Friends and neighbors
As of September 20, early voting has officially started across Minnesota. This is a critical time to make your voice heard. Whether you have already made up your mind or just want to avoid long lines on Election Day, there are several convenient ways to cast your vote.
First, you can vote early in person at designated locations in your county:
Goodhue County
- Goodhue County Government Center, 509 W 5th St, Red Wing
- Mon-Fri 8:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
- Prairie Island Community Center, 1158 Island Blvd, Red Wing
- Only open 10/16 (Wed) 10:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m.
Rice County
- Rice County Elections Department, 320 3rd St NW, Faribault
- Mon-Thu 8:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Fri 8:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. (through September 27), Fri 8:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m. (starting October 4)
- Northfield City Hall, 801 Washington Street, Northfield
- Mon, Wed, and Thu 7:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Tue 7:30 a.m.-6:00 p.m., Fri 7:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
Steele County
- Steele County Administration Center, 630 Florence Ave, Owatonna
- Mon-Fri, 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
Waseca County
- Waseca County Courthouse, 307 State Street North, Waseca
- Mon-Fri, 8:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
If you prefer, you can request an absentee ballot to vote by mail. Simply head to mnvotes.gov, where you can find all the details on early voting locations, how to request an absentee ballot, and much more.
Casting your ballot is one of the most important responsibilities we have in our republic. Voting is how we, the people, choose who will represent us and make decisions that affect our daily lives. It is a tradition that dates back to the founding of our nation, where the right to vote was viewed as one of the most crucial freedoms we have.
I have also heard some worry about Minnesota’s new Automatic Voter Registration (AVR) law. While the intention behind the law is to make it easier for eligible Minnesotans to vote, recent reviews found that about 1,000 ineligible registrations were inactivated after a review by the Department of Public Safety. This has raised questions about whether our systems are prepared to ensure that only eligible voters are registered.
Secretary of State Steve Simon said the glitch that caused those ineligible voters to be registered has been fixed and it should not be an issue going forward. I am glad Secretary Simon addressed our concerns so quickly. I hope next session we will be able to have some productive – and bipartisan — conversations about implementing a uniform verification process. We need to guarantee that all registrations, whether automatic or same-day, are subject to thorough verification. Voters must feel confident that our election process is secure and fair.
Contact me:
If you have any questions about any issues we are working on at the legislature, feel free to contact me any time at sen.john.jasinski@mnsenate.gov or 651-296-0284.
And you can always get the latest news from St. Paul on my Facebook page at fb.com/SenatorJohnJasinski.
It is a privilege to serve you!