Did Minnesota have over 5.1 million votes and only 3.8 million registered voters? No, that's not true: Those numbers are wrong. Approximately 3.6 million people are registered and roughly 3.3 million people voted in Minnesota, according to official data. In total, the state's estimated voting-eligible population is 4,118,462, making the post's claim of 5.1 million votes illogical.
The claim appeared in a Facebook post (archived here) on November 4, 2020. It read:
Minnesota had over 5.1 million votes and only 3.8 million registered voters.
This is what the post looked like at the time of writing:
(Source: Facebook screenshot taken on Thu Nov 5 19:38:27 2020 UTC)
The numbers in the post, which cited no source or attribution, are incorrect.
As of November 2, 2020, a day before Election Day, 3,588,563 people were registered to vote, according to the office of the Minnesota secretary of state. By November 5, 2020, that number changed slightly to 3,588,678.
Minnesota permits same-day registration, meaning that previously unregistered voters can register at the polls on Election Day. Those numbers are expected to be available soon, Risikat Adesaogun, a spokesperson from the secretary of state's office, told Lead Stories. She also said that ballots are still coming in and being counted, but that estimated voter turnout -- as of November 5, 2020 -- stood at 3,260,017.
