1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to elections; authorizing early voting; making it easier to vote by absentee 
1.3 	ballot;amending Minnesota Statutes 2006, sections 201.022, subdivision 1; 
1.4 	203B.02, subdivision 1; 203B.04, subdivision 1; 203B.085; proposing coding 
1.5 	for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 203B.
1.6 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.7 	Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 201.022, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
1.8 		Subdivision 1.Establishment. The secretary of state shall maintain a statewide 
1.9 	voter registration system to facilitate voter registration and to provide a central database 
1.10 	containing voter registration information from around the state. The system must be 
1.11 	accessible to the county auditor of each county in the state. The system must also:
1.12 	(1) provide for voters to submit their voter registration applications to any county 
1.13 	auditor, the secretary of state, or the Department of Public Safety;
1.14 	(2) provide for the definition, establishment, and maintenance of a central database 
1.15 	for all voter registration information;
1.16 	(3) provide for entering data into the statewide registration system;
1.17 	(4) provide for electronic transfer of completed voter registration applications from 
1.18 	the Department of Public Safety to the secretary of state or the county auditor;
1.19 	(5) assign a unique identifier to each legally registered voter in the state;
1.20 	(6) provide for the acceptance of the Minnesota driver's license number, Minnesota 
1.21 	state identification number, and last four digits of the Social Security number for each 
1.22 	voter record;
1.23 	(7) coordinate with other agency databases within the state;
1.24 	(8) allow county auditors and the secretary of state to add or modify information in 
1.25 	the system to provide for accurate and up-to-date records;
2.1 	(9) allow county auditors, municipal and school district clerks, and the secretary 
2.2 	of state to have electronic access to the statewide registration system for review and 
2.3 	search capabilities;
2.4 	(10) provide security and protection of all information in the statewide registration 
2.5 	system and ensure that unauthorized access is not allowed;
2.6 	(11) provide access to municipal clerks to use the system;
2.7 	(12) provide a system for each county to identify the precinct to which a voter 
2.8 	should be assigned for voting purposes;
2.9 	(13) provide daily reports accessible by county auditors on the driver's license 
2.10 	numbers, state identification numbers, or last four digits of the Social Security numbers 
2.11 	submitted on voter registration applications that have been verified as accurate by the 
2.12 	secretary of state; and
2.13 	(14) provide reports on the number of absentee ballots transmitted to and returned 
2.14 	and cast by voters under section 203B.16; and 
2.15 	(15) provide rosters, master lists, and other reports necessary for early voting.
2.16 	The appropriate state or local official shall provide security measures to prevent 
2.17 	unauthorized access to the computerized list established under section 201.021. 

2.18 	Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 203B.02, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
2.19 		Subdivision 1.Unable to go to polling place Eligibility for absentee voting. (a) 
2.20 	Any eligible voter who reasonably expects to be unable to go to the polling place on 
2.21 	election day in the precinct where the individual maintains residence because of absence 
2.22 	from the precinct; illness, including isolation or quarantine under sections 144.419
2.23 	to 144.4196 or United States Code, title 42, sections 264 to 272; disability; religious 
2.24 	discipline; observance of a religious holiday; or service as an election judge in another 
2.25 	precinct may vote by absentee ballot as provided in sections 203B.04 to 203B.15. 
2.26 	(b) If the governor has declared an emergency and filed the declaration with the 
2.27 	secretary of state under section 12.31, and the declaration states that the emergency has 
2.28 	made it difficult for voters to go to the polling place on election day, any voter in a 
2.29 	precinct covered by the declaration may vote by absentee ballot as provided in sections 
2.30 	203B.04 to 203B.15. 

2.31 	Sec. 3. Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 203B.04, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
2.32 		Subdivision 1.Application procedures. Except as otherwise allowed by 
2.33 	subdivision 2, an application for absentee ballots for any election may be submitted at 
2.34 	any time not less than one day before the day of that election. The county auditor shall 
3.1 	prepare absentee ballot application forms in the format provided by the secretary of state, 
3.2 	notwithstanding rules on absentee ballot forms, and shall furnish them to any person on 
3.3 	request. By January 1 of each even-numbered year, the secretary of state shall make the 
3.4 	forms to be used available to auditors through electronic means. An application submitted 
3.5 	pursuant to this subdivision shall be in writing and shall be submitted to:
3.6 	(a)(1) the county auditor of the county where the applicant maintains residence; or
3.7 	(b)(2) the municipal clerk of the municipality, or school district if applicable, where 
3.8 	the applicant maintains residence.
3.9 	An application shall be approved if it is timely received, signed and dated by the 
3.10 	applicant, contains the applicant's name and residence and mailing addresses, and states 
3.11 	that the applicant is eligible to vote by absentee ballot for one of the reasons specified in 
3.12 	section 203B.02. The application may contain a request for the voter's date of birth, which 
3.13 	must not be made available for public inspection. An application may be submitted to 
3.14 	the county auditor or municipal clerk by an electronic facsimile device. An application 
3.15 	mailed or returned in person to the county auditor or municipal clerk on behalf of a voter 
3.16 	by a person other than the voter must be deposited in the mail or returned in person to 
3.17 	the county auditor or municipal clerk within ten days after it has been dated by the voter 
3.18 	and no later than six days before the election. The absentee ballot applications or a list of 
3.19 	persons applying for an absentee ballot may not be made available for public inspection 
3.20 	until the close of voting on election day.
3.21 	An application under this subdivision may contain an application under subdivision 
3.22 	5 to automatically receive an absentee ballot application.

3.23 	Sec. 4. Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 203B.085, is amended to read:
3.24 	203B.085 COUNTY AUDITOR'S AND MUNICIPAL CLERK'S OFFICES TO 
3.25 	REMAIN OPEN DURING CERTAIN HOURS PRECEDING ELECTION.
3.26 	The county auditor's office in each county and the clerk's office in each city or 
3.27 	town authorized under section 203B.05 to administer absentee balloting must be open for 
3.28 	acceptance of absentee ballot applications and casting of absentee ballots from 10:00 a.m. 
3.29 	to 3:00 p.m. on Saturday and until 5:00 p.m.12:00 noon on the day immediately preceding 
3.30 	a primary, special, or general election unless that day falls on a Saturday or Sunday. Town 
3.31 	clerks' offices must be open for absentee voting from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon on the 
3.32 	Saturday before a town general election held in March. The school district clerk, when 
3.33 	performing the county auditor's election duties, need not comply with this section. 

3.34 	Sec. 5. [203B.30] EARLY VOTING.
4.1 		Subdivision 1.Authorization; polling place designation.  An eligible voter may 
4.2 	cast a ballot at the county auditor's office or at any other polling place designated for early 
4.3 	voting by the county auditor during the eight days before a regularly scheduled primary or 
4.4 	election. Early voting on the Saturday and Monday before the election must occur during 
4.5 	the same hours provided for absentee voting. The county auditor shall designate the 
4.6 	polling places for early voting no later than 90 days before the election and publish a notice 
4.7 	of the early voting polling place locations one week before the first day for early voting.
4.8 		Subd. 2.Voting procedure. A voter shall sign an early voting roster that must 
4.9 	include the certification provided in section 204C.10. An individual who is not registered 
4.10 	to vote must register in the manner provided in section 201.061, subdivision 3. After the 
4.11 	roster has been signed, the appropriate ballot for the voter's precinct, initialed by two 
4.12 	election judges, must be provided to the voter. The ballot must be marked by the voter 
4.13 	and deposited in either a precinct voting system or in a sealed ballot box.  A voter may 
4.14 	not leave the polling place with the ballot.
4.15 		Subd. 3.Record of voting. The county auditor shall provide the municipal clerks 
4.16 	with the names of individuals who have signed the early voting roster. The polling place 
4.17 	rosters must be marked no later than 7:00 a.m. on election day to indicate the voters who 
4.18 	have cast a ballot by early voting. The rosters may be marked either by the municipal 
4.19 	clerk before election day or by the election judges on election day. A voter who has cast a 
4.20 	ballot by early voting must not be permitted to vote at the polling place on election day. 
4.21 	An absentee ballot received from a voter who has cast a ballot by early voting must be 
4.22 	rejected by the election judges.
4.23 		Subd. 4.Counting and compiling votes. Before election day, the county auditor 
4.24 	shall remove the early-voted ballots from the ballot box or precinct voting system, sort the 
4.25 	ballots by precinct, and enclose them in a sealed envelope or container. If the ballots have 
4.26 	not been counted, they must be delivered either to the election judges at the appropriate 
4.27 	polling place or to the counting center before the close of voting on election day. Ballots 
4.28 	that have been counted must be securely stored by the county auditor with the balance of 
4.29 	the ballots from each respective precinct and the vote totals from these ballots must be 
4.30 	added to the results from the polling place.
4.31 	Vote totals from early voting may not be made public until the close of voting on 
4.32 	election day.
4.33 		Subd. 5.Special elections. Early voting for a special election must begin no earlier 
4.34 	than four days before the election.