Early vote center opens

Early voting has begun for the Tuesday, Aug. 14 primary election, and Minneapolis voters may cast their ballots at the Early Vote Center, 217 S. 3rd St., in downtown Minneapolis. Standard hours throughout the absentee voting period are 8 am-4:30 pm, Monday-Friday. The center will also have Saturday hours for the last two weekends before the primary. All early voting hours are posted on the Elections website: vote.minneapolismn.gov.

Absentee voting is easy. Any voter can vote early; no reason is needed. Early in-person voting is convenient. It especially helps voters who need special accommodations, such as language support, that the extra time, attention and onsite resources of early in-person voting afford more readily than the polls might on the day of the election.

People can also vote by absentee ballot by mail. Please allow enough time to complete the process by mail; it can take longer than seven days. Absentee ballot applications are available at vote.minneapolismn.gov/voters/absentee and may be submitted anytime throughout the year.

Election judges needed. Election judges are needed for the primary election Aug. 14 to serve voters in local polling places. Election judges are paid $15.75 per hour for their service, which includes training. Depending upon schedule and preferences, people can choose which elections they work in, and whether they want to be at a polling place close to where they live or anywhere else in Minneapolis.

Serving as an election judge provides an opportunity to learn about the election process and is an important service to our community. Judges who are fluent in a second language are especially needed to provide additional language support in the polling place, including Spanish, Somali, Hmong, Oromo, Lao, Vietnamese, Russian and American Sign Language.

Find out more about this opportunity at vote.minneapolismn.gov/judges or call 311.

Voters can save time by taking these three steps: Make sure you’re registered to vote, or pre-register. Voters can register or check the status of their registrations at vote.minneapolismn.gov/voters/register. Download and complete the absentee ballot application form in advance, and bring it when you go to vote. Find the request form at vote.minneapolismn.gov/voters/absentee. Look at a sample ballot ahead of time; even bring it to refer to when you go to vote. Find your sample ballot at vote.minneapolismn.gov/voters/ballot.

What’s on the ballot? Minneapolis voters will cast ballots for the following primary races: U.S. Senator. U.S. Senator, special election. United States Representative (District 5). Governor/Lieutenant Governor. Attorney General. Minnesota State Representative (Districts 59A, 59B, 60B, 62A and 62B). County Commissioner (Districts 2 and 4). County Sheriff. Minneapolis School Board at-large members (two seats).

State law allows voters to bring materials into the polls to help complete their ballots, and the sample ballot is the single best tool available for this purpose. By downloading and printing their sample ballots (which are customized to their specific ward and precinct), voters can practice marking their ballots. They can bring this marked-up sample ballot as a reference to the voting booth when completing their official ballots. This is the best way to reduce the time spent waiting in lines.

Find sample ballots for all 132 Minneapolis precincts here: vote.minneapolismn.gov/voters/ballot.