St. Paul ballots will soon no longer have dead candidate's name

The Minnesota Capitol under partly cloudy skies
A deadline to pass bills was fast approaching Sunday with many major issues still unresolved at the Minnesota Capitol.
Brian Bakst | MPR News

The Minnesota Supreme Court announced Monday that Ramsey County can correct ballots incorrectly listing a dead candidate's name for House District 67A.

On the first day of early voting, election officials noticed the error, but the county had to wait for the Supreme Court to approve the changes. The incorrect ballots were printed with deceased GOP candidate Beverly Peterson's name instead of the newly-nominated candidate Scott Hesselgrave's name.

Election officials will mail new ballots to voters who received incorrect absentee ballots and haven't yet returned their ballots.

The county must also contact any voter who submitted the incorrect ballot so they can receive a replacement, according to the Supreme Court order.

If the voter didn't choose Peterson, they do not have to fill out a new ballot.

At least 960 incorrect ballots were mailed to voters in St. Paul and at least 13 ballots have been returned to the Ramsey County Elections Office, according to the petition.

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