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A hometown newspaper with a local office, local owners & lots of local news
State promises action, but too late for general election Tuesday
The fact that more than 400 mailed ballots arrived at the Carlton County Auditor’s office after the Jan. 22 primary election has not gone unnoticed, especially since the gap between the two DFL candidates was only 233 votes.
Carlton County Auditor Paul Gassert said his office received five ballots on Jan. 23, 250-plus on Jan. 24, 50 on Jan. 25, another 50 over the weekend and another dozen or so on Monday, Jan. 25. As of Tuesday, they were more than 400 unopened mail-in ballots that were not counted.
Gassert isn’t expecting the turnaround for the special election to be much better than the primary either. That’s because the two days he gained by getting ballots in the mail a day sooner and not having the Martin Luther King holiday interfere with mail delivery are likely lost, as mail delivery was canceled Wednesday because of the frigid weather, and looked like it might be canceled again Thursday as this issue of the Pine Knot News went to press.
Some might call it the election from hell.
Gassert calls it Murphy’s Law: Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.
District 11A State Rep. Mike Sundin said it’s largely an issue of mail delivery, but the state will have to find a solution to the issue.
“It’s the mail system that has been altered,” he told the Pine Knot News on Saturday. “Because the United States Postal Service started rerouting their mail and not using Duluth as a hub, it’s wreaking havoc on businesses, on personal correspondence and now on the electoral system.”
Gov. Tim Walz said the short turnaround for special elections is always a concern, noting that it’s a balancing act between holding a quick election and making sure everyone who wants to vote gets to.
“Obviously you want to fill the seat as early in the session as possible to make sure folks have representation as the session goes on,” he told the Pine Knot News Saturday. “If you wait longer, you miss the whole session, without a voice.”
Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon issued a press release Monday calling on the legislature to fixed the flawed timeline for future special elections. Simon noted that current state law allows only 35 days between the Governor’s issuance of a Writ of Special Election to the date of the General Election.
“I’ve been hearing from frustrated voters in Senate District 11 who are concerned their vote won’t be counted,” said Secretary Simon. “I share their frustration and that’s why I am working with the legislature to fix the timeline for carrying out future special elections. There is simply not enough time under the current law to hold a primary and general election, and to ensure the ease of voting that Minnesotans expect.”
Some think the timeline should be extended to account for mail delivery that sometimes takes five days to get from one city in Carlton County to the next. District 11 Senate candidate Jason Rarick suggested 45 days.
Local Republican Party stalwart Barry Bergquist said allowing more time for the special election wouldn’t have hurt anything.
“Nothing gets done until the end of the session anyway, so they could have waited another 15 days,” said the Harry’s Gang regular, with a smile before Monday’s show.
It appears to be too late to fix this special election, although Gassert encouraged people who haven’t yet put their ballots in the mail to either bring them to his office — on the second floor of the Carlton County Courthouse at 301 Walnut Ave. in Carlton — or simply vote in person at the courthouse.
On the bright side, Gassert said Wednesday that his office has already gotten some mail-in ballots back for the next election.
However, he also got calls from others on Wednesday who still hadn’t received their ballot in the mail.
“It’s really hit or miss,” Gassert said. “I know some people got ballots we mailed on Saturday on Monday.”
Gassert said he hasn’t heard from the Secretary of State or anyone in his office, but the longtime auditor said he expects the SOS office and county/city election administrative staff will work together to resolve the issue, along with groups such as the Minnesota Association of County Officers.
As for the 400-plus voters who lacked a voice in the primary election Jan. 22, Gassert said they will get credit for voting, but their ballots won’t be opened and their votes can’t be counted.
