2012 Election Snapshot: Minnesota

Article November 13, 2013 Read time:

Projects: Election Initiatives

2012 Election Snapshots

Over the past several months, Pew collected data about the 2012 presidential election from nearly every state and the District of Columbia. We used the findings to create a snapshot of each jurisdiction, focusing on how many people voted, how long they waited to cast their ballots, how they cast them, and how many ballots were not counted. These snapshots will be released over the coming months, five at a time, and the Election Data Dispatches will take a closer look at the latest snapshots each week.

2012 Election Snapshot—Minnesota

Minnesota had the nation’s highest voter turnout rate in 2012, a distinction it also enjoyed in 2008. Of the state’s eligible population, 76.1 percent voted in 2012, and 78.1 percent did so in 2008. Nationally, turnout was 58.7 percent in 2012 and 62.2 percent in 2008, according to the United States Elections Project.

Minnesota has offered Election Day registration since 1974 and is not required to issue provisional ballots. According to the Minnesota secretary of state’s office, more than half a million people typically register on Election Day during a presidential election, and 61 percent of registered voters have taken advantage of Election Day registration at least once.