Minnesota election officials prepare for Aug. 11 primary with statewide accuracy testing
Minnesota election officials are preparing for the Aug. 11, 2026 primary, with Secretary of State Steve Simon highlighting public accuracy testing of voting equipment ahead of Election Day.
The state’s election calendar also sets a process for certain rejected absentee or mail-ballot envelopes during the five days before the primary. When that specified procedure applies, officials must attempt to contact the affected voter by telephone or email.
The two steps address separate parts of election administration as the primary approaches: public testing of voting equipment and handling of certain ballot-envelope rejections. Minnesota began primary voting on June 26, according to the state calendar.
Public accuracy testing highlighted
Simon’s office highlighted public accuracy testing before the Aug. 11 primary. The announcement identifies the testing as part of preparations for the statewide election, which will involve election officials and voters across Minnesota.
The available announcement does not give a statewide total of voting machines tested. It also does not identify how many counties had completed testing when the announcement was issued.
That distinction is important because the announcement confirms that public testing was being highlighted, but it does not provide a statewide completion measure. The source packet does not support a conclusion that every county had finished testing or that testing guarantees error-free elections.
The Secretary of State’s office has a statewide election role. Its 2026 Minnesota Election Conference included representatives from all 87 Minnesota counties, according to the office’s news release. That conference attendance reflects the statewide reach of election preparation, although it does not itself establish the status of testing in each county.
Five-day process for specified ballot rejections
The 2026 election calendar identifies Aug. 6 through Aug. 11 for a procedure involving certain rejected absentee or mail-ballot envelopes. The period covers the final five days leading into the Aug. 11 primary.
For the cases covered by the procedure, election officials must attempt to notify the affected voter by telephone or email. The calendar therefore sets a defined contact requirement for election offices during the days immediately before the primary.
The requirement is limited to the specified rejection cases in the calendar. It does not mean every rejected absentee or mail ballot can be cured, and the available state materials do not say how many envelopes may require the procedure.
For voters who use absentee or mail ballots, the calendar identifies when an attempted contact may be required after a covered envelope rejection. For election officials, it provides a pre-election timeline for carrying out that obligation in applicable cases.
What comes next
The next statewide date set by the calendar is the Aug. 11, 2026 primary. The ballot-envelope contact process begins Aug. 6 and continues through Election Day for the cases to which it applies.
Public accuracy testing and the ballot-envelope contact process are distinct preparations. One concerns voting equipment before the primary; the other concerns certain rejected absentee or mail-ballot envelopes in the final days before the vote.
The state materials supplied for this report do not include a turnout forecast, a current statewide total of ballots cast, or a projected number of envelope rejections. They do establish the primary date, confirm that primary voting began June 26, and set out the applicable pre-election notification procedure.
Sources
- News Room, Minnesota Secretary of State
- 2026 Minnesota Secretary of State Elections Calendar, Minnesota Secretary of State