09/27/2026
Some election history for you as we enter into voting season!
On September 27, 1862, the Minnesota Legislature approved a law for the first time that would make it possible for soldiers actively serving in the military to vote in general elections, creating the state’s first absentee ballot process.
The fact that enlisted men would not be able to reach their polling places became a growing concern among citizens as the Civil War entered its second year. During a special session of the Minnesota Legislature in September of 1862, a bill was proposed by Senator Rufus Baldwin detailing a process by which servicemen could submit their ballots; the soldier’s vote.
Election commissioners brought ballots to the field and distributed them amongst the soldiers. Each man would choose which party’s ballot he preferred, fill it out, put it in an envelope and label it with their name, rank and unit. They then brought their envelope back to the commissioner and swore that they were a registered voter. The commissioner endorsed the envelope and mailed it to the soldier’s home district.
On election day, election judges checked the names on the envelopes against the lists of registered voters and if the soldier’s name was on the list his ballot would be placed into the regular ballot box for counting. This process continued through 1865.
Learn more about the importance of the soldier’s vote in this article from the Minnesota History magazine https://mnhs.info/4dR5itj
Images:
1. 1862, 1st Special Session, General Laws of Minnesota, Chapter 1, Section 1. Office of the Revisor of Statutes.
2. Members of the Third Minnesota Infantry Regiment in Nashville Tennessee, 1862. Minnesota Historical Society.
3. State of Minnesota ballot box lid. Not earlier than 1858. Minnesota Historical Society.
