League of Women Voters of Northfield

If you are heading out of town for the holidays or Winter Break, don’t forget to bring along your right to vote!

Absentee Voter Instructions:

Residents of State Senate District 25 who plan to be out of town on the date of the upcoming Special Primary Election (Tuesday, December 18) and/or the Special Election (Thursday, January 3) should make plans to vote via Absentee Ballot.

Here are the options available for voting via Absentee Ballot:

1. Vote in person before the Election date:

Residents of the City of Northfield may cast an Absentee Ballot at Northfield City Hall, 801 Washington Street, Northfield, between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, beginning on Wednesday December 12 for the Primary Election. Ballots for the January 3 Special Election are expected at City Hall by Thursday, December 27th (call ahead to check that ballots are ready before coming in to vote: 507-645-8833.)

You do not have to be registered with a political party to vote in this or any other Primary Election in Minnesota.

If you are not registered to vote (or not sure if you are) and would like to vote in person in advance of the election using an Absentee Ballot, bring along a valid MN Drivers License or MN ID card showing your current address when you come to cast your Absentee Ballot. (For more information on what is required of non-registered voters, contact the Office of the County Auditor-Treasurer: 507-332-6104).

All Rice County residents may cast Absentee Ballots in the Rice County Auditor-Treasurer’s Office, located in the Rice County Government Services Building, 320 3rd Street, N. W. Suite 5, Fairbault, weekdays between 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Ballots for the Primary will be available in that office on December 12. Ballots for the January 3 Election are expected to be available on December 27th (call to check that ballots are ready before coming in to vote: 507-332-6104).

2. Mailing-in an Absentee Ballot:
If you are unable to vote in person, you may request that an Absentee Ballot be sent to you at home or at an out of town location. An Absentee Ballot Application can be downloaded from http://www.sos.state.mn.us/, picked up and completed in person at Northfield City Hall or the Office of the County Auditor-Treasurer, or requested from these offices by phone. Completed applications may be returned to either of these offices in person, by mail or via Fax (the Fax # in City Hall is 507-645-3055 and the County Auditor-Treasurer’s Office Fax # is 507-333-3754). Upon receipt of your application, an Absentee Ballot will be sent to you via regular mail as soon as ballots become available (on December 12 and approximately December 27 for the Primary and Special Elections respectively).

Please Note: To be counted, Absentee Ballots that are mailed-in for the Primary Election must be received in the Office of the Northfield City Clerk or the Office of the County Auditor-Treasurer by the time of the last mail delivery on the afternoon of Tuesday, December 18 for the Primary, and the afternoon of Thursday, January 3 for the Special Election.

3. Deliver your Absentee Ballot by Proxy Representative:
Registered voters may have their completed Absentee Ballots delivered by a designated proxy by 3 p.m. on the day of the election. The designated proxy may not be a candidate in the election and may not deliver Absentee Ballots for more than three persons.

The League of Women Voters of Northfield and Cannon Falls encourages all citizens of State Senate District 25 to vote in this Special Election, as well as in the Minnesota State Primary on September 9, 2008, and the National Election on November 4, 2008.

Text prepared by the Secretary of The League of Women Voters of Northfield and Cannon Falls Unit, in cooperation with The Office of the Rice County Auditor-Treasurer and the City Clerk of the City of Northfield.