1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to elections; authorizing experimental 
  1.3             balloting procedures in Hennepin county; amending 
  1.4             Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 203B.02, by adding a 
  1.5             subdivision. 
  1.6   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.7      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 203B.02, is 
  1.8   amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  1.9      Subd. 1b.  [HENNEPIN COUNTY PILOT PROJECT.] Until January 
  1.10  1, 2004, any eligible voter in Hennepin county may vote by 
  1.11  absentee ballot without qualification by submitting a written 
  1.12  request to the county auditor, notwithstanding the provisions of 
  1.13  subdivision 1.  The application for absentee ballots must 
  1.14  include the voter's name, residence address in the county, 
  1.15  address to which the ballots are to be mailed, the date of the 
  1.16  request, and the voter's signature. 
  1.17     The county auditor shall maintain a record of the number of 
  1.18  applications for absentee ballots submitted under this 
  1.19  subdivision.  Using this information, the secretary of state 
  1.20  shall prepare an annual report to the legislature on the 
  1.21  implementation of this subdivision. 
  1.22     Assistance to voters in marking absentee ballots is subject 
  1.23  to section 204C.15, subdivision 1. 
  1.24     Sec. 2.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  1.25     This act is effective the day following final enactment.