Conservative Facebook group members think MNGOP absentee ballot mail is DFL Party scam

Every so once in a while, we visit the Rocks & Cows of the North & National Guard Cooks public Facebook group in order to have our faith in the acumen of the members reaffirmed.

Today's visit did not disappoint. We've posted a screengrab of a discussion of a post by member Melissa Norgren, self-described Mama of 4*Weightloss and Lifestyle Coach*Jesus Lover*Happiest Girl in the Whole USA, resident of Erhard, a very small town in Otter Tail County.

Earlier in the week, Star Tribune digital projects editor Matt Delong tweeted a more clear image of the mail piece:

I assume I got this because I requested tickets for the Trump rally in Minneapolis last year (also I have already requested an absentee ballot for the general election)

— Matt DeLong (@mattdelong) August 20, 2020

While DeLong didn't question the identity of the mail piece's sender, some members of the conservative Rocks and Cows and National Guard Cooks thought the mail piece was a Democratic Party scam, whatever the return address might say.

We're not sure how much the Republican Party of Minnesota spent on this lush color-printed item, but the return on investment might not be outstanding. Many members vowed to vote in person on election day, some talked of throwing away the mail piece but others thought the mail piece was a "Democrat" scam.

As one encounter went down:

Alan Ott What a stupid waste of $ by the MN GOP!!!

Chad H Burkman Alan Ott not the GOP, sent by the democrats. Every person they get to fill it out their republican vote won't count.

Some other sample comments:

Ann Kleindl You are supposed to ask fir an absentee ballet fir yourself, they dont mail out willy nilly. It must be a trick vite by mail ballet sent by the Dems. 2 totally different things.

 

Mary Stewart Looks like a scam you need to request an absentee ballot and have ID at least in most states

 

Donna Weiland Sure seems like it might be a dem scam to make people think they are voting for Trump by using these, when they are fake ballots,and will end up in a shedder when after they reach their destination. The person will think they voted for Trump, when in reality,they didn't vote at all. Sounds like a smart and pretty devious scheme by Dems.

 

Kelly Lucca-Barg Keep it and throw it after the election. That way trash divers don’t get their hands on them and mail them in. Trump said go to the poles theses are from some scammer!

 

Chad H Burkman If it was an absentee ballot, they wouldn't have an advertisement for a candidate. Scam mail.

 

Bob Harris FAKE BALLOT. Its a distraction, not a real ballot

 

Kimberly Thomas Nope. Dont do it. The house speaker good end up running the country

 

Mary Markasich I’d be sure it came from the party it says. You never know these days. If you didn’t request an absentee ballot it is probably not valid. Go to the polls to vote.

Deb Foss Peterson Any absentee ballot that you did not request should be considered junk mail and destroyed. I will vote in person. The only time I did vote absentee ballot, I went to the courthouse in my county and voted there and left my sealed ballot in a ballot box there. Remember the Democrats motto is to remove President Trump "by any means necessary!"

It wasn't all Rock Ridge in the comment section. Some members were more informed:

Kathy Johnson Arvidson President Trump approves of them. You have to request an absentee ballot in order to get one. That is why you fill out the form, or request them in any other way you like. They are trackable, unlike plain mail-in ballots. So if you cannot vote in person, this would be the best way to do it

Many others simply objected to the notion of absentee voting by mail and insisted they would vote in person. That's certainly an option for Norgren. Though a very small town whose council could resolve to go to a mail-in system, the town still conducts elections at its town hall, according to the polling place finder at the Minnesota Secretary of State's office.

Minnesotans can also vote early absentee ballot in person at their courthouse; we did that when we registered to vote in Prior Township, Big Stone County in 2016 on the first day absentee ballots were available. We weren't afraid of the mail-in voting system in the non-metro township with fewer than 400 registered voters that had chosen to go to a mail-in system as Minnesota law has allowed since 1987. It was simply convenient to vote while we had the courthouse staff's time and attention.

We encourage all eligible voters to follow the legal procedure that's most comfortable for them. We're voting by mail-in absentee ballot here in South Dakota, as we did in the primary.

Related Post:

• Rocks & Cows Facebook group members decry Ilhan Omar's son John--er Bruno Mars

Screengrab: Fear and loathing of a Republican Party of Minnesota mail piece in a very conservative Greater Minnesota Facebook group.

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