How to vote · 2026
Minnesota
Any voter can request a mail ballot
Every date below comes from the Minnesota election office and links to the page that states it. Election Day is Tuesday, November 3, 2026.
Dates and rules
Registration, mail ballots, and early voting
Registration deadlineOctober 13, 2026Advance registration (online, in person, or received by mail) by Oct. 13, 2026 (21 days before). Same-day registration with proof of residence during in-person absentee voting and on Election Day.
Mail-ballot request deadlineNovember 2, 2026
Mail ballots first sentSeptember 18, 2026Absentee voting by mail and in person begins 46 days before Election Day (Friday, Sept. 18, 2026; Minn. Stat. 203B). Mail applications accepted until the day before the election, but request early enough to receive and return the ballot.
Return ruleMust be received by 8 p.m. on Election Day
Early in-person votingSeptember 18, 2026through November 2, 2026 · In-person absentee voting begins Sept. 18, 2026 (46 days before); direct-balloting early voting (ballot goes into the counter) from Oct. 16 through Nov. 2.
Official MN election site ↗Dates last verified against the official site September 1, 2026.Sources: [1] Minnesota SOS: absentee voting for the Nov. 3, 2026 general election begins Sept. 18, 2026[2] USA.gov directory of official state election offices[3] Mail voting Sept. 18-Nov. 3, 2026; includes MN SOS correspondence (May 2026)[4] CEIR 2026 voter registration deadlines (June 25, 2026 dataset; per-mode deadlines and same-day registration windows)[5] NCSL Table 5: statutory absentee ballot application deadline[6] NCSL Table 11 (updated Dec. 2025): ballot receipt/postmark deadline
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The full table of mail-ballot send dates, registration deadlines, and early-voting windows for all fifty states and DC, plus the documented record of government actions on mail voting this cycle.
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