Early voting underway for Minnesota presidential primary

Absentee ballot
Photo credit Entercom

Minnesota voters are among the first to cast ballots in the presidential primaries with Friday's opening of early voting in the state.

Voters can also request mail-in ballots from the Minnesota Secretary of State's office website starting on Friday.

Jan. 17 is when Minnesotans can vote in person or request absentees ballots for the Super Tuesday primary.

March 3 is the date for Minnesota's first presidential primary since 1992.

It's also the state's first binding primary for both parties since 1956.  

Democrats will choose from 15 candidates:

  • Michael Bennet
  • Joseph Biden
  • Michael R. Bloomberg
  • Cory Booker
  • Pete Buttigieg
  • Julián Castro
  • John K. Delaney
  • Tulsi Gabbard
  • Amy Klobuchar
  • Deval Patrick
  • Bernie Sanders
  • Tom Steyer
  • Elizabeth Warren
  • Marianne Williamson
  • Andrew Yang

The list of candidates was submitted to the Secretary of State's office on Dec. 17 by DFL party chair Ken Martin, well before Cory Booker, Julián Castro, and Marianne Williamson ended their campaigns.

Republicans have just one choice after the Minnesota Supreme Court rejected a challenge to the GOP plan to list only President Trump.

Early voters must request either a Democratic or Republican ballot, and their names will be shared with the parties. 

Republicans and Democrats are holding statewide caucuses in Minnesota the night of Feb. 25, a week before the primaries.