Following the Thursday night decision from the 8th US Circuit Court of Appeals, the deadline to turn in absentee ballots has been reset to 3 p.m. on Tuesday, November 3.
The decision overturned a Minnesota Courts decree that would have counted absentee ballots as long as they were postmarked by election day and received by Nov. 10. Pine County Auditor-Treasurer Kelly Schroeder told WCMP that this means we return to what the state law has been.
"In order for your ballot to be counted, we need to have it by election day," Schroeder told WCMP. "Up until last night, unfortunately, voters thought they had an extra week to get us their ballots where that week is now down to about four days to get us their ballot."
Schroeder went onto say that ballots need to be returned in person at this point, which can be done at the Pine County Courthouse.
Friday, October 30, 8:00 AM – 4:30 PM
Saturday, October 31, 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM
Monday, November 2, 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Tuesday, November 3, 8:00 AM – 3:00 PM
A drop box is also available in the parking lot in front of the courthouse. It is emptied frequently by county staff and under surveillance.
Absentee ballots may be delivered in person, or a trusted person (agent) may deliver it for you. If acting as an agent for another person, you must be at least 18 years old, have a pre-existing relationship with the person, and you cannot be a candidate. A person cannot be an agent for more than three votes in an election and must show identification with name and signature when returning the ballot.
Pine County has sent out 7,700 ballots. To date, the county has received 5,727 absentee ballots back.
There are 20 mail-in only voting districts in Pine County, representing about 2,500 voters.
