Minneapolis seeing "very high" early voter turnout ahead of next week's midterms

The 2026 election is just a week away. Many have already cast their ballot in Minnesota, and early voting could break records.

"I haven't missed a vote in however long you can remember," said Scott Holdahl of Minneapolis.

On Tuesday, with just seven days left to go, a south Minneapolis polling place was bustling.

"We're seeing really high turnout. This is well above what we've seen in previous state general elections" said Katie Smith, director of the City of Minneapolis Elections and Voter Services. "We expect in the next couple of days to break that record for early turnout."

Smith says while the department doesn't necessarily have an explanation for the big turnout, it's people voting early in-person

that's seeing the biggest numbers.

"All of our friends voted early and said 'go vote early,'" said Kim Medin of Minneapolis.

The Minnesota Secretary of State's Office says as of Friday, more than 419,000 ballots had been accepted for this year's election — a number far outpaces data from the 2022 midterms.

"We're out of the country next Tuesday, so had to get it done early," Holdahl said.

If you're worried about the safety, security and accuracy of your voting experience, Smith offers this: "We have so many rules and regulations in place. On Election Day itself, we'll have over 2,600 people working as election judges across all of our 137 precincts across the city."

Early voting runs through Monday, the day before Election Day. In Minnesota and Wisconsin, most polls open at 7 a.m. on Election Day.

WCCO has an election guide that helps you meet candidates for office, check your registration and find your polling place.