Early voting made easy and convenient in Minneapolis

Story and photos by MARGIE O’LOUGHLIN

In 2014, the Minnesota Legislature updated the state’s laws for absentee voting. The primary change was to allow any qualified voter to cast an absentee ballot, either by mail or in-person, without providing a reason.

There are four Early Vote Centers in Minneapolis: South, North, Northeast, and Downtown. The South Early Vote Center is located in the old Roof Depot Building at 1860 E. 28th St., with ample off-street parking.

This year’s general election will be held on Tues., Nov. 8. Early voting by absentee ballot began 46 days before the election.

All Early Vote locations will be open through Fri., Nov. 4, Mon.-Fri., 7am-6pm; Saturdays, 9am-4pm; and Sundays, noon-5pm.

On Mon., Nov. 7, all Early Vote Centers will be open from 7am until 5pm.

Language assistance is available at all Early Vote Centers, depending on the ethnic make-up of each jurisdiction. At a minimum, Spanish and Oromo-speaking staff will be available at the South Early Vote Center during hours of operation.

Photo right: The early morning staff of the South Early Vote Center, the second busiest in the city. The process of voting here takes only about ten minutes. Oromo and Spanish language assistance is available, as is assistance getting in and out of the center if needed.

Anissa Hollingshead is Communications and Outreach Manager for the Minneapolis City Clerk’s Office, which contains Election and Voter Services. “Our staff has been doing robust outreach efforts to reach under-served voters of Minneapolis for months,” she said. “Our nine-person outreach team has language skills in Oromo, Spanish, Somali, Hmong, and Amharic. We’re anticipating a huge voter turnout for this election.”

“The integrity of the electoral process has been called into question across the country in the last several years” noted Hollingshead. “We’ve done everything we can to ensure an honest and transparent election here in Minneapolis. Our equipment has been tested, re-tested, and verified.

We’ve gone from paper ballots to electronic and back to paper again because paper can’t be hacked—the data can’t be altered.”

Hollingshead explained that the Federal Voting Rights Act doesn’t require on-site translation services. “Minneapolis election officials agreed that this was important, given the diverse make-up of our city. We aspire to a quote by Franklin D. Roosevelt, that ‘No one will ever deprive the American people of their right to vote, except the American people—and the only way they can do that is by not voting.’”

“This is the story I want to tell: how Minneapolis has gone above and beyond what is required by law to do what is right for the community,” Hollingshead said.

To vote in Minnesota, a person must be a US citizen, be 18 years of age on Election Day, and have been a resident of the state for at least 20 days before the election. If a person has a felony on their record, they must have completed their parole and probation to vote.

Early voting is almost identical in its process to voting on Election Day. The major difference is that until Oct. 31, ballots are sealed and handed to an election official—to be tabulated later at City Hall.

Photo right: Anissa Hollingshead, Communications and Outreach Manager for Election and Voter Services, at the South Early Vote Center. She said, “Our hope is to make voting as easy as possible, for as many people as possible. Ballots to the people!”

Direct balloting, where voters insert their ballot directly into a ballot tabulator, will start seven days before Election Day at all four Early Vote Centers. The biggest advantage to direct balloting is that the tabulator will indicate if the voter has made an error in marking their ballot.

To vote at one of the Early Vote Centers, a voter must be a Minneapolis resident. A voter can vote at any of the centers, as long as they bring proper ID and proof of residence (if registering as a new voter).

Call 311 from within city limits, or 612-673-3000 from outside city limits, with questions or comments about early voting.