Minnesota ballots top 419,000 with weekend voting hours about to start

Minnesota election officials announced Friday that 419,189 ballots have been accepted as early voting continues to outpace the 2022 midterms.

The Minnesota Secretary of State’s Office (SOS) said during the first five weeks of voting for the Nov. 3 elections, more than 241,000 ballots were cast in person and more than 178,000 were returned by mail.

Compared to 2022, election officials said 282,277 Minnesotans cast their ballots during the first five weeks of early voting.

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The SOS said local officials have nearly 700,000 absentee and mail ballots this year, compared to nearly 560,...