A Rapid City-based nonprofit is launching a statewide campaign to increase Native American voter participation

At a polling site in Minneapolis, Jason Miller, a 37-year-old house painter, arrived well before the polls opened at 8 a.m. and was first in line. He was among roughly 75 people who cast ballots in the first hour at the city’s early voting center. “Why not try to be first? That’s kind of fun, right?” he said.

Early voting began in Minnesota, South Dakota and Virginia on Friday, letting voters in those states cast ballots while Election Day remains a month and a half away, on Nov. 5.