UNDATED -- Nearly one million Minnesotans have requested an absentee ballot already, according to the Minnesota Secretary of State's office. In Stearns County, absentee ballot requests are up to 15,000 so far.

This is the first day of early voting in Minnesota for the general election.

Secretary of State Steve Simon says an estimated two million registered voters in the state have not yet requested an absentee ballot. County and city election offices will begin mailing out ballots today to voters who have requested them, and in-person absentee voting is now available at election offices statewide.

Stearns County Elections Director Dave Walz says his office has been busy Friday morning with absentee ballot walk-in voters.

The Secretary of State's office has announced they will be sending a letter to every registered voter in the state who has not already requested an absentee ballot and encourage them to Vote From Home.

Funding from the mailing comes from funds Minnesota received through the federal CARES Act for the purpose of administering elections during the pandemic.

A majority of President Donald Trump's supporters plan to cast their ballot on Election Day, while about half of Joe Biden's backers plan to vote by mail. That's according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research that finds 54% of voters say they will vote before polls open on Nov. 3.

The poll finds that 39% of registered voters say they will vote by mail, well above the 21% who say they normally do so.

Fifty-three percent Biden supporters plan to vote by mail, while 57% of Trump backers say they'll vote in person on Election Day.

Stearns County voters may return their ballot in-person at any one of the locations in Stearns County listed below. Bring the ballot inside for an election judge to verify the information is correct.

City of Melrose, 225 1st St. NE
Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

City of Sauk Centre City, 320 Oak St. S
Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

City of Paynesville, 221 Washburne Ave.
Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

City of Kimball, 1 Main St. N
Monday and Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Tuesday, 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Wednesday, 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Thursday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

City of Holdingford, 420 Main St
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.,
Wednesday, 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

Ballots can be tracked – when the ballot has been mailed, received by the election office, and accepted – at mnvotes.sos.state.mn.us/AbsenteeBallotStatus.aspx.

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