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Video: Court says Minnesota absentee ballots must be in by Tuesday

Oct 30, 2020 06:47AM ● By Editor

Watch the WDIO-TV Report here

Photo: WDIO-TV

From WDIO-TV - October 29, 2020


The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit has ruled that all absentee ballots in Minnesota must be received by local election offices by 8 p.m. on Election Night in order to be counted.

The ruling Thursday night upholds a Minnesota law saying only ballots received by Election Day can be counted.

Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon argued that, because of the COVID-19 pandemic and a higher demand for absentee ballots, ballots should be able to be counted as long as they are postmarked by Election Day and received within seven days.

In a statement Thursday night, Simon called the ruling "a tremendous and unnecessary disruption." 

"This last-minute change could disenfranchise Minnesotans who were relying on settled rules for the 2020 election -- rules that were in place before the August 11 primary and were accepted by all political parties," he said. 

But the Minnesota GOP applauded the court's decision. They wrote, "The pandemic has caused upheaval in many areas of life but hiding behind the pandemic to manipulate the election process is not democratic." 

Simon said the ruling "is not a model of clarity." It says that clerks must separate ballots that are received after 8 p.m. Tuesday. 

"What the court left unsettled was the question of whether once and for all and finally ballots will or won't be counted if received after Tuesday, Nov. 3," Simon explained. 

He said his office has the ability to take this to the U.S. Supreme Court and will likely have more information on Friday. 

If a voter has already mailed an absentee ballot, it can be tracked at www.mnvotes.org/track

Voters that haven't yet mailed an absentee ballot can drop it off in-person by 3 p.m. on Election Day or vote in-person before polls close at 8 p.m.

"Minnesota is No. 1 perennially in voter turnout for a reason. And that is that Minnesotans will always find a way to vote. And we're going to do that again this year. And I don't think anything can stop us. In fact, I think we'll overcome all challenges. That includes a once-in-a-century pandemic and that includes a last-minute judicial ruling," Simon said in an online press conference Thursday night. 

The decision comes three days after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Wisconsin voters also do not have an extra week for their ballots to arrive by mail.


To see the original story and see related reports, follow this link to the WDIO0TV website.  https://www.wdio.com/politics-news/court-says-minnesota-absentee-ballots-must-be-in-by-tuesday/59107...

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