ST. PAUL, Minn. — Minnesota has yielded to the Minnesota Alliance for Retired Americans and waived a witness requirement for absentee ballots for the primary election. In a court agreement, Secretary of State Steve Simon agreed that mailed-in absentee ballots will be accepted even if they don’t have witness signatures. Ballots, however, must be received by August 9 – two days ahead of the primary. The retiree alliance had argued that the witness requirement was an undue hurdle for voting, especially for at-risk older citizens who live alone and want to keep their distance from people who could expose them to COVID-19. Unsettled is whether the agreement applies to the November general election.
