If you live in a city or township and you received a mail-in ballot, you might want to hang on to it. Certainly, don’t throw it away, which has happened, according to Fillmore County Auditor-Treasurer Charlene Meiners.
For the 2020 general election, more cities and townships have opted for the mail-in ballots. And, some voters have expressed their concerns, calling and e-mailing the Fillmore County Journal along with the Fillmore County Auditor-Treasurer’s office. Some people want to vote in-person, and they think that Fillmore County government officials implemented this change on their own without the involvement of cities and townships.
According to Meiners, city and township leaders made that decision to proceed with the mail-in ballot process. They can switch back, but there is a process that involves a timeline administered by the Minnesota Secretary of State’s office.
Recently, the City of Ostrander utilized the mail-in ballot process for the primary election, but then switched back to in-person voting for the general election.
“I hope that people will respect that cities and townships are trying to be safe,” Meiners shared. “These are unprecedented times.”
In Fillmore County, there are 13,011 registered voters for the 2020 election. A total of 5,256 ballots were mailed out, and 1,649 of those ballots have already been returned by mail. That means 12.67% of the county’s voting population has already cast their votes.
Meiners indicated that they have seen an uptick in absentee ballots, as well. And, for this election, voters can register their ballot online, which means they can track the location of their ballot as it arrives at the county courthouse.
The cities of Canton, Fountain, Peterson and Whalan have all converted to mail-in ballot. And, the following townships have also made that mail-in conversation: Bloomfield, Canton, Chatfield, Fountain, Harmony, Jordan, Newburg, Preble, Preston, and Sumner.
For those who do receive a mail-in ballot, they can cast their votes and drop it in the mail, or they can also bring it to the county courthouse to vote in-person by 8 p.m. on Tuesday, November 3, 2020. All precincts close at 8 p.m. on November 3.
But, Meiners strongly urges voters to not wait until the last minute. And, be sure to bring your mail-in ballot with you to the courthouse. The county orders extra ballots in case someone forgets or mistakenly destroys their ballot. However, they only have so many extras. And, there are 81 ballot styles in Fillmore County, due to votes cast per townships, cities, school districts, and referendums.
Absentee ballot voters have until 5 p.m. on Monday, November 2, 2020, to get their ducks in a row at the county courthouse. The absentee balloting process is manually intensive, from beginning to end. Absentee balloting opens up 46 days in advance of the election, however, the county doesn’t necessarily have those ballots in-hand and ready to mail right away. As absentee balloters track their progress online, Meiners asks voters to be patient with the process.
In the event, you did throw away your ballot, don’t worry. You can still vote. However, it will put a strain on the system.
And, for those rare individuals thinking of voting at a precinct not within their district, they may want to think again. While their vote may be accounted for at the precinct, it will be flagged upon arrival at the county level. More important, for those who may ever consider testing the system by voting at multiple precincts, voter fraud is a felony punishable by law.
Meiners spent 38-1/2 years of her career working for the Houston County Auditor’s office, serving as the county auditor from 2008 to 2018. There was one time when she witnessed voter fraud when someone voted at two precincts on a dare. The Houston County Sheriff’s office had to pay that voter a visit.
As Meiners and her crew work day and night leading up to Election Day, she is grateful for the support she has received from County Administrator Bobbie Hillery and her staff coming from the Finance Department and Human Resources. “County Engineer Ron Gregg stopped by to help with accuracy testing the day before,” said Meiners. Numerous departments have shifted their time and energy to assist with the 2020 election, and everyone is always amazed to see what goes on behind the scenes to administer the process of an election cycle.
Leave a Reply