Minnesota Supreme Court upholds voting rights for felons
The Minnesota Supreme Court has unanimously ruled to uphold a law that restores convicted felons’ right to vote after they are released from prison.
Fox – Fox 9
The claim: Ballot envelopes in Minnesota are marked with the voters’ political party
A Facebook post from August 7 (direct link, archive link) shows images of a Minnesota ballot next to a ballot envelope with an “R” printed on the front.
“Did you know that in Minnesota, your party affiliation is written on the outside of the envelope?” the post’s caption reads. “Why would they do that? To alert corrupt men and women who deliver or receive that mail to throw away Republican ballots?”
Other versions of the claim were shared on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter).
More from the Fact Check team: How we select and research claims | E-mail newsletter | Facebook page
Our rating: False
The “R” on the envelope indicates that registered mail-in ballots were sent to the voter. Minnesota does not require voters to indicate their party affiliation when registering, meaning voters can choose which party primaries they want to vote in when filling out their ballot.
No political party marking on Minnesota ballot envelopes
The “R” marking in the post does not mean that the voter is a Republican. It “indicates that the voter was sent registered voting materials for absentee balloting,” said Cassondra Knudson, a spokeswoman for the Minnesota Secretary of State.
“Political party affiliation is not part of the voter registration process in Minnesota,” she said, repeating information on the Minnesota Secretary of State’s website.
The state has an open primary, meaning voters can participate in either party’s primary when filling out their ballot, the website says. The ballot pictured in the post reinforces this, showing the option to vote for either the Republican Party or the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party.
In most cases, a voter’s choice in the primaries remains confidential, the website says, but in the presidential primaries, the leader of one of the major parties receives a list of voters who chose their party’s ballot.
The National Conference of State Legislatures website lists Minnesota as one of many states with open primaries, but notes that a voter’s choice on their ballot “does not register them as a member of that party.”
Fact check: False claim that Biden cannot overturn his elections in Wisconsin and Nevada
The Minnesota Secretary of State’s website has sample primary and general election ballot envelopes. None of them have a party designation, but instead there is space for the voter’s name, address, and in some cases, signature.
USA TODAY reached out to the user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
Lead Stories also refuted this claim.
Our fact-checking sources:
- Cassondra Knudson, August 8, email exchange with USA TODAY
- Minnesota Secretary of State, accessed August 8, General Registration Questions
- Minnesota Secretary of State, May 4, 2016, Mail-in Ballot Envelope
- Minnesota Secretary of State, May 18, 2018, UOCAVA transfer envelope
- Minnesota Secretary of State, July 19, 2019, signature envelope
- National Conference of State Legislatures, February 6, Types of State Primaries
Thank you for supporting our journalism. You can subscribe to our print edition, our ad-free app or our e-newspaper here.
USA TODAY is a verified signatory of the International Fact-Checking Network, which requires a demonstrated commitment to nonpartisanship, fairness and transparency. Our fact-checking work is supported in part by a grant from Meta.
:strip_icc()/bhg-behr-color-of-the-year-2025-rumors-office-8698287-f4ebff1c46264312ac0efdd863482f95.jpg "The Behr color of the year 2025 is red Rumors")
