HF 5477

as introduced - 93rd Legislature (2023 - 2024) Posted on 05/16/2024 11:40am

A bill for an act
relating to elections; authorizing municipalities to designate additional precincts
for postelection review; amending Minnesota Statutes 2022, section 206.89,
subdivision 2.

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

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2022, section 206.89, subdivision 2, is amended to read:

Subd. 2.

Selection for review; notice.

new text begin (a) new text end At the canvass of the state primary, the county
canvassing board in each county must set the date, time, and place for the postelection
review of the state general election to be held under this section. The postelection review
must not begin before the 11th day after the state general election and must be complete no
later than the 18th day after the state general election.

new text begin (b) new text end At the canvass of the state general election, the county canvassing boards must select
the precincts to be reviewed by lot. The ballots to be reviewed for a precinct include both
the ballots counted at the polling place for that precinct and the absentee ballots counted
centrally by a ballot board for that precinct. The county canvassing board of a county with
fewer than 50,000 registered voters must conduct a postelection review of a total of at least
two precincts. The county canvassing board of a county with between 50,000 and 100,000
registered voters must conduct a review of a total of at least three precincts. The county
canvassing board of a county with over 100,000 registered voters must conduct a review
of a total of at least four precincts, or three percent of the total number of precincts in the
county, whichever is greater. At least one precinct selected in each county must have had
more than 150 votes cast at the general election.

new text begin (c) At the request of the governing board of a municipality in the county, the county
canvassing board must conduct a postelection review of up to twice as many precincts as
required by paragraph (b). The governing body of the municipality may designate the
additional precincts. If the municipality does not designate the precincts to be reviewed, the
precincts must be selected by lot as provided in paragraph (b). The municipality must make
the request for additional precinct reviews in writing prior to the canvas of the election. The
municipality making the request must reimburse the county for the cost of postelection
review attributable to the additional precincts reviewed under this paragraph.
new text end

new text begin (d) new text end The county auditor must notify the secretary of state of the precincts that have been
chosen for review and the time and place the postelection review for that county will be
conducted, as soon as the decisions are made. If the selection of precincts has not resulted
in the selection of at least four precincts in each congressional district, the secretary of state
may require counties to select by lot additional precincts to meet the congressional district
requirement. The secretary of state must post this information on the office website.