Increase in absentee ballots will slow election results this week

Nora G. Hertel
St. Cloud Times

It's a big year for absentee and mail-in voting in Stearns County and across the state. 

By Monday, Stearns County already had received more than 7,000 returned ballots in the primary election, according to Randy Schreifels, the Stearns County auditor-treasurer.

Most in-person polling places open at 7 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 11. 

In 2016, the county received and counted just 767 such ballots and in 2018 the figure reached 2,935, Schreifels said Monday.

All those mail-in ballots will slow the counting process this year, said Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon in a Friday press release. 

Simon says don't expect complete election results on election night.

The increase in these types of ballots and extra time allowed for processing them mean results may not come in until later this week. 

Primary preview: 10 primary races to watch in greater St. Cloud this Tuesday

County and city races will be whittled down to smaller fields. Partisans can vote for their top candidate in U.S. Senate and House races. 

Absentee ballots must be postmarked by Tuesday and arrive by Thursday, according to Simon's release. Ballots for the Nov. 3 general election will be accepted up to a week after Election Day.

A sign directs voters to the polling place for early primary voting Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2020, at the Stearns County Administration Center in St. Cloud.

Absentee voting has been increasingly popular in Minnesota, even before the novel coronavirus. In 2018, as many as 24% of Minnesotans voted that way, according to Simon's release. 

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"During the global COVID-19 pandemic, we are expecting far more than that to vote absentee, which will require a massive effort on the part of the counties, cities, and townships that run the elections," Simon said. "And so I'm asking for patience."

It could take a few days or up to a week to get results, he said. 

Stearns County sent out nearly 18,000 absentee or mail-in ballots for the primary, Schreifels said. He expects up to 9,000 will be returned. 

On election night, polling sites will know how many voted that day, how many people requested absentee ballots and how many absentee ballots have been returned up to that point. But the final ballots don't have to be in until Thursday.

Where do I vote today?

For the people who will vote at the polls on Tuesday, here is some basic information.

Find your polling site: pollfinder.sos.state.mn.us

View your sample ballot: myballotmn.sos.state.mn.us

What you need to register at the polls: an ID with current address or a photo ID plus an approved document that includes your address such as a lease.

Research the candidates:sctimes.com

Most polls open at 7 a.m. Polls close at 8 p.m. If you're in line to vote when polls close, you have a right to cast a ballot. 

The general election is Nov. 3. Absentee and mail-in voting for that election begins Sept. 18. 

Follow sctimes.com for live results and follow-up analysis.