Nearly 200K Absentee Ballots Requested By MN Voters
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Early voters are significantly outpacing the returns that accompanied the primaries in the two most recent elections.
Statewide, 195,162 absentee ballots have been sent out, a 90 percent increase from the 2016 election.
Hennepin County officials say that as of Thursday morning, they had accepted 23,065 absentee ballots countywide, including submissions made in person as well as by email.
Ginny Helms, the Hennepin County election manager, said that represents a 300 percent increase from the 2016 election, when a total of 5,770 absentee ballots were received.
| 2016 | 2018 | Percentage Change | |
| Total Ballots Received | 29,455 | 86,909 | + 195% |
| Anoka | 1,079 | 2,959 | + 174% |
| Dakota | 1,168 | 4,733 | + 305% |
| Hennepin | 5,770 | 23,065 | + 300% |
| Itasca | 1,713 | 2,990 | + 75% |
| Olmsted | 441 | 2,003 | + 354% |
| Ramsey | 1,886 | 7,473 | + 296% |
| St. Louis | 782 | 2,323 | + 197% |
| Scott | 127 | 1,210 | + 853% |
| Washington | 456 | 2,672 | + 486% |
| Minneapolis | 3,542 | 9,664 | + 173% |
.
| 2016 | 2018 | Percentage Change | |
| Total Absentee ballots Sent (including mail) | 102,856 | 195,162 | + 90% |
| Anoka | 1,809 | 4,322 | + 139% |
| Dakota | 2,714 | 7,648 | + 182% |
| Hennepin | 10,258 | 33,782 | + 229% |
| Itasca | 6,904 | 7,487 | + 8% |
| Olmsted | 780 | 2,601 | + 233% |
| Ramsey | 3,943 | 11,159 | + 183% |
| St. Louis | 2,727 | 4,671 | + 71% |
| Scott | 439 | 1,775 | + 304% |
| Washington | 1,437 | 3,872 | + 169% |
| Minneapolis | 5,651 | 15,478 | + 174% |
As for ballots that have been received, nearly 87,000 have been returned in Minnesota.
For those who submitted ballots who want to change their minds, the deadline for changing a vote passed Tuesday at 5 p.m.
