In the interests of providing accurate information, I wanted to offer a brief
background on the cause for delays on getting absentee ballots (Vote-By-Mail)
out to voters who submitted requests.
The City of Minneapolis received printed 2020 ballots on Sep. 14, in
anticipation of the beginning of the 46-day absentee voting period on Sep. 18.
In that four-day window, the EVS absentee ballot team prepared 114,873
Vote-By-Mail (VBM) packets. Each âpacketâ includes the ballot (based on the
voterâs assigned precinct), absentee voting instructions, postage-paid privacy
envelopes, and the coveted âI VOTEDâ sticker. Those are assembled by the team
and readied for delivery to the Cityâs mail house vendor.
Once the VBM packets are ready, the Cityâs vendor (mail house) seals, meters,
and pre-sorts by zip code all VBM packets for distribution. This scope of work
causes the biggest delay because the individual metering and pre-sorting by zip
code (including addresses inside and outside of Minneapolis) required for each
VBM packet. And remember, this year, we had a record-setting volume of
first-day VBMs to push outâŠhigher than any year in the last 50 years (and
probably before that, too!).
Once the VBM packets are sealed, metered, and sorted, they are delivered to
USPS for delivery to voters.
The process is more complicated than that, of course; however, this simplified
outline provides an idea of why it can take between 7 to 10 days for voters to
receive their absentee ballots after they have left EVS.
The Secretary of State does have an excellent tool online to enable voters to
track the status of their absentee VBM ballots. You can access it directly at:
mnvotes [dot] sos [dot] state [dot] mn [dot] us / AbsenteeBallotStatus [dot]
aspx
In terms of returning your completed absentee ballot, you have many optionsâŠ
1. Return by mail
2. Early in person at the Cityâs Early Vote Center located at 980 E. Hennepin
Avenue or at the Hennepin County Government Center (for Minneapolis voters)
located downtown
A full listing of these details, locations, dates and times for service hours,
and more is posted to the Cityâs Elections & Voter Services website, which you
can access at:
vote [dot] minneapolismn [dot] gov
Also, Iâm happy to report that EVS will be opening two additional Early
In-Person Vote Centers starting October 27 (not before). We will have a North
Early Vote Center located at the Urban League at 2100 Plymouth Avenue North and
a South Early Vote Center located at Longfellow Park Recreation Center at 3435
36th Avenue South. Again, these additional Early Vote Centers will be open
starting October 27 through Monday, November 2, the day before Election Day.
These Early Vote Centers WILL NOT be open on Election Day.
Also, we will be announcing next week the opening of up to 10 additional Ballot
Drop-Off sites scattered throughout the city where voters can bring their
completed Vote-By-Mail ballots and drop them off with election teams. This will
be in addition to the drop-off option at our headquarters at 980 E. Hennepin
Avenue. These Ballot Drop-Off sites will be open October 19 and remain open
through 3 p.m. on Election Day (Nov. 3) to provide all voters with safe, secure
and convenient options for returning their completed mail ballots, if they
choose to do so.
As always, much more details are availableâincluding answers to common concerns
and frequently asked questionsâfrom our website, accessible at:
vote [dot] minneapolismn [dot] gov
And, please follow our social media at on Twitter and Facebook for current
news, announcements, daily totals, and more.
Casey Joe Carl
Minneapolis City Clerk