HF 200

as introduced - 85th Legislature (2007 - 2008) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

A bill for an act
relating to the conduct of elections; reducing the number of personal vouches
allowed for any one individual; requiring training for election judges on the
conduct of partisan challengers; providing training for partisan challengers;
requiring voters to show approved identification on election day; amending
Minnesota Statutes 2006, sections 201.061, subdivision 3; 204B.25, subdivision
2; 204C.07, by adding a subdivision; 204C.10.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 201.061, subdivision 3, is amended to read:

Subd. 3.

Election day registration.

(a) An individual who is eligible to vote may
register on election day by appearing in person at the polling place for the precinct in
which the individual maintains residence, by completing a registration application, making
an oath in the form prescribed by the secretary of state and providing proof of residence.
An individual may prove residence for purposes of registering by:

(1) presenting a driver's license or Minnesota identification card issued pursuant
to section 171.07;

(2) presenting any document approved by the secretary of state as proper
identification;

(3) presenting one of the following:

(i) a current valid student identification card from a postsecondary educational
institution in Minnesota, if a list of students from that institution has been prepared under
section 135A.17 and certified to the county auditor in the manner provided in rules of
the secretary of state; or

(ii) a current student fee statement that contains the student's valid address in the
precinct together with a picture identification card; or

(4) having a voter who is registered to vote in the precinct, or who is an employee
employed by and working in a residential facility in the precinct and vouching for a
resident in the facility, sign an oath in the presence of the election judge vouching that the
voter or employee personally knows that the individual is a resident of the precinct. A
voter who has been vouched for on election day may not sign a proof of residence oath
vouching for any other individual on that election day. A voter who is registered to vote
in the precinct may sign up to deleted text begin 15 deleted text end new text begin three new text end proof-of-residence oaths on any election day.
This limitation does not apply to an employee of a residential facility described in this
clause. The secretary of state shall provide a form for election judges to use in recording
the number of individuals for whom a voter signs proof-of-residence oaths on election
day. The form must include space for the maximum number of individuals for whom a
voter may sign proof-of-residence oaths. For each proof-of-residence oath, the form
must include a statement that the voter is registered to vote in the precinct, personally
knows that the individual is a resident of the precinct, and is making the statement on
oath. The form must include a space for the voter's printed name, signature, telephone
number, and address.

The oath required by this subdivision and Minnesota Rules, part 8200.9939, must
be attached to the voter registration application and the information on the oath must be
recorded on the records of both the voter registering on election day and the voter who
is vouching for the person's residence, and entered into the statewide voter registration
system by the county auditor when the voter registration application is entered into that
system.

(b) The operator of a residential facility shall prepare a list of the names of its
employees currently working in the residential facility and the address of the residential
facility. The operator shall certify the list and provide it to the appropriate county auditor
no less than 20 days before each election for use in election day registration.

(c) "Residential facility" means transitional housing as defined in section 256E.33,
subdivision 1; a supervised living facility licensed by the commissioner of health under
section 144.50, subdivision 6; a nursing home as defined in section 144A.01, subdivision
5; a residence registered with the commissioner of health as a housing with services
establishment as defined in section 144D.01, subdivision 4; a veterans home operated by
the board of directors of the Minnesota Veterans Homes under chapter 198; a residence
licensed by the commissioner of human services to provide a residential program as
defined in section 245A.02, subdivision 14; a residential facility for persons with a
developmental disability licensed by the commissioner of human services under section
252.28; group residential housing as defined in section 256I.03, subdivision 3; a shelter
for battered women as defined in section 611A.37, subdivision 4; or a supervised
publicly or privately operated shelter or dwelling designed to provide temporary living
accommodations for the homeless.

(d) For tribal band members, an individual may prove residence for purposes of
registering by:

(1) presenting an identification card issued by the tribal government of a tribe
recognized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, United States Department of the Interior, that
contains the name, address, signature, and picture of the individual; or

(2) presenting an identification card issued by the tribal government of a tribe
recognized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, United States Department of the Interior, that
contains the name, signature, and picture of the individual and also presenting one of the
documents listed in Minnesota Rules, part 8200.5100, subpart 2, item B.

(e) A county, school district, or municipality may require that an election judge
responsible for election day registration initial each completed registration application.

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 204B.25, subdivision 2, is amended to read:

Subd. 2.

Rules of secretary of state.

The secretary of state shall adopt rules
establishing programs for the training of county auditors, local election officials, and
election judges by county auditors as required by this section. new text begin The training for election
judges must include training on the proper conduct of appointed partisan challengers,
as described in section 204C.07.
new text end

Sec. 3.

Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 204C.07, is amended by adding a subdivision
to read:

new text begin Subd. 6. new text end

new text begin Training for challengers. new text end

new text begin Prior to a partisan election, the secretary of state
shall conduct a training program and make available a written manual on the statutes and
rules regulating the conduct of challengers appointed under this section. The program
must be open to the public, and the secretary shall provide notice of the program's date
and time to each major political party.
new text end

Sec. 4.

Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 204C.10, is amended to read:

204C.10 PERMANENT REGISTRATION; VERIFICATION OF
REGISTRATION.

(a) An individual seeking to vote shall sign a polling place roster which states
that the individual is at least 18 years of age, a citizen of the United States, has resided
in Minnesota for 20 days immediately preceding the election, maintains residence at
the address shown, is not under a guardianship in which the court order revokes the
individual's right to vote, has not been found by a court of law to be legally incompetent to
vote or has the right to vote because, if the individual was convicted of a felony, the felony
sentence has expired or been completed or the individual has been discharged from the
sentence, is registered and has not already voted in the election. The roster must also state:
"I understand that deliberately providing false information is a felony punishable by not
more than five years imprisonment and a fine of not more than $10,000, or both."

(b) deleted text begin A judge may, deleted text end Before the applicant signs the roster, new text begin a judge:
new text end

new text begin (1) may new text end confirm the applicant's name, address, and date of birth new text begin ; and
new text end

new text begin (2) shall require the voter to present a document approved by the secretary of state
as proper identification new text end .

(c) After the applicant signs the roster, the judge shall give the applicant a voter's
receipt. The voter shall deliver the voter's receipt to the judge in charge of ballots as proof
of the voter's right to vote, and thereupon the judge shall hand to the voter the ballot. The
voters' receipts must be maintained during the time for notice of filing an election contest.