MINNEAPOLIS — Polling locations and election officials are in go mode with just seven days to spare before the midterm elections in Minnesota.
"We just got fresh numbers as of today," said Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon. "We are at 376,000 absentee ballots — that’s up 90,000 in the last few days since last Thursday."
Secretary Simon says those numbers are also ahead of where early voting stood at this time in the 2018 midterms.
"People are engaged; they’re paying attention," said Simon.
And with the Election Day clock ticking, time is of the essence.
"Your absentee ballot has to arrive by Election Day. No postmark rule — it’s got to get there," explained Simon. He went on to say, "You probably want to put it in the mailbox no later than today; give yourself that one-week cushion.”
One other important thing to consider is that it's a redistricting year.
"Meaning, a year ending in "two" after we do the census," Simon said. "Sometimes its more likely that a polling place might have changed," said Simon.
With that in mind, three new early voting locations opened Tuesday in Minneapolis.
The North Early Vote Center is located within the Urban League Twin Cities location at Plymouth and Penn Avenues North; the Lake Street Early Vote Center can be found at the South Minneapolis Regional Service Center on East Lake Street near 22nd Avenue South; and the South Early Vote Center is at Bethel Lutheran Church on the corner of East 41st Street and South 17th Avenue.
Each location will open from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day until Monday, Nov. 7.
For everything you need to know heading into the midterms click here.
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