Early voting in Minnesota: 127K+ ballots accepted so far, outpacing 2022 election

Midterm election preview: Minnesota's key political issues Minnesota's midterm elections are 33 days away. FOX 9 Political contributor Pat Kessler breaks down some of the key issues heading into November, and some of the hot political topics of the week. The Brief As of Oct. 8, Minnesota voters had cast 127,682 ballots during absentee voting for the Nov. 3 general election.Since voting began Sept. 18, local election officials in Minnesota have distributed 468,860 absentee and mail-in ballots.During the same three-week stretch in 2022, a total of 99,252 Minnesotans had voted and 405,721 ballots had been distributed. (FOX 9) - As of Oct. 8, Minnesotans have cast 127,682 ballots during absentee voting for the Nov. 3 general election. Minnesota absentee voting What we know: The Minnesota Secretary of State's Office says that 468,860 absentee and mail-in ballots have been distributed statewide since voting began Sept. 18. As of Oct. 8, a total of 47,968 voters had cast ballots in person and 79,714 had returned ballots by mail. In the first two weeks of voting, 63,396 ballots had been accepted, meaning the total has more than doubled in the last week. Dig deeper: The latest numbers are ahead of the pace set in the 2022 general election, officials say. During the first three weeks of voting in 2022, a total of 99,252 Minnesotans cast ballots in person or by mail. In the first three weeks of voting during the 2022 general election, local election officials distributed 405,721 absentee and mail ballots. You can learn more about absentee voting here. Supreme Court rejects Trump's mail-in ballot restrictions The Supreme Court rejected President Donald Trump’s executive order to restrict mail-in voting ahead of the midterm elections. FOX 9's Chenue Her reports.  Supreme Court blocks Trump mail rules Big picture view: In recent months, there were concerns over how the United States Postal Service (USPS) would handle mail ballots. The USPS vowed to institute new rules issued by the Trump administration, restricting who could receive mail-in ballots. Under the rules, states would have been required to submit lists of eligible voters who could receive mail ballots and the USPS would have only delivered mail ballots to voters on those lists. The executive order by President Trump also would have required states to use uniform ballot styles. However, those rules faced court challenges, including a lawsuit that Minnesota was part of. Lower courts blocked the rules from going into effect. The Supreme Court has since rejected an emergency application from the Trump administration to block the lower court rulings. That decision blocks the new rules from going into effect for the midterms. It remains possible that the Supreme Court could still take up the matter at a later date and issue a decision on the rules for future elections. What's next: Early voting begins Oct. 16 in Minnesota. The difference with early voting in person versus absentee voting is that your ballot now gets processed through a tabulator. The Source: Information provided by the Minnesota Secretary of State Office and previous FOX 9 reporting. 2026 ElectionsElectionPoliticsMinnesota