvotes.sos.state.mn.us/AbsenteeBallotStatus.aspx
ballotbymail.org/state/mn
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Rules checked 2026-09-09; deadlines checked 2026-09-09. Sources: NCSL, Vote.org, CEIR, state election offices. The official site wins if anything differs. Free to copy and post.