Early voting in Minnesota more than double 2012 numbers

The polls opened at 7 a.m. in Minnesota and will stay open until 8 p.m.

Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon said that the number of early voters had surged late Monday, bringing the total to more than 650,000. Four years ago, Simon said, the total of early voters was 267,000. Minnesota law has been liberalized to allow voters to cast absentee ballots without having to attest that they would be away or unavailable on Election Day.