Minnesota Won't Seek Stay Over Federal Mail-In Ballot Case

TWIN CITIES, MN — Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon announced Friday that his office will not appeal the decision handed down by federal court this week. An Eighth Circuit panel ruled Thursday evening that election officials must "segregate" Minnesota ballots received after Election Day.

The decision is a victory for local GOP groups, who sought to challenge Minnesota's extended Nov. 10 absentee ballot deadline.

Simon condemned the court's ruling and called it a "tremendous and unnecessary disruption."

"This last-minute change could disenfranchise Minnesotans who were relying on settled rules for the 2020 election — rules that were in place before the August 11 primary and were accepted by all political parties," Simon said.

"It is deeply troubling that the people who brought the lawsuit, a conservative legislator and presidential elector, would seek to sabotage the system for political gain."

However, he confirmed that he won't seek a stay in the ruling:

"In consultation with the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office, we have decided not to seek a stay of the 8th Circuit decision at the US Supreme Court. We disagree with the court’s decision, and there may be cause for litigation later. While Minnesota will comply with the 8th Circuit's ruling to segregate the ballots received after November 3, we need to emphasize that there is no court ruling yet saying those ballots are invalid. We absolutely reserve the right to make every argument after Election Day that protects voters. For now, our focus is to make sure that every Minnesota voter knows to cast their ballot by 8 p.m. on November 3, and that every ballot legally cast is counted."

Before the ruling, mailed-in ballots postmarked by Election Day — Nov. 3 — and that arrive by Nov. 10 would be counted. Now, there is no guarantee that ballots received after Election Day will count.

Voting in Minnesota

Simon says voters should no longer put their absentee ballots in the mail.

Minnesota voters have three ways to cast their ballot now through Election Day:

1. Voters who received a ballot by mail don't have to use it. They can discard it and vote in-person on Election Day, like normal.
2. Or they can return that ballot in-person to the local election office that sent the ballot. Do not return a mail-in ballot to your polling location, because they cannot accept it.
3. Minnesotans have the option to register to vote on Election Day at their polling location if they want to cast a ballot in-person.

Learn more about the voting process in Minnesota here.