Minnesota’s vote counting rules explained with timeline

(FOX 9) – with Election Day FOX 9 takes a look at how Minnesota is counting its votes a little more than a week later.

When does Minnesota count absentee ballots?

In Minnesota, both absentee and mail-in ballots can be counted before Election Day; however, results are not allowed to be announced until polls close on Election Day. If your ballot is rejected, you will be notified by election officials.

When absentee ballots are received, they are checked to ensure they are accurate and valid. They are kept until 18 days before the election. At this point, votes are allowed to be entered into the ballot box count. Election officials maintain a database to ensure there are no duplicate votes.

When will the results come?

Unofficial results will begin being released shortly after polls close on Election Day, and reporting will continue late into the night.

As always, FOX 9 Results will be updated live as soon as the polls close on Election Day.

Certification studies will begin in the coming days after the unofficial results are announced.

How does Minnesota make sure people don’t vote twice?

All absentee ballots are tracked individually and linked to a voter database. When an absentee ballot is accepted, it is marked in the database where election officials or election judges can see it and indicate whether a person has an accepted ballot.

Voter lists are updated regularly throughout Election Day.

What ballot counters does Minnesota use?

All of Minnesota’s voting machines feature “optical scanning”; that is, they scan the ballot and return results based on the bubbles filled in on the ballot.

The state uses the following machines:

• Dominion ImageCast Central (central counting)
• Dominion ImageCast Evolution (polling place)
• ES&S Digital Scan 200 (polling place and central counting)
• ES&S Digital Scan 450 (central counting)
• ES&S Digital Scan 850 (central counting)
• ES&S Digital Scan 950 (central counting)
• Hart Verity Central (central census)
• Hart Verity Scan (polling place)

Voting machines have proven to be much more accurate than manual vote counts.

Can non-citizens vote?

Despite what you may hear or read online, Minnesota has systems in place to ensure voters are eligible citizens.

Minnesota began using automatic voter registration starting this year; This means Minnesotans are registered to vote when they apply for or renew their driver’s license.

During this process, the Department of Public Safety verifies documents that confirm citizenship (such as birth certificates, passports, or naturalization documents) before sending information to the Department of State, which handles voting records.

When is early voting in Minnesota?

Early voting in the state has been continuing since Friday, September 20. You can vote early any time between now and Monday, November 4 (the day before Election Day).

To find out where you can vote early in your district Click here.

Election Day is November 5, Find your polling place by: click here.

After Election Day

Vote counts are considered unofficial until certified by a voting board. Boards meet at the county and state levels, and their meetings are open to the public.

Campaign boards check the results and ensure the results are entered correctly. County boards consist of local officials.

If the race is close, candidates can request a recount. If the margin of victory is less than 0.25 percent. Otherwise, a candidate can request an “optional” recount, which he must pay for and is limited to contesting the results in three districts.

During the recount, a candidate or his representative may object to individual ballots. The contested ballots are then reviewed by the election board.

In addition to recounts, it also requires post-election canvassing for state and federal (presidential, Senate and House) races. As part of this process, votes are counted by hand and compared to the results of the vote counters.