My Minnesota Ballot Has Been Accepted and Will Be Counted

[MineralMan]

From the MN Secretary of State's Website:

November 3, 2020, State General Election:
Your ballot was accepted on September 25, 2020 and will be counted.

I dropped it in an official ballot bag at my local library on Thursday. I encourage people who vote absentee to use an official ballot drop-off site if that is possible. That will keep your ballot out of the USPS mail system and help insure that it counts.

[mzmolly]

1. I dropped mine off

yesterday. I plan to track the progress as well.

[phylny]

2. I voted absentee in Virginia and did use the mail, since our tracking is excellent.

I watched it every step of the way, ending with: Your Ballot Has Been Located
Your ballot should have been received by the election office on Friday, September 25, 2020. If there are problems with your ballot, you will be notified by election officials.

[MrsMatt]

3. My MN ballot was placed in the mail

on 9/24 and today when I checked the status:

November 3, 2020, State General Election:
Your ballot was accepted on September 25, 2020 and will be counted.

Put it in the USPS system day after I received it; figured I'd cast a provisional if needed.

[MineralMan]

5. Excellent! I think the mail will also be reliable in delivering

ballots. In Minnesota, the mail-in envelope is First Class Mail. I checked mine. I would only worry about mailed ballots in a few rural areas in Minnesota. In the metro area, they'll arrive quickly at the ballot reception address, and be speedily processed.

Rural, conservative Minnesota might possibly be different. However, since most ballots in those areas will be mailed by Republicans, I suspect they will also be handled properly, even if the postmasters in those areas are conservative.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

4. Mine, too.

I took mine to the city election office, where there was quite a line of (masked) people waiting either to vote in person or hand in their completed ballot. Since I was just turning in my ballot, I didn't have to stand in the longer line, and within a few minutes I was ushered into the office's entry area (only one person was allowed in at a time), where a guy took my ballot, opened the mail-in envelope, checked to be sure the signature envelope had the sticker with the bar code and it showed a Minneapolis address, and that I'd written in my ID and signed it. Then he handed it back to me to put in the drop box on the counter. That was it. Now I know they've got it but I'll also check the web site on Monday. So now I can be sure that even if I get covid or get run over by a bus or abducted by aliens, Biden and the whole slate of Democrats will have my votes.

[MineralMan]

7. Wonderful! At the library, the desk clerk is an official election judge,

and she did the same thing with our ballots, checked the signature and made certain the envelope was filled out correctly. Then we deposited our ballot envelopes in a locked ballot bag, through a slot. As usual, Minnesota does elections carefully and properly.

There was someone at the door to the library, making sure people were masked, and asking that everyone use hand sanitizer both going in and coming out of the library. All of that inspires confidence.

[FakeNoose]

6. Great idea to drop off at the library

It's also possible to mail it by taking it to the local post office and request a tracking number (receipt confirmation.) I think the cost is about 30 cents, or maybe a little more.

Getting a tracking number (receipt confirmation) isn't the same thing as paying for postage, it's an extra cost in addition to the postage. But having that tracking number allows you to check it online and make sure it got delivered.

[MineralMan]

8. Only some libraries are designated as ballot drop-off sites.

Most city halls in Minnesota are also official ballot drop-off sites. Most also serve as motor vehicle registration and driver's licence centers. There is a URL in the absentee ballot envelope that lets you get the location of your nearest official drop-off location.

This is all being done very efficiently and appears to be very, very well-planned by Minnesota. I'm not surprised.