Why vote? Watch my video and find out!
How to vote in Minnesota?
To start, everything in this blog has to do with me and voting in Minnesota. I feel fortunate to live in Minnesota, a state that finds ways to make voting easy and accessible. There are multiple ways to register:
- When getting a driver’s license or state ID
- In person at county election offices
- Online at www.mnvotes.org
- Same day registration at your polling place
There are also multiple ways to cast your ballot:
- In person on election day
- In person early voting started last week
- Absentee ballot dropped off in person
- Absentee ballot mailed
All of this is why Minnesota consistently has the some of the nation’s highest voter participation rates. It’s easy to register and easy to vote.
In the past, I have voted in person. I find this exciting because it puts me on an even footing with everyone else and I always run into people from the community that I know. This year, I have decided to vote early. I did so in the Primary election and have just done so for the November election. I was surprised that I liked voting this way, but it allowed me to spend time considering each vote, especially some of the more local elections like judges. Since these races do not for the most part advertise, finding information on the candidates requires some effort. I was able to look them up on my computer and decide which one was best for me.
Now for the harder part of Absentee voting – doing everything right. In Minnesota this year, if you are already registered, you do not need a witness signature. You do need to be very careful filling out the signature envelope. Make sure to provide all the information so your ballot cannot be contested. Now we get to deal with multiple envelopes. So, you start by filling out your ballot. That goes in the Ballot Envelope (tan colored). That envelope goes in the Signature Envelope which is white with the info you supply and your signature (in my case a name stamp). That envelope goes in the final mailing envelope with no postage required. Sounds simple, right? My dad managed to screw this up on his Primary election ballot. He could have requested another absentee ballot but chose to vote in person, figuring there would not be that many people at the Primary Election in person. He was right – it wasn’t crowded at our precinct for the Primary.
Last week, I voted and dropped my absentee ballot off in person. I’m sure if I had mailed it, it would have arrived on time just as my Primary ballot did. I liked dropping it off in person at in person drop at our library because it gave me a sense of voting in person.
Justin Smith Writes 
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