As Minneapolis gears up for the upcoming Election Day, which is quickly approaching in just two weeks, the city's Elections & Voter Services has expanded its operations to make voting as convenient as possible for its residents. According to the official city announcement, Minneapolis has now introduced additional hours and new early voting sites to accommodate the anticipated high turnout of voters who prefer to cast their ballots before November 3rd.
Already, a significant number of voters, reaching 7,891 by the closing of last Friday, have either voted by mail or in person. Acting to meet this wave of early voters, the main Early Vote Center located at 980 E Hennepin Ave, will be working overtime. The center will stay open later on weekdays and even operate over the weekends, inviting voters into its doors from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on weekdays and 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on weekends until the eve of Election Day. Given the high stakes of this election cycle, these extended hours and additional convenience are seen as a crucial factor in enabling each citizen's voice to be heard.
In a bid to bring the vote even closer to the people, pop-up early voting sites will materialize across Minneapolis for one-day-only events. Each temporary site will offer services at different locations throughout the city, starting with the Weisman Art Museum on October 21st, and then moving on day by day to other venues like the Public Service Building, Urban League Twin Cities, and Midtown Global Market, among others. The full schedule of these pop-up events, as detailed by the city's announcement, outlines the list of dates, locations, and operational hours for these temporary voting oases.
For those who favor the predictability and the confines of an envelope to the unpredictability of the pandemic-era public sphere, voting by mail remains an option. Ballots can be requested at mnvotes.gov/absentee, per instructions provided by Minneapolis Elections & Voter Services. Officials are urging those who opt for this method to get their ballots in the mail by October 28th to ensure that their vote counts. Alternatively, mail ballots can also be dropped off at any of the pop-up voting events or directly at the Elections and Voter Services office during the specified hours and days. However, it's essential to remember that on Election Day itself, the only place to drop off mail ballots will be at the Elections office at 980 E Hennepin, and they must be submitted by 5 p.m.
