 | Andy Manis | Getty Images file
August 3, 2020
Get ready for Minnesota's first pandemic election | |
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Good morning. Today's coronavirus update has a political bent, after the weather.
A nice start to the week. Highs in the 70s across the state. Twin Cities will see partly cloudy skies with 5 to 10 mph winds and evening lows in the mid-50s. Statewide lows get down to the mid-40s to mid-50s at night. More on Updraft | Forecast
There's an election coming up soon. Minnesota's primaries (where you choose a political party and vote for which of its candidates you'd like to see on the general election ballot in November) are on Aug. 11. There's much at stake, including nominating contests for several U.S. House seats, a U.S. Senate seat, dozens of seats in the Legislature and many local offices like city council member or county commissioner.
Wondering what's on the ballot where you live? MPR News and the League of Women Voters of Minnesota have built a voter's guide where you can enter your address, political party preference and find out what's on your ticket. And if you have any questions we don't answer, ask us anything about the elections.
Many of us won't want to go to the polls amid a health pandemic, and time's running out to request an absentee ballot for the primaries. However, as long as you have your absentee ballot postmarked by that date, it can be counted up to two days after the election.
If you want to vote in-person Aug. 11 or are too late to vote absentee, there are some best practices for safety. First off, wear your mask in the polling place and while waiting in line — those are the rules under the state mask mandate. You can bring other personal protective equipment, such as gloves or a face shield, and even your own black ink pen. Election officials, too, will practice social distancing, wear masks and will frequently sanitize voting equipment, pens included. Plus, there'll be hand sanitizer available.
If you have trouble getting out of your vehicle or going into the polling place, you can request curbside voting. Either calling your local election office ahead of time or requesting upon arrival is fine. You can register from your vehicle, too. Election judges will take care of all the document transfers for you.
Every polling place precaution possible is necessary, as COVID-19 isn't getting any better. This weekend saw case counts and hospitalizations continuing to trend upward and the percentage of positive tests crept back above 5 percent.
Here are the latest coronavirus statistics:
- 55,947 cases confirmed (769 new) via 1,054,962 tests
- 1,614 deaths (8 new)
- 5,241 cases requiring hospitalization
- 302 people remain hospitalized; 149 in intensive care
- 48,847 patients no longer requiring isolation
— Cody Nelson, MPR News | @codyleenelson |
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