Election Day in Minneapolis: Polls Open 7 to 8, Same-Day Registration, and No ID Needed If You're Registered
Minnesota's midterm general election is Tuesday, Nov. 3. Minneapolis voters who are registered at their current address just sign the roster — and anyone who isn't can register at the polls with proof of residence.
Election Day in Minnesota is Tuesday, Nov. 3, and the state's system is built to be used. Polling places in Minneapolis and across most of Minnesota open at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m. If you are in line at 8 p.m., you have the right to vote — that is state law, printed on the Minnesota Voter Bill of Rights posted in every polling place. Your polling place is assigned by your address; find it, check your registration and see a sample ballot at mnvotes.gov, the Minnesota Secretary of State's voter portal.
Here is the part that confuses newcomers: if you are already registered to vote at your current address, you do not need to bring identification. You sign next to your name on the roster and you vote. Minnesota does not require a photo ID for registered voters. ID enters the picture only if you need to register or update your registration — because you moved, changed your name, or have not voted in four years.
And in Minnesota, that is fixable on the spot. The state has offered same-day registration since the 1970s: you can register at your polling place on Election Day with proof of residence. That can be a Minnesota driver license or state ID with your current address, a photo ID paired with a document showing your current address — a utility bill, bank statement or similar, which can be shown on a phone — or a registered voter from your precinct who vouches for you, or certain other options listed at mnvotes.gov. You must be a U.S. citizen, at least 18 on Election Day, and a Minnesota resident for at least 20 days.
Minneapolis votes through Hennepin County's election system, and city voters will find a long ballot: a U.S. Senate seat, all eight U.S. House seats statewide, the full Minnesota Legislature, state constitutional offices led by the governor's race, county offices, judges and local questions varying by address. Early and absentee voting has been running since September; absentee ballots must be returned by 8 p.m. on Election Day to count, and election officials' standing advice on the final day is to deliver them in person rather than mail them.
Minnesota routinely records among the highest turnout rates in the nation, in presidential years and midterms alike, and the machinery above is why. Results begin posting after 8 p.m. Tuesday. The rest is the part the state leaves to you.
