Minnesota Republican Party State Chair Jennifer Carnahan is getting push back again for another vacuous tweet. This time, her topic was mail-in ballots and th The editor of the Minnesota Reformer brought up an earlier snafu in MNGOP campaign finance reports:
The people of Minnesota disagreed when asked this question on a ballot measure in 2012, but they often change their minds like the time Rep. Jim Hagedorn decided he did not live in St. Louis Park so let’s ask them again! https://t.co/jKql78kUgr
— j. patrick coolican (@jpcoolican) April 3, 2020
Readers may remember when Bluestem broke this story in Republican Party of MN reports self-employed James, Hagedorn lives in St. Louis Park and followed up with RPM, Friends of Hagedorn confuse state & federal campaign finance reports in answering [Post Bulletin] question about Hagedorn's residence.
Fun stuff, but Bluestem thinks the greater nincompoopery on Carnahan's part is the lockstep agreement with the President that mail-in ballots automatically lead to voter fraud. In fact, many voters in Minnesota's rural and tiny town precincts already vote by mail.
We tweeted:
From #MN01 Blue Earth Co on mail-in ballots: "Many voters in Blue Earth County automatically vote by mail. About 46 days before the election, all registered voters in these mail ballot precincts will be mailed a ballot and instructions...." https://t.co/9rD4fE189M #mngop #mnleg
— Sally Jo Sorensen (@sallyjos) April 4, 2020
That's in Minnesota's First Congressional District, where Carnahan's husband, Jim Hagedorn, serves as U.S. Representative.
And Faribault County, where he's a resident of the City of Blue Earth? The Faribault County Register staff writer Kevin Mertens reported in December 2019's Some townships going to mail ballots:
Changes are occurring in the way less populated areas of the state cast their votes.
According to a law passed in 2008 in Minnesota, all non-metropolitan townships and cities with less than 400 registered voters located outside of the Minneapolis/St. Paul seven-county metropolitan area can choose to hold elections by mail.
Minnesota is one of five states which permit certain jurisdictions or portions of a jurisdiction to be designated as eligible for all-mail voting based on population. The other four states are Idaho, Nevada, New Jersey and New Mexico.
"Prescott, Lura, Pilot Grove and Rome Townships have all filed the necessary paperwork," Faribault County chief deputy auditor Jessica Blair explained. "Clark and Verona Townships have informed us they will have the necessary paperwork in by the Dec. 4 deadline."
Prescott Township has already held an election by mail, according to Blair.
"It went pretty well," Blair said . "One concern was the voter's signatures were visible on the returned envelope, but that has now been changed so it (the signature) is concealed."
Originally, it was the sparsely populated regions of northern Minnesota which took advantage of this law, but now over 25 percent of the townships in Faribault County are making the change to vote by mail. . . .
Well okay then. At the Minnesota Secretary of State's webpage, Cities and towns that vote by mail, we learn:
Some jurisdictions in Minnesota hold elections by mail instead of voting at polling places.
All non-metropolitan townships and cities with less than 400 registered voters located outside of the Minneapolis/St. Paul seven-county metropolitan area can choose to hold elections by mail.
You can see if you live in a mail ballot precinct by entering your address into the Polling Place Finder. If you live in a mail ballot precinct, you will see a message that ballots are mailed to registered voters. You will also see the location of the central polling place where you can drop off their ballot, vote in person, or register on Election Day. . . .
The page includes more details on how this is done. One detail:
Do I need a witness for my ballot?
Yes. All mail ballots require the signature of a witness on the signature envelope. Follow the instructions that are included with your ballot.
When the editor lived in rural Big Stone County, she witnessed her landlord's ballot; she herself voted early absentee, since our schedule was busy that fall. If the local DFL was trying for voter fraud, they did a terrible job in that precinct.
Maybe mail ballots would simply turn evil if they were mailed inside the seven-county metro area.
For a serious look at mail-in voting on a statewide scale, we recommend Peter Callaghan's Yes, Minnesota could move to vote-by-mail for the 2020 election. No, it won’t be easy, at MinnPost.
Related posts:
- Won't someone rescue Olivia's children from the Reds? MNGOP chair frets about Mpls only
- Republican Party of MN reports self-employed James, Hagedorn lives in St. Louis Park
- RPM, Friends of Hagedorn confuse state & federal campaign finance reports in answering PB question about Hagedorn's residence
Photo: A 2018 primary ballot, via Mail ballot process on the rise in the Fillmore County Register.
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There's lots more that can be written on this topic, but I'll just add that ballots are always sent by non-forwardable mail. Unlike absentee ballots, which can be sent anywhere, the ballots automatically sent in all-mail precincts are sent only the voter's registered address within the precinct. If they come back as undeliverable, then the voter can't vote without re-verifying their residency.
Posted by: Max Hailperin | Apr 04, 2020 at 03:51 PM