Yes, but if you reasonably expect to have one of the acceptable reasons for voting by absentee ballot apply to you on an ongoing basis, then you can ask to be placed on a list of voters who automatically receive absentee ballot applications prior to each election. Contact your local election official for more information.  Use the Election Official Directory to find county contact information.

This is allowed in certain situations.

The following people are allowed to designate a person (their “agent”) to pick up, deliver, and return an absentee ballot:

• Voters who would have trouble getting to the polls because of:
• incapacitating health reasons
• having a disability
• being in the hospital

• Residents of:
• group homes
• assisted living facilities
• residential treatment centers
• nursing homes
• battered women’s shelters

Having a ballot delivered and returned by an agent is only allowed during the last seven days prior to the election and until 2 p.m. on Election Day. Read the webpages on Absentee Voting or Voting for People Living in a Residential Facility for more information, or contact your county auditor or city clerk.  Find contact information for your county with the Election Official Directory.

In any of these cases, you should contact your local elections official to let them know that you need another ballot. Find county contact information using the Election Official Directory.

You can get your replacement ballot either in person or by mail. The election official will note that your first ballot is “spoiled” and it will not be counted, so be sure to return your replacement ballot, even if you find or receive your original ballot. 

Absentee voting is a way to vote if you are unable to vote in person on election day because you are:

• away from home
• ill or disabled
• an election judge serving in another precinct
• unable to go to the polling place due to a religious holiday or beliefs

With absentee voting, you can vote either in person before Election Day at a location designated by your county auditor or by mail. You must submit a written application to your county auditor or city clerk. Use the Election Official Directory to find contact information.

Vote in person starting 46 days prior to election day during normal office hours, or from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. the Saturday before the election, or until 5:00 p.m. the Monday before the election.

To vote by mail, submit the Absentee Ballot Application to your county auditor. The ballot will then be mailed directly to you.

If you are in the military or outside the US, vote based on where you last lived in Minnesota. You or your parent, spouse, brother, sister, or adult child can apply for you. Be sure to apply early!

More detailed information is available at the following pages:

Absentee Voting
Military/Overseas Voting
Military and Overseas Voter Web Service

No. Notaries public serving as a witnesses for absentee ballots do not need to be registered to vote in Minnesota. Notaries should write their name and title, sign the absentee ballot envelope, and affix their stamp.

Local election officials are required to review absentee ballot envelopes within days of receiving them to ensure that they meet the legal requirements to be counted. If there is a problem with your absentee ballot and it is rejected more than five days before the election, you will receive a replacement ballot in the mail along with an explanation of why your ballot did not meet the requirements to be counted. If your ballot is rejected within five days of the election, your local election official will attempt to contact you, and you will be allowed to vote at the polls on Election Day.

It depends upon when you change your mind.

If it is more than four days before the election (on or before the Friday before the election), you can cast another ballot. Contact your county auditor or city clerk to let them know that you do not want your previous ballot counted. You can then have them send you a new ballot, can go into their office to vote by absentee ballot in person (up until 5:00 pm the day before the election) or, if your circumstances have changed and you are now able, you can vote in person at your polling place.

If it is after the close of business on the fourth day before the election (the Friday before) and your absentee ballot has been accepted, it is too late to cast another ballot.

You must return your absentee ballot to your county auditor on or before Election Day or it will not be counted. There are several options for returning your ballot:

• Mail back your ballot in the pre-paid envelope provided by your county auditor.
• Up until 5 p.m. on the day before the election, you may deliver your ballot in person to your county auditor.
• You may also have someone else return your completed ballot, sealed in its envelope, to your county auditor until 3 p.m. on Election Day. Persons delivering ballots may not do so for more than three voters.
• If you are worried about your ballot not arriving on time through the U.S. Postal Service, you may choose to pay for an express delivery service (such as FedEx, UPS, DHL) to return your ballot. Ballots must be received by your county auditor by 3 p.m. on Election Day.