City of Becker issued the following announcement on Oct. 31.
Late Thursday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit overruled the State of Minnesota's approved consent decree extending the deadline for submitting an absentee and mail ballots.
The consent decree had changed the deadline from requiring absentee and mail ballots to be received by Election Day to being postmarked on or before election day and received within the next seven days. The decision is available here: https://ecf.ca8.uscourts.gov/opndir/20/10/203139P.pdf
NEXT STEPS FOR VOTERS
Voters should no longer place their absentee ballot in the mail. Instead, voters have several options to ensure their vote is counted in the November general election:
• 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, 2020 by the times just referenced, regardless of the postmark, will not be counted.
DECIDING YOUR COURSE OF ACTION:
1. Confirm the status of your ballot
a. Use the MN Secretary of State’s Absentee Ballot Tracker: https://mnvotes.sos.state.mn.us/AbsenteeBallotStatus.aspx; or
b. Contact the county elections office to ask for the status of your ballot
Sherburne County Government Center
13880 Business Center Drive NW
Elk River, MN 55330
Kristi White
Phone: 763-765-4351
Fax: 763-765-4400
Email: elections@co.sherburne.mn.us
2. Absentee Ballots already accepted by the counties are fine, and no action need be taken.
3. If the ballot has not been accepted, vote early in person:
a. Vote early in person at the Sherburne County Government Center:
Sherburne County Government Center
13880 Business Center Drive NW
Elk River, MN 55330
Business Hours:
Friday, October 20, 2020 – 8:00AM – 4:30PM
Saturday, October 31, 2020 – 10:00AM – 3:00PM
Monday, November 2, 2020 – 8:00AM – 5:00PM
b. Vote on November 3 at Becker City Hall: Becker City Hall 12060 Sherburne Avenue SE Becker MN 55308 7AM – 8PM
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 ballot accepted already. For ballots received on Election Day, the county will contact the polling place to confirm that the voter has not voted in person, accept the ballot, and instruct the Roster Judge to mark an ballot next to the voter’s name (or update the E-Poll Book).
4. If a voter has their Absentee Ballot which was mailed to them or had been previously picked up:
a. DO NOT MAIL THE BALLOT BACK. While it is the voter’s right to return the ballot by mail, there is no way to guarantee that the mailed ballot will arrive by November 3rd, 2020.
b. Absentee Ballots may be returned to the Sherburne County Government Center in their drop box until 3PM on Election Day, November 3rd, 2020
c. Early (in person) voting is also available during busines hours through November 2, 2020.
The Auditor’s Office business hours will be as follows through Election Day:
i. Friday, October 20, 2020 – 8:00AM – 4:30PM
ii. Saturday, October 31, 2020 – 10:00AM – 3:00PM
iii. Monday, November 2, 2020 – 8:00AM – 5:00PM
d. 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 drop box (unless the drop box has someone there to track users). The person dropping off ballots will need to show identification and identify whose ballots they are turning in.
Original source can be found here.
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