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<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite=""><br>
In just over three weeks, we will have another important election.
President O’Connor asked that I update and send out voting information
for this year as we have sent in the past.<br><br>
<br><br>
<h2><b>Your Options</b></h2><br><br>
We are fortunate to have multiple options for casting our ballots in
Minnesota. You can vote early at specific locations in your city or
county and use an accessible voting machine. Also, you can get an
accessible mail ballot as well. Finally, every poling place is required
to have an accessible voting machine. Remember that the boundaries of
congressional and legislative districts have been adjusted since the
previous presidential election, so the location of your polling place
could have changed during the past four years. Here is information that
we hope will be helpful.<br><br>
<br><br>
<h2><b>Early Voting</b></h2><br><br>
First, let’s take a quick look at “early voting.” After September
20, you can go to specific locations in your city or county and fill out
a ballot very much as you would if you voted on election day. Each early
voting location is required to have an accessible voting machine. You can
call your city or county offices to find out where you can vote early, or
you can visit
<a href="https://www.sos.state.mn.us/elections-voting/other-ways-to-vote/voting-locations-before-election-day/">
Early Voting Locations</a> on the Secretary of State’s website. In many
counties in greater Minnesota, there is one early voting location in each
county. In the Twin Cities Metropolitan area, most suburbs and cities
have voting locations and some have more than one location. Also note
that Hennepin County residents can vote at the Government Center in
downtown Minneapolis regardless of where you live in Hennepin County. If
you vote more than twenty days before the election, your ballot is
counted with mail-in ballots. If you vote less than twenty days before
the election, your vote will be run through the tabulator
immediately.<br><br>
<br><br>
<h2><b>Mail-in or Absentee Voting</b></h2><br><br>
Since one no longer is required to give a reason to need an absentee
ballot in Minnesota, this ballot is often called a “mail-in ballot”
although the term “absentee ballot” is still used. Time must be allowed
for your mail-in ballot to get to you through the mail, and your ballot
must be returned by mail or dropped off by election day. Being
post-marked by election day is not enough. <br><br>
<br><br>
Here is how it works. This information is accurate as far as we know, but
there are some aspects we have not been able to confirm. Again this year,
blind Minnesotans can vote privately, safely and accessibly, because the
Secretary of State did the right thing by adopting an electronic tool to
<a href="https://nfbmn.org/voting/2020-10-24">mark mail-in ballots</a>
from home. While blind Minnesotans may need assistance to sign the ballot
envelope and add their identification number, the ballot itself can
remain private. If you would like to use the mail-in ballot process with
the accessible ballot, please allow extra time to complete that process.
Also, counties can optionally provide other approaches to making absentee
ballots accessible, so the process explained here could vary in some
cases. Remember that “early voting” using an accessible voting machine is
an option as described above.<br><br>
<br><br>
The accessible absentee ballot process used by most counties in Minnesota
uses a process created by a company named Democracy Live. They have
produced a demonstration of this process on YouTube which can be played
at
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdi-Ge54TkM&t=3s">
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdi-Ge54TkM&t=3s</a>.<br><br>
<br><br>
Follow these steps to request, complete, and return your accessible,
absentee ballot.<br><br>
<ol>
<li><a href="https://www.sos.mn.gov/elections-voting/">Request your
absentee ballot</a> using the standard process. This process and a lot of
other very useful information can be found at
<a href="http://www.mnvotes.org/">http://www.mnvotes.org</a>. You will
need the envelopes that will be sent with your paper, absentee ballot, so
don’t throw them away even if you use the accessible ballot instead!
<li>
<a href="https://www.sos.state.mn.us/elections-voting/find-county-election-office/?searchTerm=county%20elections">
Contact your county’s election office (Office of the County Auditor),</a>
and request an electronic ballot as a reasonable accommodation under the
Americans with Disabilities Act. Many counties now have someone
designated to handle absentee ballot requests. Some county contact
information is supplied at the end of this email.
<li>Follow the link and instructions that your County Auditor will e-mail
to you to reach the Omniballot system hosted by Democracy Live. This link
will be specific to the ballot that applies to where you are registered
to vote and is not a general link.
<li>Print the marked ballot, and seal it inside the smallest envelope
(called the Secrecy Envelope) sent with your absentee ballot.
<li>Insert the Secrecy Envelope into the medium-sized, white Signature
Envelope and seal it. At this point, you may need sighted assistance to
fully complete the required form fields on the signature envelope. This
includes your signature, a signature of a witness, and the identifying
code you used when you requested an absentee ballot. This identifying
code is either your State ID card number of the last four digits of your
Social Security number depending upon which you chose to use.
<li>Place this sealed envelope inside the largest Mailing/Return
Envelope, seal it, and mail it so that it arrives by Election Day.
</ol><br>
<br><br>
Contact the Minnesota Voter Help Hotline at
<a name="_Hlk175041690"></a>(651) 215-1440 for any questions related to
accessible voting.<br><br>
The website with County contact information is pretty easy to use. As
shown above, that link is<br><br>
<a href="https://www.sos.state.mn.us/elections-voting/find-county-election-office/">
Find Your County Election Office</a><br><br>
I found that finding your county on the list and pressing SPACE or ENTER
seems to work even though the county names may not be identified as links
or buttons. The county information will appear just after the county name
but the rest of the list of counties remains visible. Sometimes you may
find that the virtual cursor of your screen reader has gone to the top of
the page and you may need to navigate back to the county name you
selected. Here is some information for several major counties that cover
the Twin Cities, Rochester, Mankato, Duluth, and the St. Cloud area.
Sorry to the At Large members not covered here. <br><br>
<br><br>
<h2><b><a name="_Hlk175041888"></a>Benton County</b></h2><br><br>
Election official: Christine Scherbing<br>
General phone: 320-968-5006<br>
Fax: 320-968-5337<br>
Website:
<a href="http://www.co.benton.mn.us/"><b>http://www.co.benton.mn.us/</a>
</b><br>
Email:
<a href="mailto:elections@co.benton.mn.us">elections@co.benton.mn.us</a>
<br><br>
<h3><b>ABSENTEE VOTING CONTACT</b></h3><br><br>
Heather Bondhus<br>
Phone: 320-968-5027<br>
Fax: 320-968-5337<br>
Email:
<a href="mailto:elections@co.benton.mn.us">elections@co.benton.mn.us</a>
<br><br>
<br><br>
<h2><b>Blue Earth County</b></h2><br><br>
Election official: Michael Stalberger<br>
General phone: 507-304-4341<br>
Fax: 507-304-4075<br>
Website:
<a href="http://www.blueearthcountymn.gov/index.aspx?nid=326"><b>
http://www.blueearthcountymn.gov/index.aspx?nid=326</a></b><br>
Email:
<a href="mailto:BEC.Elections@blueearthcountymn.gov">
BEC.Elections@blueearthcountymn.gov</a><br><br>
<h3><b>STREET ADDRESS</b></h3><br><br>
Blue Earth County Historic Courthouse<br>
204 S 5th St<br>
Mankato, MN 56001<br><br>
<h3><b>MAILING ADDRESS</b></h3><br><br>
Blue Earth County Elections<br>
PO Box 3567<br>
Mankato, MN 56002-3567<br><br>
<h3><b>ABSENTEE VOTING CONTACT</b></h3><br><br>
Kristy Maes<br>
Phone: 507-304-4341<br>
Fax: 507-304-4075<br>
Email:
<a href="mailto:BEC.Elections@blueearthcountymn.gov">
BEC.Elections@blueearthcountymn.gov</a><br><br>
<br><br>
<h2><b>Hennepin County Elections</b></h2><br><br>
Phone: 612-348-5151<br>
Fax: 612-348-2151<br>
Email:
<a href="mailto:hc.vote@hennepin.us">hc.vote@hennepin.us</a><br><br>
<h3><b>ABSENTEE VOTING CONTACT</b></h3><br><br>
Hennepin County Elections<br>
Phone: 612-348-5151<br>
Fax: 612-348-2151<br>
Website:
<a href="https://www.hennepin.us/"><b>https://www.hennepin.us</a></b><br>
Email:
<a href="mailto:hc.vote@hennepin.us">hc.vote@hennepin.us</a><br><br>
<br><br>
<h2><b>Nicollet County</b></h2><br><br>
Election official: Jaci Kopet<br>
General phone: 507-934-7806<br>
Fax: 507-931-0856<br>
Website:
<a href="http://www.co.nicollet.mn.us/"><b>
http://www.co.nicollet.mn.us/</a></b><br>
Email:
<a href="mailto:election@co.nicollet.mn.us">election@co.nicollet.mn.us</a>
<br><br>
<h3><b>ADDRESS</b></h3><br><br>
Nicollet County Govt Center<br>
501 S Minnesota Ave<br>
St Peter, MN 56082<br><br>
<h3><b>ABSENTEE VOTING CONTACT</b></h3><br><br>
Jaci Kopet<br>
Phone: 507-934-7806<br>
Fax: 507-931-0856<br>
Email:
<a href="mailto:election@co.nicollet.mn.us">election@co.nicollet.mn.us</a>
<br><br>
<br><br>
<h2><b>Olmsted County</b></h2><br><br>
Election official: Luke Turner<br>
General phone: 507-328-7650<br>
Fax: 507-328-7640<br>
Website:
<a href="https://olmstedcounty.gov/"><b>https://olmstedcounty.gov</a></b>
<br>
Email:
<a href="mailto:elections@co.olmsted.mn.us">elections@co.olmsted.mn.us</a>
<br><br>
<h3><b>ABSENTEE VOTING CONTACT</b></h3><br><br>
Luke Turner<br>
Phone: 507-328-7650<br>
Fax: 507-328-7640<br>
Email:
<a href="mailto:elections@co.olmsted.mn.us">elections@co.olmsted.mn.us</a>
<br><br>
<h2><b> </b></h2><br><br>
<br>
<h2><b>Ramsey County</b></h2><br><br>
Election official: David Triplett<br>
General phone: 651-266-2171<br>
Fax: 651-266-2177<br>
Website:
<a href="https://www.ramseycounty.us/residents/elections-voting"><b>
https://www.ramseycounty.us/residents/elections-voting</a></b><br>
Email:
<a href="mailto:elections@co.ramsey.mn.us">elections@co.ramsey.mn.us</a>
<br><br>
<h3><b>ABSENTEE VOTING CONTACT</b></h3><br><br>
Absentee Ballot Coordinator<br>
Phone: 651-266-2171<br>
Fax: 651-266-2177<br>
Email:
<a href="mailto:elections@co.ramsey.mn.us">elections@co.ramsey.mn.us</a>
<br><br>
<br><br>
<h2><b>Saint Louis County</b></h2><br><br>
Election official: Nancy Nilsen<br>
General phone: 218-726-2385<br>
Fax: 218-725-5060<br>
Website:
<a href="http://www.stlouiscountymn.gov/"><b>
http://www.stlouiscountymn.gov/</a></b><br>
Email:
<a href="mailto:elections@stlouiscountymn.gov">
elections@stlouiscountymn.gov</a><br><br>
<h3><b>ABSENTEE VOTING CONTACT</b></h3><br><br>
St. Louis County Elections<br>
Phone: 218-726-2385<br>
Fax: 218-725-5060<br>
Email:
<a href="mailto:elections@stlouiscountymn.gov">
elections@stlouiscountymn.gov</a><br><br>
<br><br>
<h2><b>Sherburne County</b></h2><br><br>
Election official: Diane Arnold<br>
General phone: 763-765-4351<br>
Fax: 763-765-4400<br>
Website:
<a href="http://www.co.sherburne.mn.us/"><b>
http://www.co.sherburne.mn.us/</a></b><br>
Email:
<a href="mailto:elections@co.sherburne.mn.us">
elections@co.sherburne.mn.us</a><br><br>
<h3><b>ABSENTEE VOTING CONTACT</b></h3><br><br>
Kenneth Selser, Jr.<br>
Phone: 763-765-4351<br>
Fax: 763-765-4400<br>
Email:
<a href="mailto:elections@co.sherburne.mn.us">
elections@co.sherburne.mn.us</a><br><br>
<br><br>
<h2><b>Stearns County</b></h2><br><br>
Election official: Randy Schreifels<br>
General phone: 320-656-3920<br>
Fax: 320-203-6960<br>
Website:
<a href="https://www.stearnscountymn.gov/"><b>
https://www.stearnscountymn.gov</a><br>
</b><br>
Email:
<a href="mailto:elections@co.stearns.mn.us">elections@co.stearns.mn.us</a>
<br><br>
<h3><b>ABSENTEE VOTING CONTACT</b></h3><br><br>
Julie Ritz<br>
Phone: 320-656-6522<br>
Fax: 320-203-6960<br>
Email:
<a href="mailto:julie.ritz@co.stearns.mn.us">
julie.ritz@co.stearns.mn.us</a><br><br>
<br><br>
<h2><b>Washington County</b></h2><br><br>
Election official: Christine Piskura<br>
General phone: 651-430-6175<br>
Fax: 651-430-6178<br>
Website:
<a href="http://www.co.washington.mn.us/"><b>
http://www.co.washington.mn.us/</a></b><br>
Email:
<a href="mailto:elections@co.washington.mn.us">
elections@co.washington.mn.us</a><br><br>
<h3><b>ABSENTEE VOTING CONTACT</b></h3><br><br>
Washington County Elections<br>
Phone: 651-430-6175<br>
Fax: 651-430-6178<br>
Email:
<a href="mailto:elections@co.washington.mn.us">
elections@co.washington.mn.us</a><br><br>
<br><br>
I hope this information is helpful, but please remember that some parts
of this process could be different in your particular county.<br><br>
<br><br>
<br><br>
Best regards,<br><br>
<br><br>
Steve Jacobson<br>
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