Guess who doesn’t want your vote to count? The GOP.

Just five days before election day, a ruling, pressed by the GOP, overturned the MN absentee ballot deadline agreed to by state and federal Republicans back in August, meaning that only ballots turned in by November 3rd will be counted. And that the instructions voters received with the ballots, are now, inaccurate. It’s desperate, and it’s despicable.

We want your voice to be heard despite voter suppression tactics. Here’s everything you need to know.

From the MN Secretary of State’s office:

The U.S. 8th Circuit Appeals Court has reversed the consent decree of the Ramsey County Court which established the extension (postmarked by 11/3; received by 11/10) for returning an absentee ballot (AB) by mail.  This means: 

• ALL ballots must be returned to the county elections office by Tuesday, November 3. 

• Deadline to drop it off in person is 3 p.m.; deadline for mail or delivery service is 8 p.m.

• Ballots arriving after November 3-regardless of the postmark- will not be counted.

• Make a plan:

1. ABs already accepted by the counties are fine, and no action need be taken.

2. If a voter has mailed back their AB but they have not confirmed its receipt and acceptance:

3. Confirm the status of the ballot. Use the tracker on our website

   OR

4. Contact the county elections office (or city if the city runs ABs, e.g. Minneapolis) to ask for the status of their AB. Find your elections office here

5. If the ballot has been accepted, no further action is needed

6. If the ballot has not been accepted, vote in person:

   1. Vote early in person at the county Elections Office or an early voting site the voter is eligible to use

      OR

   2. Vote on November 3 at the voter’s polling place. Find yours here

NOTE: The system will not allow a voter to vote twice.  When voting early in person, the site will confirm the voter is eligible to vote early (has not turned in a ballot already), and at the polling place, the roster will reflect if the voter has had an AB accepted already.  For ABs received on Election Day, the county will contact the polling place to confirm that the voter has not voted in person, accept the AB, and instruct the Roster Judge to mark an AB next to the voter’s name (or update the E-Poll Book). 

If a voter has their AB which was mailed to them or had been previously picked up:

1. DO NOT MAIL THE AB BACK.  While it is the voter’s right to return the AB by mail, there is no way to guarantee that the mailed AB will arrive by 11/3. 

2. Assuming that the voter is eligible to use the location, any AB may be returned at a dropbox, early voting location, or county Elections Office.  Again, make sure the voter is eligible to use that location.  County Elections Offices are open for drop-offs for all residents of the county.  This list was updated with additional sites and drop-off locations on Tuesday, 10/27.

3. Minnesota law allows a person to drop off up to three ballots for others during an election (not per trip or per day) in person, but not using a dropbox (unless the dropbox has someone there to track users).  The person dropping off ballots will need to show identification and identify whose ballots they are turning in.

The ruling is available here