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MARSHALL -- Election Day is next week, but hundreds of Lyon County residents have already voted, County Auditor/Treasurer John Xiong said.
Counting absentee, mail-in, and early voting ballots, the county had received a total of 2,413 ballots as of Tuesday, Xiong said. Of that total, 486 ballots were from early voting.
There's been a fairly steady stream of voters coming to the Lyon County Government Center since the early voting period opened on Oct. 16.
"We've been averaging around 50 to 55 early voters daily," Xiong said.
He thought the steady turnout could be due to strong statewide advertising of early voting in Minnesota.
This is the first year that early voting has been available in Minnesota, according to the Minnesota Secretary of State's Office. The process is similar to voting in a polling place on Election Day, Xiong explained. Voters could also cast absentee ballots starting on Sept. 18.
Xiong said that, as of Tuesday, the Lyon County Auditor/Treasurer's Office had received a total of 486 ballots through early voting, and 1,934 absentee or mail-in ballots.
"Mail-ins are from precincts that do not have an in-person polling place, by and large," Xiong said.
Xiong said so far the voter turnout was strong, compared to previous elections.
In 2024, Lyon County had a total of 3,619 people cast absentee or mail-in ballots in the general election. Lyon County also had 1,806 direct ballots turned in. While there was no early voting in 2024, people could vote before Election Day through the direct balloting process.
Direct balloting requires a voter to fill out an absentee application to receive a ballot. Then, the voter can insert their completed ballot directly into the counting machine, Xiong said.
Going back to the 2022 midterm election, Lyon County had a total of 3,307 absentee and mail-in ballots turned in. In 2022, there was no direct balloting, Xiong said.
Xiong said the Lyon County Government Center will be open for voting during normal business hours. In addition, this Saturday and Sunday the Government Center will be open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. On Monday, the Government Center will be open until 5 p.m. for voting.
On Election Day, polling places are open from 7 a.m. until 8 p.m. Mail-in ballots must be returned by no later than 8 p.m. on Election Day.