KARE: “With less than a week until the election, a ruling by the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals has struck down an extension for Minnesota election offices to receive mail-in absentee ballots, dramatically altering the timeline for Minnesota voters. In a ruling issued Thursday, the court overturned a state plan enacted due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which would have allowed mail-in ballots to be received by election offices within seven days of the election (Nov. 10) if the ballots were postmarked by Election Day (Nov. 3).”
“As a result of the ruling, all absentee ballots must now be received by county election offices by 8 p.m. on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 3. ‘The democratically-enacted election rules in Minnesota provide that mail-in votes must be received by 8:00 p.m. on Election Day in order to be counted (or 3:00 p.m. if delivered in person). Minn. Stat. § 203B.08. The rule of law, as established by the United States Constitution and the Minnesota Legislature, dictates these rules must be followed notwithstanding the Secretary’s instructions to the contrary,’ the ruling stated. ‘There is no pandemic exception to the Constitution.’ It’s currently unclear if Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon will appeal the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court.”