1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to elections; making it easier to vote by 
  1.3             absentee ballot; prohibiting certain activities; 
  1.4             providing for rules; providing for delivery of 
  1.5             official supplemental ballots to voters on request; 
  1.6             amending Minnesota Statutes 2002, sections 203B.02; 
  1.7             subdivision 1; 203B.04, subdivisions 1, 4; 203B.06, 
  1.8             subdivision 3; 203B.07, subdivision 2; 204B.41; 
  1.9             proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, 
  1.10            chapter 203B.  
  1.11  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.12     Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 203B.02, 
  1.13  subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  1.14     Subdivision 1.  [UNABLE TO GO TO POLLING PLACE ELIGIBILITY 
  1.15  FOR ABSENTEE VOTING.] Any eligible voter who reasonably expects 
  1.16  to be unable to go to the polling place on election day in the 
  1.17  precinct where the individual maintains residence because of 
  1.18  absence from the precinct, illness, disability, religious 
  1.19  discipline, observance of a religious holiday, or service as an 
  1.20  election judge in another precinct may vote by absentee ballot 
  1.21  as provided in sections 203B.04 to 203B.15. 
  1.22     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 203B.04, 
  1.23  subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  1.24     Subdivision 1.  [APPLICATION PROCEDURES.] Except as 
  1.25  otherwise allowed by subdivision 2, an application for absentee 
  1.26  ballots for any election may be submitted at any time not less 
  1.27  than one day before the day of that election.  The county 
  1.28  auditor shall prepare absentee ballot application forms in the 
  2.1   format provided in the rules of the secretary of state and shall 
  2.2   furnish them to any person on request.  The request may be a 
  2.3   continuing request to furnish the person an absentee ballot for 
  2.4   each election until further notice.  An application submitted 
  2.5   pursuant to this subdivision shall be in writing and shall be 
  2.6   submitted to:  
  2.7      (a) (1) the county auditor of the county where the 
  2.8   applicant maintains residence; or 
  2.9      (b) (2) the municipal clerk of the municipality, or school 
  2.10  district if applicable, where the applicant maintains residence. 
  2.11     An application shall be approved if it is timely received, 
  2.12  signed and dated by the applicant, contains the applicant's name 
  2.13  and residence and mailing addresses, and states that the 
  2.14  applicant is eligible to vote by absentee ballot for one of the 
  2.15  reasons specified in section 203B.02.  The application may 
  2.16  contain a request for the voter's date of birth, which must not 
  2.17  be made available for public inspection.  An application may be 
  2.18  submitted to the county auditor or municipal clerk by an 
  2.19  electronic facsimile device.  An application mailed or returned 
  2.20  in person to the county auditor or municipal clerk on behalf of 
  2.21  a voter by a person other than the voter must be deposited in 
  2.22  the mail or returned in person to the county auditor or 
  2.23  municipal clerk within ten days after it has been dated by the 
  2.24  voter and no later than six days before the election.  The 
  2.25  absentee ballot applications or a list of persons applying for 
  2.26  an absentee ballot may not be made available for public 
  2.27  inspection until the close of voting on election day.  
  2.28     An application under this subdivision may contain an 
  2.29  application under subdivision 5 to automatically receive an 
  2.30  absentee ballot application. 
  2.31     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 203B.04, 
  2.32  subdivision 4, is amended to read: 
  2.33     Subd. 4.  [REGISTRATION AT TIME OF APPLICATION.] An 
  2.34  eligible voter who is not registered to vote but who is 
  2.35  otherwise eligible to vote by absentee ballot may register by 
  2.36  including a completed voter registration card with the absentee 
  3.1   ballot.  The individual shall present proof of residence as 
  3.2   required by section 201.061, subdivision 3, to the individual 
  3.3   who witnesses the marking of the absentee ballots.  
  3.4      Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 203B.06, 
  3.5   subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
  3.6      Subd. 3.  [DELIVERY OF BALLOTS.] If an application for 
  3.7   absentee ballots is accepted at a time when absentee ballots are 
  3.8   not yet available for distribution, the county auditor, or 
  3.9   municipal clerk accepting the application shall file it and as 
  3.10  soon as absentee ballots are available for distribution shall 
  3.11  mail them to the address specified in the application.  If an 
  3.12  application for absentee ballots is accepted when absentee 
  3.13  ballots are available for distribution, the county auditor or 
  3.14  municipal clerk accepting the application shall promptly:  
  3.15     (a) (1) mail the ballots to the voter whose signature 
  3.16  appears on the application if the application is submitted by 
  3.17  mail and does not request commercial shipping under clause (2); 
  3.18     (2) ship the ballots to the voter using a commercial 
  3.19  shipper requested by the voter at the voter's expense; 
  3.20     (b) (3) deliver the absentee ballots directly to the voter 
  3.21  if the application is submitted in person; or 
  3.22     (c) (4) deliver the absentee ballots in a sealed 
  3.23  transmittal envelope to an agent who has been designated to 
  3.24  bring the ballots to a voter who is a patient in a health care 
  3.25  facility, as provided in section 203B.11, subdivision 4; or 
  3.26     (5) transmit a facsimile of the ballots to the voter in the 
  3.27  manner provided in section 203B.082.  
  3.28     If an application does not indicate the election for which 
  3.29  absentee ballots are sought, the county auditor or municipal 
  3.30  clerk shall mail or deliver only the ballots for the next 
  3.31  election occurring after receipt of the application.  Only one 
  3.32  set of ballots may be mailed or, shipped, delivered, or 
  3.33  transmitted to an applicant for any election, except as provided 
  3.34  in section 203B.13, subdivision 2, or when a replacement ballot 
  3.35  has been requested by the voter for a ballot that has been 
  3.36  spoiled or lost in transit. 
  4.1      Sec. 5.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 203B.07, 
  4.2   subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  4.3      Subd. 2.  [DESIGN OF ENVELOPES.] The return envelope shall 
  4.4   be of sufficient size to conveniently enclose and contain the 
  4.5   ballot envelope and a voter registration card folded along its 
  4.6   perforations.  The return envelope shall be designed to open on 
  4.7   the left hand end.  A certificate of eligibility to vote by 
  4.8   absentee ballot shall be printed on the right hand three-fourths 
  4.9   of the back of the envelope.  The certificate shall contain a 
  4.10  statement to be signed and sworn by the voter indicating that 
  4.11  the voter meets all of the requirements established by law for 
  4.12  voting by absentee ballot.  The certificate shall also contain a 
  4.13  statement signed by a person who is registered to vote in 
  4.14  Minnesota or by a notary public or other individual authorized 
  4.15  to administer oaths stating that:  
  4.16     (a) the ballots were displayed to that individual unmarked; 
  4.17     (b) the voter marked the ballots in that individual's 
  4.18  presence without showing how they were marked, or, if the voter 
  4.19  was physically unable to mark them, that the voter directed 
  4.20  another individual to mark them; and 
  4.21     (c) if the voter was not previously registered, the voter 
  4.22  has provided proof of residence as required by section 201.061, 
  4.23  subdivision 3.  
  4.24     The county auditor or municipal clerk shall affix first 
  4.25  class postage to the return envelopes.  
  4.26     Sec. 6.  [203B.082] [USE OF FACSIMILE BALLOTS.] 
  4.27     Subdivision 1.  [ELIGIBILITY.] An eligible voter may vote 
  4.28  by an electronically transmitted facsimile ballot as provided in 
  4.29  this section if, during the seven days immediately before an 
  4.30  election: 
  4.31     (1) the voter is outside the United States; 
  4.32     (2) the voter becomes a patient in a health care facility; 
  4.33  or 
  4.34     (3) the voter is unable to apply for and return an absentee 
  4.35  ballot in person or by mail before the polls close on election 
  4.36  day. 
  5.1      Subd. 2.  [APPLICATION.] Upon receipt of a properly 
  5.2   completed application, the county auditor may send the voter the 
  5.3   appropriate ballots and a ballot transmission form using an 
  5.4   electronic facsimile device.  The ballot transmission form must 
  5.5   provide space for the voter's name, address, signature, and date 
  5.6   of birth, the date on which the ballots were transmitted by the 
  5.7   voter, and a statement acknowledging that the voter's ballots 
  5.8   will not be secret.  The ballot transmission form for a patient 
  5.9   in a health care facility must include the certificate of 
  5.10  eligibility required by section 203B.07, subdivision 2.  The 
  5.11  ballot transmission form for a person residing outside the 
  5.12  United States must contain the affidavit required by section 
  5.13  203B.21, subdivision 3.  The secretary of state shall prepare 
  5.14  samples of the ballot transmission form for use by the county 
  5.15  auditor.  
  5.16     Subd. 3.  [RETURN.] The voter may return the voted ballots 
  5.17  to the county auditor using an electronic facsimile device.  If 
  5.18  an electronic facsimile device is used, the voter must also 
  5.19  complete and return the ballot transmission form.  Upon receipt 
  5.20  of an electronically transmitted ballot, the county auditor 
  5.21  shall immediately compare the information provided on the 
  5.22  absentee ballot application with the information provided on the 
  5.23  ballot transmission form.  No record of the votes cast by the 
  5.24  voter may be made.  After the information on the ballot 
  5.25  transmission form has been verified, the ballots must be sealed 
  5.26  in a ballot secrecy envelope.  The ballot transmission form must 
  5.27  be attached to the ballot secrecy envelope and placed with the 
  5.28  other absentee ballots for the precinct in which the voter 
  5.29  resides.  The county auditor shall certify that the ballots were 
  5.30  properly enclosed in the ballot secrecy envelope, that no record 
  5.31  of the votes cast on the ballots was made, and that the auditor 
  5.32  will not disclose for whom the voter has voted. 
  5.33     Subd. 4.  [REJECTION.] If the county auditor cannot verify 
  5.34  that the ballots were transmitted by the same person who 
  5.35  submitted the absentee ballot application, the ballots must be 
  5.36  rejected and no votes on the ballots may be counted. 
  6.1      Sec. 7.  [203B.145] [ACCESS TO ABSENTEE BALLOT MATERIALS.] 
  6.2      Public inspection of absentee ballot applications, absentee 
  6.3   ballot return envelopes, other materials related to absentee 
  6.4   voting, and any list that includes information from these 
  6.5   materials must occur in the manner provided in the rules of the 
  6.6   secretary of state. 
  6.7      Sec. 8.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 204B.41, is 
  6.8   amended to read: 
  6.9      204B.41 [VACANCY IN NOMINATION; CHANGING BALLOTS.] 
  6.10     When a vacancy in nomination occurs through the death or 
  6.11  catastrophic illness of a candidate after the 16th day before 
  6.12  the general election, the officer in charge of preparing the 
  6.13  ballots shall prepare and distribute a sufficient number of 
  6.14  separate paper ballots which shall be headed with the words 
  6.15  "OFFICIAL SUPPLEMENTAL BALLOT."  This ballot shall contain the 
  6.16  title of the office for which the vacancy in nomination has been 
  6.17  filled and the names of all the candidates nominated for that 
  6.18  office.  The ballot shall conform to the provisions governing 
  6.19  the printing of other official ballots as far as practicable.  
  6.20  The title of the office and the names of the candidates for that 
  6.21  office shall be blotted out or stricken from the regular ballots 
  6.22  by the election judges.  The official supplemental ballot shall 
  6.23  be given to each voter when the voter is given the regular 
  6.24  ballot or is directed to the voting machine.  Regular ballots 
  6.25  shall not be changed nor shall official supplemental ballots be 
  6.26  prepared as provided in this section during the three calendar 
  6.27  days before an election.  Absentee ballots that have been mailed 
  6.28  prior to the preparation of official supplemental ballots shall 
  6.29  be counted in the same manner as if the vacancy had not 
  6.30  occurred.  Official supplemental ballots shall not be 
  6.31  mailed delivered, using the delivery methods authorized by 
  6.32  section 203B.06, subdivision 3, to absent voters to whom ballots 
  6.33  were mailed before the official supplemental ballots were 
  6.34  prepared who request the delivery of a supplemental ballot or 
  6.35  replacement absentee ballot.