County Administrator Bobbie Hillery updated the Fillmore County Board on the 2020 ongoing general election at the board’s October 27 meeting.
A total of 6,003 ballots have been distributed (2,886 absentee ballots and 3,117 mail-in ballots). So far 2,195 absentee ballots have been accepted and 1,527 mail-in ballots have been accepted. It has been crazy with people coming in to vote.
Fourteen precincts are 100% mail-in voting for this general election. Commissioners and county staff have had many calls about the additional precincts that will have mail-in voting during this election cycle. Many have been upset about the change to mail-in voting in their precincts and many others are likely not aware that they will not be able to vote in-person at their normal voting location. Hillery suggested that if citizens don’t want to vote by mail in future elections they should talk to their township supervisors or their city council members. Decisions to go to mail-in voting were made prior to COVID.
Commissioner Duane Bakke maintained that notices should be placed on prior/normal voting locations for those who will have mail-in voting for the first time. There has been some confusion this year about where and how to vote. Citizens that have not filled out their mail-in ballot and sent it or delivered it to the courthouse, can still vote in-person at the courthouse. If you reside in a mail-in precinct and want to vote in-person you will have to go to the courthouse to vote. Saturday, October 31, citizens can vote in-person at the courthouse from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and feed their ballot into a machine themselves. Monday, November 2, citizens can vote at the courthouse between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. and on November 3 the courthouse will be open for in-person voting from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mail-in ballots must be postmarked on or before November 3 to be accepted. If postmarked after November 3, they will not be accepted. There will be a daily update on ballots postmarked on or before November 3. They will be counted through November 10.
Hillery said the voter roster is being updated non-stop. She emphasized that it is against the law to vote twice. Commissioner Mitch Lentz added that if someone tries to vote twice he or she will be turned over to the district attorney.
Hillery commended her staff for really stepping up to make the election go well. She acknowledged that some people have been rude to the staff for taking too long when they came in for early voting.
On election night there will be a list of ballots that are outstanding at that time. Chairman Marc Prestby asked about the process for rejected ballots. Hillery said her staff will immediately call the person whose ballot has been rejected. Often a mail-in or absentee ballot is rejected because the voter failed to give the last four digits of his/her social security number or a driver’s license number. Prestby asked if there is a way to check and see if your ballot has been accepted. A voter can check his/her status of an absentee or mail-in ballot by going to mnvotes.sos.state.mn.us/absenteeballotstatus.aspx.
Other business in brief
• The resignation of Alex Hartley, deputy, was accepted effective February 5.
• State statute allows contracts and other documents to be signed electronically. The board approved the use of electronic signatures for two users through DocuSign at a cost of $600 per year.
• The board discussed damage that has occurred at Masonic Park by vehicles driving around it when the ground is wet and soft. The possibility of installing large rocks consistent with the nature of the park to prevent further damage was discussed. The total cost is estimated to be about $2,700. Bakke maintained there should be a plan as to where the rocks can legally be placed and if the guard rails currently in place should be removed. The cost could come out of Infrastructure Funding. The board by consensus decided to include the park in the board’s fall road tour on November 10.
• A detour agreement with MnDOT to use CSAH 25 from trunk highway 30 to trunk highway 16 through the city of Peterson was discussed. The detour is needed to allow the state to do mill and overlay construction on and adjacent to trunk highway 250 from just north of CSAH 8 to trunk highway 30. Bakke had several concerns including the duration of time for the detour and the 10-ton axle weight allowance. County Engineer Ron Gregg will have further information at the next meeting. The agreement and resolution were tabled.
• Approval was given to provide Quickbooks for Extension (specifically for the 4-H program) with a network connection for University of Minnesota staff. The cost is $350 for three licenses.
• Hillery will serve as the MCIT Annual Meeting Delegate and Bakke will be the alternate delegate.
• Association of Minnesota Counties (AMC) voting delegates were approved. The five commissioners, Bobbie Hillery, Ron Gregg, and assessor Jason McCaslin will serve as the eight voting delegates. The virtual meeting will be held on December 7. Committee representatives were also approved.
• Approval was given to pay Dave Phillips $450. The delinquent tax list was not published in the Bluff Country Reader. The payment is for lost revenue due to the failure of the county to publish the delinquent tax list.
Commissioner Randy Dahl asked that there be a discussion at some point about publishing online. We have to support our local newspaper, but we need to know what is important to publish in the newspaper and what isn’t. Hillery noted that AMC is working on developing a list of those items which need to be published in a newspaper and those which can be just placed online.
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