Absentee voting for the Presidential election begins Friday

Election Day is more than a month away but the voting was already underway Friday, as Minnesota kicked off its first presidential cycle where all voters across the state can cast their ballots early. The last day for in-person absentee voting is Saturday, November 5.

“I’m concerned about people being excluded from parts of the election process”, said state Rep. Kathleen Clyde, a Kent Democrat, who added that it’s “disingenuous” to leave out hundreds of thousands of voters from getting absentee ballot applications.

Democrats have a larger abroad operation than Republicans, as Democrats hold a primary election specifically for overseas voters while Republicans do not. The absentee ballot application forms are available in English, Spanish, Hmong, Somali, Vietnamese, Karen, Russian, Chinese, Lao, Oromo, Khmer, and Amharic. “There were also voters in Ohio, New Jersey who mistakenly thought — hearing the news from Pennsylvania — that they had to show ID, too”.

In Minnesota and South Dakota, voters can vote absentee starting on Friday and don’t need an excuse to vote early.

But this is not a traditional year, and these are not traditional candidates. In that race, voters must choose each candidate they wish to vote for with a separate voting mark.

In this September 15, 2016 photo, the Rev. Moses Colbert poses for a photo at his church in Gastonia, N.C. As Americans prepare to cast ballots for the next president, the voting process has never been more convoluted.

“They (Clinton campaign) are doing this every day, they are knocking on doors, they are setting up tables in small business districts across the battleground states that use this method, like Florida and Ohio”. “What used to in the old days be a 72-hour get-out-the-vote operation is now effectively a 60-day get-out-the-vote program”. “That would be the combination of all the returned mail and in-person voting”.

“It’s the most comprehensive ground game that any political operation’s ever put out”, he said.

In order to vote absentee, in person or by mail, Virginians must give one of the approved reasons.

User friendly, the app allows people to message each other and also compete for prizes. “That’s why I thought it was a problem when I’ve done everything I’m supposed to”.

Absentee voting in Minnesota opened today and as of this week, absentee voting is open in all of Douglas County as well.

After this seven-day period, you can find out if your provisional ballot was counted, partially counted or not counted.

If you’re looking to cast your ballot on election day, in Minnesota the deadline for advance registration is October 18 but in both Minnesota and Wisconsin. you can register day of at the polling place.

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Salena Zito covers national politics for Newsmax.