Minnesota SOS: Too late to mail ballots — but not to vote

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota’s secretary of state says it’s too late for voters to mail back their absentee ballots if they want to make sure their votes count.

Secretary of State Steve Simon’s comments come after an appeals court ruling Thursday indicated that mail-in ballots arriving after Election Day are at risk of being invalidated. The three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Minnesota absentee ballots arriving after Election Day should be separated from other ballots in case they are later invalidated by a final court order.

The ruling doesn’t block Minnesota’s seven-day extension for counting absentee ballots outright or impact ballots received on Election Day. But it puts the grace period at risk as the case returns to a lower court.