At the Crow Wing County Board's Tuesday meeting on Oct. 13, county administrator and elections official Deborah Erickson outlined the distinctions between absentee voting and early voting for those in attendance. Commissioner Paul Koering had raised the question while ballots were being cast inside the historic courthouse, and Erickson explained that the period then underway fell within the 45-day absentee voting window leading up to Election Day.

Voters retain the option of casting an absentee ballot in person throughout that 45-day window. Under that process, paperwork is submitted across the counter, the ballot is handed to the voter, and the vote is recorded through the window one floor up.

Completed ballots are placed first into a privacy sleeve and then into a separate outer envelope bearing the voter's signature. Erickson explained that this pairing allows election administrators to cross-reference returned materials against the full distribution list. Judges drawn from two opposing parties jointly evaluate each outer envelope during the 45-day pre-election review window, determining which ones advance and which are set aside, while the ballots inside remain sealed until the period approaching Election Day.

During the ballot-review process, officials verify that each outer envelope carries the voter's own signature, that the ID number printed on it corresponds with the one from the original application, and that the person casting the ballot holds active registration and has submitted all required documents.

Early voting opens in the 20-day window leading up to Election Day. Erickson noted that voters who cast ballots during that period come in person to the office, complete a form confirming their intent to vote early, have their identity matched against the roster, and confirm that they have not previously submitted a ballot. Erickson explained that voters mark their selections inside the booth and feed the completed ballot directly into the tabulator, meaning the vote registers immediately without any further handling of that ballot.

Ballots cast before polls close on Election Day are excluded from the tally until after 8 p.m. Ballots fed into tabulation machines during the 20-day window before Election Day are held without processing, with no counts released until polling places have closed and their results are finalized — a requirement written into Minnesota state law governing absentee and early voting returns.

Once polling locations close at 8 p.m. on Election Day and all ballots, materials, and tallies have been delivered back to the courthouse, Erickson explained that absentee and early voting totals are merged with in-person figures before any numbers are made public.

When a ballot is cast ahead of Election Day — whether through early in-person voting or by absentee submission — that participation is recorded on the official roster. Erickson noted that the historic courthouse serves as the in-person voting location on Election Day for that voter, who would find their ballot already recorded in the system if they attempted to cast another vote at the polls.

Ballots for residents assigned to mail-in precincts are dispatched roughly 30 days ahead of Election Day, meaning those on the registered voter rolls are expected to already have one in hand. Anyone not yet registered is required to contact the elections office to request an application before a ballot can be issued, Erickson noted, adding that all returned mail ballots are required to arrive by 8 p.m. on Election Day to be tallied. Ballots that arrive after the deadline are not tallied, and their envelopes remain unopened throughout the process.

Erickson advised anyone planning to return a ballot by mail to do so well ahead of Election Day, explaining that letters dropped at the Brainerd Post Office — located beside the courthouse on Laurel Street — take three to four days to reach their destination. Outgoing mail from Brainerd is routed to the St. Paul/Minneapolis area for processing before being delivered back to the region. In the meantime, the ballot will be logged against the voter's participation record without being tallied in the official count.

Election officials urged anyone planning to cast a ballot through the postal system — whether through a mail-ballot precinct or via a personally requested absentee ballot — to allow ample time for the completed ballot to travel through the mail before the deadline.

Ballots may also be dropped off in person, and residents have the option of authorizing someone else to submit on their behalf, provided that individual has not already handed in more than three ballots. Election-related details for Crow Wing County are posted at crowwing.gov on the elections page. Residents who enter their home address can view a preview ballot, find the nearest polling location, and receive step-by-step navigation.

On Election Day, voting locations are expected to keep their doors open between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m., though a handful of township-level sites follow their own adjusted timetables. Voters head to the polls on Tuesday, Nov. 3.