Absentee voting has begun

As the coronavirus pandemic continues to threaten the health of people locally and across the country, Carlton County acting auditor/treasurer Kathy Kortuem said both the county and the secretary of state are encouraging people to vote by using absentee ballots if they don’t already live somewhere using mail-in ballots.

Absentee voting for the Aug. 11 primary election begins today, Friday, June 26.

Residents also can vote at her office in the Carlton County Courthouse starting today.

Kortuem said her office has received lots of absentee ballot applications.

She also warned voters to not fill out multiple applications. Various independent groups have been sending out forms. The state and the county are not sending these, but Kortuem said the applications they have seen include the same information as those found on the secretary of state’s website.

There are a couple of new absentee voting provisions for the primary elections, including:

1. Envelopes do not need to be signed by a witness for this election. The voter must sign.

2. Ballot envelopes that are postmarked by election day will be accepted.

Call 218-384-9127 with questions or go online to mnvotes.org.