With Candidates Dropping Out, Does My Early Vote Still Count?
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Minutes after Senator Amy Klobuchar dropped out of the Presidential race, people began emailing Good Question wanting to know: "If I voted for her, what happens to my vote?"
In almost all cases, voters can't take that vote back. State law does allow Minnesotans to claw back their absentee votes, but the deadline for that was Feb. 25.
That date was one week before the primary and the time that election officials are able to start counting the votes. The officials wouldn't be able to tell whose ballot is whose.
The vote will still count. It'll be reported in tomorrow's night election results. And, according to Brian Evans, the communications director for the Minnesota DFL, if a candidate who has dropped out of the race still meets the threshold for delegates, that candidate will be awarded the delegates.
RELATED: Everything You Need To Know About Minnesota's Presidential Primary On March 3
"It'll be up to them to decide whether to release them or not heading into the convention," Evans said.
Just to be clear, voters cannot show up and vote at the polls, if they've already voted absentee. The polling locations will have an updated list of people who have already voted.
There is one small caveat to being able to take back a vote. If a voter sent their absentee ballot in the mail over the past couple of days, there's a chance it hasn't yet been accepted. You can check ballot status here. If a ballot hasn't been accepted, a voter can call the city or county elections office and ask them to reject the vote. That way they can vote at the polls tomorrow.
And what about the leftover campaign donations? The Federal Election Commission has strict rules about that. Once candidates have paid off debts and expenses, they can donate to other candidates or save it for future campaigns. They can not pocket the contributions.