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Hennepin County Expects To Count 150,000 Absentee Ballots

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Election Day is less than a week away, but thousands of Minnesotans have already cast their ballots.

It's the first year voters were able to cast an early ballot without a giving a reason for voting absentee. Hennepin County officials say they already counted 31,000 absentee ballots in the first day of counting.

On Thursday, reporters toured the Hennepin County absentee ballot counting center. The counting process is a little bit different this year in than in the past.

The county will be handling absentee ballots for all of the suburbs instead of each city counting their own. Minneapolis, on the other hand, will have city officials counting its ballots.

RELATED: More Than 400,000 Ballots Already Cast In Minnesota

Hennepin County staff and University of Minnesota volunteers work roughly 12-hour long days counting. They also work in teams to ensure accuracy and count votes by precinct.

The record for Hennepin County absentee votes was set in 2008, with 82,000 votes. Officials expect to exceed that this year, anticipating around 150,000 absentee ballots will be cast in Hennepin County.

When does absentee voting officially end?

In Hennepin County, voters have until 5 p.m. Monday to vote in person. They have until 3 p.m. on Election Day to drop off a mailed ballot.

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