Minnesotans being encouraged to vote by mail

May 14, 2020

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Democratic Secretary of State Steve Simon didn’t get his wish for a wholesale switch to mail-in balloting to make the upcoming elections safer during the coronavirus pandemic, but he’s encouraging Minnesotans to vote by mail anyway.

Simon says eligible voters can go online to request absentee ballots for the upcoming primary and general elections.

Gov. Tim Walz signed an election security bill Tuesday as the regular session of the Minnesota Legislature winds down, but it didn’t include the expansion of mail-in balloting that Democrats sought.

Senate Republicans blocked that idea, saying Minnesota’s existing rules are sufficient.