You may find that you are unable to get to your polling place location on Election Day but still want to vote in the election.

In Minnesota, citizens are allowed to vote absentee for the following reasons:

• Absent from your precinct
• Illness or disability
• Serving as an election judge in another precinct
• Religious discipline or religious holiday or observance
• Eligible emergency declared by the governor or quarantine declared by the federal or state government

Click the links below for more information:

General Absentee Information
Military and Overseas Voters
Delivery of Absentee Ballots by Others
Permanent and Ongoing Absentee Ballots
Voters Moving From Minnesota to Another State

General Absentee Information

There are two ways to vote by absentee ballot.

In Person Absentee Voting

You may cast an absentee ballot in person, at your county auditor's office and in many cases your city or township clerk's office, starting 30 days prior to Election Day. This option is available on weekdays during business hours. In addition, the county auditor's office must be open for absentee balloting from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the Saturday before the election and until 5 p.m. on the day before the election. Contact your county auditor for more information. Click here for an Election Official Directory

Absentee Voting by Mail

You may have an absentee ballot sent to you by completing an Absentee Ballot Application and send it to your county auditor by mail, fax, or email (print off the application, sign it, scan it, and attach to an email as a .pdf). Your ballot will be sent to you when it is ready - at least thirty days prior to the election if you applied for an absentee ballot in advance. If you apply for an absentee ballot within thirty days of the election, your ballot will arrive within a day or two of your application being received.

Your completed absentee ballot must be received by your county auditor by Election Day, or it will not be counted. There are four ways you can return your absentee ballot:

1. Mail back your ballot in the pre-paid envelope provided by your county auditor.
2. Up until 5 p.m. on the day before the election, you may deliver your ballot in person to your county auditor.
3. 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.
4. 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 on 3 p.m. on Election Day.

To find contact information for your county auditor, click here for an Election Official Directory.

Military and Overseas Voters

There are special provisions for voters who are serving away from home in the military, for their spouses and dependents, and for citizens who are temporarily or permanently overseas. Click here to learn more about absentee voting for military personnel and overseas citizens.

Delivery of Absentee Ballots by Others

The following voters may authorize an agent to pick up and return an absentee ballot for them:

• Patients in hospitals, residential treatment centers, and nursing homes
• Residents of group homes
• Residents of battered women's shelters
• Residents of assisted living facilities
• Voters who are disabled
• Voters who would have difficulty getting to the polls because of incapacitating health reasons

If you are currently living in a residential facility but not sure if it meets the qualifications listed above, please ask the administrator of your facility.

In order to have an agent deliver your ballot, you must complete the Request for Agent Delivery of Absentee Ballot Form and the Absentee Ballot Application. You must have a preexisting relationship with the your agent. The agent will use the completed forms to pick up a ballot, bring the ballot to you, and return your voted ballot to the county auditor or city clerk. Each agent is only allowed to deliver and return ballots for a maximum of three voters. This activity may only occur the seven days preceding an election. Ballots can be picked up until 2:00 p.m. on Election Day, and voted ballots must be returned by 3:00 p.m. on Election Day.

Agent Delivery Process flowchart

Permanent or Ongoing Absentee Ballots

If you are an eligible voter who reasonably believes that you will be unable to go to your polling place for one of the reasons allowed on an ongoing basis, you may request to receive an application for an absentee ballot before each election by completing the Application to Automatically Receive Absentee Ballot Applications.

Voters Moving From Minnesota to Another State

If you are an eligible voter who moved from Minnesota to another state within 30 days of a presidential election and you are not eligible to vote in your new state, then you should review the Presidential Absentee Ballot Application to find out how to vote in Minnesota in the presidential election.