61% of Minnesotans voted in the 2022 midterm election — will we top that in 2026?
Governor, U.S. Senator, and countless other federal, state, and local offices are on the ballot this November. Before Minnesotans head to the polls next month, we at Minnesota Compass are sharing several recent voter turnout trends that highlight our state’s civic engagement.
Click on each arrow to learn more and see the data.
Minnesota was first in the nation in voter turnout in every presidential election for two decades, until 2024, when we came a slight second to Wisconsin. More than three-quarters of eligible voters voted in 2024, one of the highest levels of turnout in the country but also a three percentage point dip from 2020.
The dip in voter turnout from 2020 to 2024 was not uniform across the state. Turnout fell more than three points in the Twin Cities, while holding steady in greater Minnesota overall and actually rising in many western parts of the state. We saw a similar pattern between the 2018 and 2022 midterms, with turnout falling in the Twin Cities and rising in other Minnesota regions.
Midterm turnout is typically lower than in presidential election years, with 61% of Minnesotans voting in 2022 compared to 76% in 2024. However, the past two midterms have had relatively high participation, with turnout jumping 14 percentage points from 2014 to 2018. Midterm turnout ticked back down a bit in 2022; even still, more than 3 in 5 eligible voters cast ballots in that election.
Primary turnout hit a record high in the 2026 primary, with more than 1.1 million Minnesotans — or more than 1 in 4 registered voters — casting votes. In 2018, a similar jump in midterm primary turnout foreshadowed high turnout in the November election. Eight years later, it remains to be seen whether Minnesota sustains high primary engagement through this year’s general election.
Absentee voting, either by mail or early in-person, accounted for 2 in 5 votes cast in 2024. That’s down from a high of 58% in 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, but higher than in the 2022 midterms.
Given regional patterns in voter turnout over the past two presidential election years, it is perhaps not surprising that greater Minnesota overtook the Twin Cities suburbs as the state’s largest voting block in 2024. During the last presidential election year, more than 1,465,000 greater Minnesota residents cast votes. With 81% voter turnout, though, the suburbs held onto the highest voter turnout rate.
Young adults turn out to vote at a lower rate than older adults: 64% of adults under age 35 cast ballots in 2024, compared to upwards of 78% of adults in older age groups. However, midterm turnout among young adults rose sharply from 2014 to 2018, and remained high in 2022, suggesting that fewer young Minnesotans are sitting out during non-presidential elections.
In addition to age, Minnesota sees persistent gaps in voter turnout for other demographic groups. In 2024, turnout among Minnesotans of color was about 15 percentage points lower than among non-Hispanic White Minnesotans.
Renters and unmarried Minnesotans voted at lower rates in 2024. Higher-income and more highly educated Minnesotans voted at higher rates. One place where we don’t see a gap is by gender: Minnesota men and women vote at about the same rate.
Eighty-six percent of eligible voters were registered for the 2024 presidential election, and Minnesota has continued to add voter registrations since then. As of the primary on August 11, 2026, Minnesota had 200,000 more registered voters than on Election Day 2024, totaling nearly 3.9 million Minnesotans. Some of these new registrations likely came via the automatic voter registration system, launched in April 2024, with Minnesotans being automatically registered when renewing a driver’s license or other state-issued ID. Minnesota is also one of about half of U.S. states that allow same-day voter registration, so we will continue to add registered voters through the end of Election Day 2026.
Among Minnesotans who did not vote in 2024, 59% were not registered to vote, while the other 41% were registered but did not go to the polls.
For both groups, lack of interest tops the list of reasons for not engaging in the election process.
- Among unregistered Minnesotans, nearly two-thirds said they didn't register because they weren't interested, weren't involved in politics, or didn't feel their vote would make a difference (64%).
- Among registered Minnesotans, 15% gave those same reasons. Another 22% said they didn't like the candidates or campaign issues, and a further 22% said they were too busy or had a schedule conflict.
Together, these responses suggest that getting potential voters interested and engaged is the critical step toward boosting voter turnout.
Election Day 2026 is just around the corner
The 2026 midterms will tell us whether Minnesota’s voting trends continue. Does Minnesota reclaim its top spot as the state with the highest turnout? Will suburban or greater Minnesota voters be our largest voting block? And can our state continue to close gaps in who comes to the polls? Check back with Minnesota Compass in early December for new data and analysis of Minnesota’s participation in the 2026 midterm election!
