What a mess.

Just Thursday, the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled that those who want to change their vote in the U.S. Senate race do not have to request a new ballot in person.

The judge did not give an explanation for the ruling, but those who sued to allow new ballots to be sent to those requesting them said people who voted for Sen. Paul Wellstone would feel disenfranchised.

It was unfair that if you could not request a new ballot in person, you would not be able to vote again. Any votes for Wellstone will be counted as write-ins.

But this ruling doesn't guarantee the ballots will be used. Absentee ballots can only be sent to voters through first class mail. Voters can send them back through quicker ways, but there's no guarantee the voter will receive the ballot in time for the election, much less fill it out and return it.

And if it does get sent back, there will still be two ballots under one name. The election judge will throw the oldest ballot out, but that creates extra work on an already busy election day. Let's hope Minnesota doesn't earn a reputation like Florida's.

Wellstone's death could not have been predicted and everyone deserves to be able to vote for the candidate they see fit. But when we're so close to Election Day, mailing ballots out to voters just isn't practical.