Rules for voting absentee in Minnesota tighten up compared to 2020
ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Absentee voting for the Aug. 9 primary is underway and election officials say, with new rule changes, you wont have as much time to get your ballot in this year. You'll also need a witness for your ballot.
Early voting in Anoka County has been pretty slow, reflecting a statewide trend. So far this year, 20,000 have voted absentee statewide. That compares with 78,000 at this time in 2020, which saw a high turnout in part because it was a presidential year. That was also the height of COVID-19 restrictions.
"There were some special rules put in place for 2020 only, either by courts or by legislators, that are not present this year. So we are sort of snapping back to what we had in 2018, 2016 and the like," Secretary of State Steve Simon said.
This year you will need a witness signature on your absentee ballot. The witness requirement was temporarily waived because of COVID-19.
If your absentee ballot is rejected anywhere in the state because of a problem with the witness signature, the county election clerk will send another ballot back to you.
In 2020, your ballot had to be postmarked by Election Day This year it has to physically be back by Election Day.
Another change hits election officials: This year absentee ballots can be counted starting seven days before the election, not 14 days before like 2020. Simon says this could mean slower returns on Election Day.
This year is also the once-per-decade redistricting year. That means thousands of voters will find themselves in new districts and even new polling places.