Early Voting For Presidential Nomination Primary Opens Friday In St. Michael

From the Wright County Government:

Posted on: January 13, 2020

Beginning Friday, Jan. 17, those wishing to cast their votes early for the Presidential Nomination Primary (PNP) to be conducted March 3 can do so at the Auditor/Treasurer’s Office on the second floor of the Wright County Government Center in Buffalo. In addition, six cities – Albertville, Buffalo, Delano, Hanover, Monticello and St. Michael – will also begin accepting early ballots Jan. 17 at their respective city halls during regular business hours.

For those looking to vote at the county’s Government Center, ballots can be cast during standard open hours between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. In addition, the Government Center will be open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 28 and, on Monday, March 2, the Auditor/Treasurer’s Office will remain open until 5 p.m. in the days leading up to the Super Tuesday primary.

As a reminder, as part of the PNP process, a voter must declare party preference. There are four major parties on the Minnesota ballot for this election cycle – Republican, Democrat, Grassroots – Legalize Cannabis Party and Legalize Marijuana Now Party. However, only the Democrats and Republicans submitted a list of candidates, so those will be the only two ballot options, whether voting early or on Presidential Nomination Primary Day March 3.

Those who choose not to declare a party affiliation will not be allowed to cast a ballot because the ballots are party-specific – if you predominantly vote Democrat, you will only receive a ballot of Democrat candidates and the same applies for Republicans. The party a voter chooses will be recorded and, while it remains private data, a list of who voted and what party affiliation they identified in the PNP will be provided to the chair of each of the four major political parties. Who a person voted for will remain secret.

2020 will mark just the fifth time in state history that Minnesota has conducted a PNP – the others being 1916, 1952, 1956 and 1992. After long lines and some sites running out of ballots during the 2016 Minnesota presidential caucuses, then-Gov. Mark Dayton signed a bipartisan bill to make Minnesota a primary state. The caucuses will still take place at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 25, but the PNP will determine Minnesota’s delegates for each major party.

This press release was produced by the Wright County Government. The views expressed here are the author’s own.