Fed appeal court rules mailed ballot must be received by Election Day in MN, cutting weeklong window [View all]

[muriel_volestrangler]

Source: CNN

(CNN)A federal appeals court ruled Thursday that mailed-in ballots in Minnesota must be received by elections officials no later than Election Day.

The 2-1 ruling -- a win for the Republican challengers to the state's plans -- cuts off a weeklong window after Election Day where state officials had planned to receive ballots that had lingered in the mail. The court found the Minnesota secretary of state's accommodation went against a state law that said ballots delivered by mail to elections officials after 8 p.m. on Election Day should be marked late.

"The Secretary's instructions to count mail-in ballots received up to seven days after Election Day stand in direct contradiction to Minnesota election law governing presidential elections," the ruling stated.
...
"The consequences of this order are not lost on us," the court's opinion said. "We acknowledge and understand the concerns over voter confusion, election administration issues, and public confidence in the election. ... With that said, we conclude the challenges that will stem from this ruling are preferable to a postelection scenario where mail-in votes, received after the statutory deadline, are either intermingled with ballots received on time or invalidated without prior warning."


Read more: https://edition.cnn.com/2020/10/29/politics/minnesota-mail-in-ballots/index.html