Max Hailperin

Tomorrow, Tuesday, October 27, 2026, early voting sites throughout Minnesota will be open until 7:00 p.m. Why? Well, if you're one of my regular readers, you'll know the standard answer: Because the legislature said so. www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cit...

Don't try expediting the process by depositing the stray cat in a ballot drop box.

If a judge can't find a better authority to support their position than the Federalist Papers, that's not a good sign. And when the quote from those papers, upon closer examination, does not in fact support the judge's position, that's another bad sign.

In Minnesota, the way we determine who won an election is through the certification process, backed up if necessary by the courts. Not through social media posts, regardless who is doing the posting. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

"Two new lawsuits by the Trump administration—in California and Alaska—are almost certain losers. But it’ll be hard to remedy the further distrust in election results that they seem intended to sow." from @stevevladeck.bsky.social open.substack.com/pub/stevevla...

So those anti-Klobuchar mailers that surely must be from a Republican operation have twins in Wisconsin traced to a Republican-linked operation. popular.info/p/mailers-fr...

Next Sunday is an early voting day throughout Minnesota by legislative mandate, but today was also one in Minneapolis, voluntarily. Not a lot of people took advantage of it. Maybe folks get their info from statewide news sources?

Studenti pobeđuju!

Judge Bumatay seems to have a strange idea of what 18 U.S. Code § 611 encompasses.

Local angle: Smiley v. Holm was a case from Minnesota. Any true Minnesota election geek will immediately recognize the name "Holm" as being that of the longest serving Minnesota Secretary of State.

From a Mary Franson campaign ad on Facebook, an AI-slop reimagining of not just one, but two, Minnesota flags.

These are all also places you can drop off a Minneapolis ballot you voted at home. (You can also drop off for up to three other people.) Time's getting tight for mailing ballots back — this could be a good option.

Generally one compares election statistics to 4 years before rather than 2 years before. But many wonder: how does 2026 compare with 2024? In Minneapolis, judging by the past 6 days, in-person is up enough to somewhat more than compensate for the major drop in mail, compared to 2024.

2,168 in-person early voters at Minneapolis sites today is down from 3,124 yesterday, but the number of hours was also down from 10 to 6, so on a per-hour basis the voting rate is up from 312/hr to 361/hr. vote.minneapolismn.gov/results-data...

In 2022, the @minnesotareformer.com published a seven-part explanation of how Minnesota elections work authored by yours truly. Changes since then are generally minor, so the series still is relevant. If anyone has anything they want an update on or any remaining questions, please ask. 🧵

Residence is not routinely enforced, but one of the surest ways to get it enforced, right up there with voting two places, is to be a high profile political figure.

In happier news, my spouse made a truly fabulous pumpkin to put outside our apartment door.

Some of you know I currently occupy a position that sounds similar to one of the ones mentioned in the second post of this thread. That's just a function of it being hard to describe our org chart concisely. I'm in a temporary position. The ones slated for elimination are ongoing positions.

Minneapolis's South Early Vote Center at Bethel Lutheran Church has been seeing strong turnout since it opened. Today the one-day popup site was at Powderhorn Park, less than a mile away. So what happened? They *both* had strong turnout. Southsiders like to vote, apparently.

"There is a fine line between vigilance and panic. The last weeks of this 2026 election cycle are testing that line." Wise words from @derektmuller.bsky.social. electionlawblog.org/2026/taking-...

How many things to laugh at can you find in this AI slop?

Life as a storage-unit customer: Corporate sends me a notice my rent is going up to an amount I calculate as being an 87% increase. I call the local office; they adjust it to a new rate that I calculate as being a 31% increase. That's enough less bad that I don't go through the hassle of moving.

Minnesota''s requests to have write-in votes counted have been published. None for judgeships, so that backside of the ballot is even more worthless. www.sos.mn.gov/media/cx5fyn...

When the mayor's proposed budget eliminates half our office, we fortify ourselves with baked goods. Yesterday it was pastries from Dahlia. Today our colleague baked for us.

Gives me a chance to update this thread (bsky.app/profile/dbra...). With 30,000+ early votes in, Minneapolis is already at 2/3rds of 2022’s early voting 12 days before Election Day & 57% of 2018’s midterm record 52,000. Ward 6 blossomed after Tuesday‘s popup voting. Today is Powerhorn Park, 11a-6p.

There are two different ways to compare Minneapolis wards' early voting: number of ballots (bars on the right) or percentage of registered voters (shades of green on the left, or hover). I'm not convinced either is helpful, but at least be aware they differ. vote.minneapolismn.gov/results-data...

"Asked again who won the 2020 election, Demuth said: 'Looks like President Biden was our president in 2020.'" Except that inauguration didn't happen until January. So no. She didn't even manage to dodge the question correctly. www.startribune.com/how-conserva...

Tad Jude, candidate for Minnesota Secretary of State, was asked about the 2012 vote in which Minnesotans rejected a photo ID requirement. His memory apparently failed him, so he just made stuff up. Judge for yourself.

Early voting: now with the endorsement of Minneapolis's leading sculptor

Pretty cool that the City of Minneapolis has a pro-voting video out in four languages. vote.minneapolismn.gov/voters/voc/

If you were wondering whether there would be a turnout spike from the hoopla about Early Voting starting in Minnesota, as opposed to merely voting early, the answer is "Yes." At the City of Minneapolis's site, 1232 ballots cast vs. 630 the prior day. vote.minneapolismn.gov/results-data...

Color dominated my return visit to the Northrop neighborhood. In part, that’s because a beautiful autumn day brings out the colors. But in part it reflects local choices when planting and painting. allofminneapolis.com/northern-nor...

For all I know, he might be right that the chickenpox vaccine is close to an mRNA vaccine. I have no idea how the storage in the back of the pharmacy is organized. They could be right next to each other.

Lovely clouds lit by the setting sun. If you haven't looked at the sky lately, you might want to.

Wondering about Minnesota's Permanent School Fund and the proposed constitutional amendment regarding it? I can't think of anyone better qualified to explain it than my friend and former colleague, Terry Morrow. www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSEt...

WWDBD?

Minnesota''s first congressional district is definitely in play. www.kaaltv.com/news/kaal-su...

Other stuff has people asking a lot of questions already answered by my shirt.

Honestly, I think the calculation that it will increase GOP turnout more than it will increase DFL turnout might be correct. Not in the district, but the district is foregone conclusion anyhow.

Seems like not a lot of other people are making the segue from Open Streets Hennepin to the flamenco tribute to Jimi Hendrix that's starting imminently at the Granada. Folks don't know what they're missing. Heck, I barely know what I'm not missing.