MARSHALL — Polls across Minnesota open today for the 2020 general election. In Lyon County, a total of seven polling places will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Most of Lyon County’s cities and townships opted to vote with mail-in ballots this year, said Lyon County Auditor/Treasurer E.J. Moberg. However, the city of Marshall’s three voting wards, and the cities of Cottonwood, Minneota, Russell and Tracy will all have in-person voting.

• Today, Marshall voters should head to one of three polling places, depending on their address. A ward map is available on the city website, ci.marshall.mn.us. Marshall Ward 1 will be voting at the Red Baron Arena and Expo, at 1651 Victory Drive. Ward 2 will be voting at Marshall Middle School, located at 401 South Saratoga Street. Ward 3 will be voting at the Marshall Area YMCA, at 200 South A Street.

• The polling place for the city of Cottonwood is the Cottonwood Community Center, at 142 West Main Street.

• The polling place for the city of Minneota is the Minneota Community Center, at 129 East First Street.

• The polling place for the city of Russell is the Russell Community Center, located at 200 Front Street.

• The polling place for the city of Tracy is the Veterans Memorial Center, at 336 Morgan Street.

The Auditor/Treasurer’s Office, located on the second floor of the Lyon County Government Center in Marshall, is the polling place for mail ballot precincts. In Lyon County, this includes all townships, as well as the cities of Balaton, Florence, Garvin, Ghent, Lynd and Taunton. The Auditor/Treasurer’s Office will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. today for mail ballot voters to vote in person.

Absentee voters will not be able to vote in person today, but they can hand-deliver their absentee ballots to the Auditor/Treasurer’s Office until 3 p.m. today.

Moberg said Lyon County has had a record-breaking number of absentee and mail ballots turned in this year. By Monday afternoon, the county had accepted 7,202 early ballots – the most of any election in the county. The previous record was 3,047 absentee and mail ballots in the general elections of 2018.

The early ballot totals so far add up to just over half of the county’s 14,324 registered voters, Moberg said.

Over the weekend, some county residents were trying to adapt to a Thursday appeals court ruling that said early ballots must be received by Nov. 3, instead of just postmarked by Nov. 3. Moberg said people who hadn’t turned in their absentee ballots yet were being advised to hand-deliver them to the government center instead of putting them in the mail. There have also been more than 700 Lyon County residents who have opted to cast early ballots in person. Moberg said 113 early ballots were cast during special extended hours on Saturday. While the county has held extended early voting hours in the past, more voters have used it this year, he said.