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HF 2983

as introduced - 87th Legislature (2011 - 2012) Posted on 04/02/2012 02:01pm

KEY: stricken = removed, old language.
underscored = added, new language.

Current Version - as introduced

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A bill for an act
relating to elections; requiring the use of photographs in the polling place roster;
appropriating money; amending Minnesota Statutes 2010, sections 171.07,
subdivision 1a; 201.022, subdivision 1, by adding a subdivision; 201.091,
subdivision 9; 201.121, subdivision 1; 201.161; 201.221, subdivision 3; 204C.10.

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

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 171.07, subdivision 1a, is amended to read:


Subd. 1a.

Filing photograph or image; data classification.

The department shall
file, or contract to file, all photographs or electronically produced images obtained in the
process of issuing drivers' licenses or Minnesota identification cards. The photographs or
electronically produced images shall be private data pursuant to section 13.02, subdivision
12
. Notwithstanding section 13.04, subdivision 3, the department shall not be required
to provide copies of photographs or electronically produced images to data subjects.
The use of the files is restricted:

(1) to the issuance and control of drivers' licenses;

(2) to criminal justice agencies, as defined in section 299C.46, subdivision 2, for the
investigation and prosecution of crimes, service of process, enforcement of no contact
orders, location of missing persons, investigation and preparation of cases for criminal,
juvenile, and traffic court, and supervision of offenders;

(3) to public defenders, as defined in section 611.272, for the investigation and
preparation of cases for criminal, juvenile, and traffic courts; deleted text begin and
deleted text end

(4) to child support enforcement purposes under section 256.978new text begin ; and
new text end

new text begin (5) to the secretary of state and other elections officials designated by the secretary
of state for the purposes required by sections 201.221, subdivision 3, and 204C.10
new text end .

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 201.022, subdivision 1, is amended to read:


Subdivision 1.

Establishment.

The secretary of state shall maintain a statewide
voter registration system to facilitate voter registration and to provide a central database
containing voter registration information from around the state. The system must be
accessible to the county auditor of each county in the state. The system must also:

(1) provide for voters to submit their voter registration applications to any county
auditor, the secretary of state, or the Department of Public Safety;

(2) provide for the definition, establishment, and maintenance of a central database
for all voter registration information;

(3) provide for entering data into the statewide registration system;

(4) provide for electronic transfer of completed voter registration applications from
the Department of Public Safety to the secretary of state or the county auditor;

(5) assign a unique identifier to each legally registered voter in the state;

(6) provide for the acceptance of the Minnesota driver's license number, Minnesota
state identification number, deleted text begin anddeleted text end last four digits of the Social Security numbernew text begin , and
photograph
new text end for each voter record;

(7) coordinate with other agency databases within the state;

(8) allow county auditors and the secretary of state to add or modify information in
the system to provide for accurate and up-to-date records;

(9) allow county auditors, municipal and school district clerks, and the secretary
of state to have electronic access to the statewide registration system for review and
search capabilities;

(10) provide security and protection of all information in the statewide registration
system and ensure that unauthorized access is not allowed;

(11) provide access to municipal clerks to use the system;

(12) provide a system for each county to identify the precinct to which a voter
should be assigned for voting purposes;

(13) provide daily reports accessible by county auditors on the driver's license
numbers, state identification numbers, or last four digits of the Social Security numbers
submitted on voter registration applications that have been verified as accurate by the
secretary of state; and

(14) provide reports on the number of absentee ballots transmitted to and returned
and cast by voters under section 203B.16.

The appropriate state or local official shall provide security measures to prevent
unauthorized access to the computerized list established under section 201.021.

Sec. 3.

Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 201.022, is amended by adding a subdivision
to read:


new text begin Subd. 1a. new text end

new text begin Photographs of voters; data classification. new text end

new text begin Photographs or electronically
produced images maintained in the statewide voter registration system are classified as
private data, as defined in section 13.02, subdivision 12. Notwithstanding section 13.04,
subdivision 3, the secretary shall not be required to provide copies of photographs or
electronically produced images to data subjects. The use of photographs and electronically
produced images is limited to the preparation and maintenance of the statewide voter
registration system and polling place rosters as described in section 201.221, subdivision
3, and for voter identity verification as described in section 204C.10. A photograph or
electronically produced image of a voter captured by an election official, including an
election judge as provided in section 204C.10, may only be captured on secure equipment
issued by the county auditor or municipal clerk, and may not be modified, copied, or
stored by any election official for a reason other than those required by law.
new text end

Sec. 4.

Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 201.091, subdivision 9, is amended to read:


Subd. 9.

Restricted data.

A list provided for public inspection or purchase, for jury
selection, or in response to a law enforcement inquiry, must not include a voter's date of
birthnew text begin , photograph, new text end or any part of a voter's Social Security number, driver's license number,
identification card number, military identification card number, or passport number.

Sec. 5.

Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 201.121, subdivision 1, is amended to read:


Subdivision 1.

Entry of registration information.

(a) At the time a voter
registration application is properly completed, submitted, and received in accordance with
sections 201.061 and 201.071, the county auditor shall enter the information contained on
it into the statewide registration system. Voter registration applications completed before
election day must be entered into the statewide registration system within ten days after
they have been submitted to the county auditor. Voter registration applications completed
on election day must be entered into the statewide registration system within 42 days after
the election, unless the county auditor notifies the secretary of state before the 42-day
deadline has expired that the deadline will not be met.

(b) Upon receiving a completed voter registration application, the secretary of state
may electronically transmit the information on the application to the appropriate county
auditor as soon as possible for review by the county auditor before final entry into the
statewide registration system. The secretary of state may mail the voter registration
application to the county auditor.

(c) Within ten days after the county auditor has entered information from a voter
registration application into the statewide registration system, the secretary of state shall
deleted text begin comparedeleted text end new text begin provide the Department of Public Safety withnew text end the voter's name, date of birth, and
driver's license number, state identification number, or the last four digits of the Social
Security number deleted text begin with the same information contained indeleted text end new text begin .new text end The Department of Public
Safety deleted text begin databasedeleted text end new text begin shall provide the secretary of state with exact and possible matches for
each voter
new text end .new text begin In a secure file, the Department of Public Safety shall provide the secretary of
state with all of the most recent photographic images for individuals in the Department of
Public Safety's database along with each individual's Minnesota driver's license or state
identification card number and tracking number. At least weekly, the Department of Public
Safety shall provide the secretary of state with updated files.
new text end

(d) The secretary of state shall provide a report to the county auditor on a weekly
basis that includes a list of voters whose name, date of birth, or identification number have
been compared with the same information in the Department of Public Safety database
and cannot be verified as provided in this subdivision. The report must list separately
those voters who have submitted a voter registration application by mail and have not
voted in a federal election in this state.

(e) The county auditor shall compile a list of voters for whom the county auditor
and the secretary of state are unable to conclude that information on the voter registration
application and the corresponding information in the Department of Public Safety database
relate to the same person.

(f) The county auditor shall send a notice of incomplete registration to any voter
whose name appears on the list and change the voter's status to "incomplete." A voter who
receives a notice of incomplete registration from the county auditor may either provide
the information required to complete the registration at least 21 days before the next
election or at the polling place on election day.

Sec. 6.

Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 201.161, is amended to read:


201.161 DRIVER'S LICENSE AND IDENTIFICATION CARD
APPLICATIONS.

The Department of Public Safety shall change its applications for an original,
duplicate, or change of address driver's license or identification card so that the forms
may also serve as voter registration applications. The forms must contain spaces for all
information collected by voter registration applications prescribed by the secretary of
state. Applicants for driver's licenses or identification cards must be asked if they want to
register to vote at the same time and that information must be transmitted at least weekly
by electronic means to the secretary of state. Pursuant to the Help America Vote Act of
2002, Public Law 107-252, the computerized driver's license record containing the voter's
name, address, date of birth, new text begin photograph, new text end driver's license number or state identification
number, county, town, and city must be made available for access by the secretary of state
and interaction with the statewide voter registration system.

Sec. 7.

Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 201.221, subdivision 3, is amended to read:


Subd. 3.

Procedures for polling place rosters.

The secretary of state shall prescribe
the form of polling place rosters that include the voter's name, address, date of birth,
new text begin photograph, new text end school district number, and space for the voter's signature. The secretary of
state may prescribe additional election-related information to be placed on the polling
place rosters on an experimental basis for one state primary and general election cycle; the
same information may not be placed on the polling place roster for a second state primary
and general election cycle unless specified in this subdivision. The polling place roster
must be used to indicate whether the voter has voted in a given election. The secretary of
state shall prescribe procedures for transporting the polling place rosters to the election
judges for use on election day. The secretary of state shall prescribe the form for a county
or municipality to request the date of birth from currently registered voters. The county or
municipality shall not request the date of birth from currently registered voters by any
communication other than the prescribed form and the form must clearly indicate that a
currently registered voter does not lose registration status by failing to provide the date of
birth. In accordance with section 204B.40, the county auditor shall retain the prescribed
polling place rosters used on the date of election for 22 months following the election.

Sec. 8.

Minnesota Statutes 2010, 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) A judge may, before the applicant signs the roster, confirm the applicant's name,
address, and date of birthnew text begin , and verify that the applicant appears to be the same individual
whose photograph is associated with that voter record in the polling place roster
new text end .new text begin If two or
more election judges of different major political parties do not believe that the voter is the
same person as the person depicted in the photograph associated with the voter's record,
the voter must certify that the voter is the person who is registered to vote and the judge
must take a photograph of the voter. If a photograph is not associated with the applicant's
record in the roster, the voter may present a Minnesota driver's license or identification
card to the judge, who shall record the number so that a photograph can be attached to
the voter's record. Otherwise, the judge must request that the applicant allow the judge to
take a color photograph of the applicant for inclusion in the statewide voter registration
system and polling place roster. Refusal of an applicant to consent to a photograph for
religious reasons must be noted on the incident log, but does not prohibit the applicant
from casting a ballot.
new text end

new text begin (c) The secretary of state may send a letter to a voter if there is not a Minnesota
driver's license or state identification card number associated with the voter's record to
request that the voter provide this number, if the voter has a Minnesota driver's license or
state identification card.
new text end

deleted text begin (c)deleted text end new text begin (d)new text end 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.

Sec. 9. new text begin TENNESSEN WARNING EXEMPTION.
new text end

new text begin For photographs obtained by the commissioner of public safety during the process
of issuing Minnesota drivers' licenses or state identification cards prior to the effective
date of this act, the notice required under section 13.04, subdivision 2, does not need to
have been provided in order for the photographs to be used as provided under Minnesota
Statutes, section 171.07, subdivision 1a, clause (5).
new text end

Sec. 10. new text begin APPROPRIATION.
new text end

new text begin $....... is appropriated from the general fund to the secretary of state to carry out the
duties authorized under this act. Of the amount appropriated under this section, $....... is
added to the base of the agency.
new text end