ST. PAUL, Minn. (KMSP) -
More than 100,000 Minnesota voters have requested absentee ballots this election year and 70,899 of those ballots have already been returned and accepted, the Secretary of State's office said Thursday.
Absentee voting started Sept. 21 in Minnesota. Secretary of State Mark Ritchie expected ten percent of all Minnesota voters -- or about 300,000 people -- to vote absentee. That would be an average number for a presidential year.
"The November 6 general election is quickly approaching," Ritchie said. "I urge voters who will be out of their precincts on Election Day and who wish to cast a ballot to fill out their absentee ballot applications and send them in today, or visit their county auditor's office to cast their absentee ballots in-person
In Minnesota, voters are eligible to cast absentee ballots if they'll be away from their precinct on Election Day, or if they have an illness or disability. It's also legal to vote absentee if a person serves as an election judge or if they have a religious observance. Voters are taken at their word.
The absentee ballot period ends Nov. 5.
