By Gretta Becay

Minnesota established a presidential nomination primary with legislative action in 2016. The primary is scheduled for March 3, 2020.

Only two of the four major political parties submitted candidates before the Dec. 31 deadline, according to the Secretary of State’s website.

The Republican candidate is Donald J. Trump and the Democratic-Farmer-Labor candidate list includes: Michael Bennet, Joseph Biden, Michael R. Bloomberg, Cory Booker, Pete Buttigieg, Julian Castro, John K. Delaney, Tulsi Gabbard, Amy Klobuchar, Deval Patrick, Bernie Sanders, Tom Steyer, Elizabeth Warren, Marianne Williamson and Andrew Yang.

Registered voters will vote at their polling place on March 3, or by absentee ballot beginning Jan. 17.

Each voter must request the ballot of the party of their choice. Voters who choose not to select a party cannot vote in the primary.

According to the website, “A list of who voted in a presidential nomination primary and the political party each voter selected will be provided to the chair of each major political party.”

So, although whom you voted for can be secret, the fact that you voted either Republican or DFL can not be kept private.

The state will reimburse counties and municipalities for the costs of holding the primaries but not until after the election. It is estimated that this will cost almost $12 million.

There will still be precinct caucuses and local and state nominating conventions for other party business.