Minnesota may NOT count ballots received after election day, even if they are
postmarked with that date. What does this mean? Well, it means that you had
better NOT mail in an absentee ballot if you have one, since it is likely that
it won't be counted, at least initially. The best possibility with a
late-arriving ballot is that they will be separated and that this Appeals Court
will later be overruled by the U.S. Supreme Court sometime after the elections.
Not to worry, however. If you already have an absentee ballot, you can drop it
off from your car right at 11 Minneapolis locations. Takes only a few seconds,
and you can do it 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. tomorrow (Friday), 9 to 4 Saturday, 12 to 5
Sunday and 8 to 5 on Monday, and even 7 to 3 on election day itself. Complete
drop-off info is at
https://vote.minneapolismn.gov/voters/ballot-drop-off/#heading-948 for the
entire city.
If you don't have an absentee ballot, you can also vote in-person early at 4
city locations. At Longfellow Park near my house, for example, the hours are
from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. tomorrow (Friday), 9 to 4 Saturday, 12 to 5 Sunday, or 7
to 5 Monday. Anyone in Minneapolis can vote there early during those hours. On
election day, Tuesday, voters must go to the polls in their own ward and
precinct between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. Minneapolis locations for early in-person
voting can be found at
https://vote.minneapolismn.gov/voters/vote-early-in-person/ Any Minneapolis
friends who don't know their voting places can find them at
https://vote.minneapolismn.gov/results-data/election-maps/2020-interactive-polling-place-map/
My own opinion is that all these legal challenges to easing voting during the
pandemic are an obvious attempt at voter suppression. It won't work if it
motivates us all to do our democratic duty at the polls. Please make a plan,
even if you have to wait in line for a bit. Please encourage and motivate
others to vote, even if they make it inconvenient. Our democracy depends on it.
Charley Underwood, Longfellow/Howe