The Minnesota Supreme Court ruled that Minneapolis must staff its early voting polling places with party-balanced election judges during the 18-day early voting period before the election.

The decision came in a case brought by the Minnesota Voters Alliance challenging the city's plan to run early voting locations without the bipartisan judges required by state law.

Republican voters worried that their party would struggle to find enough representation to fulfill the party-balance requirement. Lawyers for the City of Minneapolis stated the need to recruit Republican judges from outside of the city.

In their legal brief, city officials also raised the specter of closing early voting sites.

After the ruling, however, the city said that would not happen.

“The city will staff early voting locations in accordance with the ruling, and it has contingency plans in place as with every election,” city spokeswoman Jess Olstad said in a statement.

Minneapolis officials noted that finding enough judges would be an issue, with Rep. Emma Greenman, who co-sponsored the law, saying legislators did not intend to require election judges but admitting that the bill’s language may not have been clear enough.

Greenman criticized conservative groups for bandwagoning onto the idea and bringing the lawsuit, which she predicted would curb access, especially in smaller counties with limited resources.

“It’s not in the interest of free and fair elections, and it’s not in the interest of our democracy,” she said. “And I certainly wish organizations like that would stop.”

The court held that election judges must handle key tasks such as resolving voter status challenges, administering vouching for new registrations, providing ballot-marking assistance, and managing curbside voting.

Minnesota's early voting system, created by a 2023 law, allows voters to cast ballots in person up to 18 days before Election Day in a manner similar to traditional polling places. The program operated during the 2026 primary, but Minneapolis had prepared to use nonpartisan municipal staff instead of appointed election judges for the general election.

State statutes require that election judges at polling places maintain partisan balance, with no single major party holding more than half the positions and at least one judge from each major party present.

The court rejected arguments from city and state officials that the early voting statute permitted nonpartisan employees to perform these duties, and has said it will comply with the ruling and expects to keep its planned early voting locations open.

Early voting in Minneapolis is scheduled to begin in October ahead of the November 3 election.