ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - The Minnesota Supreme Court has swiftly denied the Secretary of State’s request to speed up a case challenging ballot access in the 2020 presidential primary, leading to uncertainty whether absentee voting can start on time.
Secretary of State Steve Simon asked the court to decide by Jan. 3 whether the state must add candidates to the ballot. Absentee voting is scheduled to start Jan. 17, and Simon said vendors that print ballots for local clerks need that time to get their work done.
A little-known Republican presidential candidate and a Minnesota voter are suing the state after the Minnesota Republican party only submitted President Donald Trump's name for the GOP primary ballot, leaving off all other candidates.
The Supreme Court agreed to hear the case and scheduled oral arguments for Jan. 9.
But that's too late for absentee voting to start Jan. 17, the Secretary of State’s office said in a court filing.
“It is unlikely that Minnesota’s counties could perform the necessary work in such a short time,” said Bibi Black, the office’s legal advisor.
In its one-sentence order, the court did not provide an explanation for its decision to deny the Secretary of State’s request.
State law requires absentee ballots to be available 46 days before the presidential primary, which is March 3.
As it stands, Republican voters will only see Trump's name, plus a write-in option. Minnesota Democrats submitted 15 names, but left three little-known candidates off because they didn't submit paperwork that the party required.