SF 1086

1st Engrossment - 84th Legislature (2005 - 2006) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

A bill for an act
relating to elections; authorizing early voting;
making it easier to vote by absentee ballot; amending
Minnesota Statutes 2004, sections 201.022, subdivision
1; 203B.02, subdivision 1; 203B.04, subdivision 1;
203B.085; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota
Statutes, chapter 203B.

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

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, 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, and last
four digits of the Social Security number 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; deleted text begin and
deleted text end

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

new text begin (15) provide rosters, master lists, and other reports
necessary for early voting new text end .

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

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 203B.02,
subdivision 1, is amended to read:

Subdivision 1.

deleted text begin unable to go to polling place deleted text end new text begin eligibility
for absentee voting new text end .

Any eligible voter deleted text begin who reasonably expects
to be unable to go to the polling place on election day in the
precinct where the individual maintains residence because of
absence from the precinct, illness, disability, religious
discipline, observance of a religious holiday, or service as an
election judge in another precinct deleted text end may vote by absentee ballot
as provided in sections 203B.04 to 203B.15.

Sec. 3.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 203B.04,
subdivision 1, is amended to read:

Subdivision 1.

Application procedures.

Except as
otherwise allowed by subdivision 2, an application for absentee
ballots for any election may be submitted at any time not less
than one day before the day of that election. The county
auditor shall prepare absentee ballot application forms in the
format provided in the rules of the secretary of state and shall
furnish them to any person on request. An application submitted
pursuant to this subdivision shall be in writing and shall be
submitted to:

deleted text begin (a) deleted text end new text begin (1) new text end the county auditor of the county where the
applicant maintains residence; or

deleted text begin (b) deleted text end new text begin (2) new text end the municipal clerk of the municipality, or school
district if applicable, where the applicant maintains residence.

An application shall be approved if it is timely received,
signed and dated by the applicant, contains the applicant's name
and residence and mailing addresses, and states that the
applicant is eligible to vote by absentee ballot deleted text begin for one of the
reasons specified in section 203B.02 deleted text end . The application may
contain a request for the voter's date of birth, which must not
be made available for public inspection. An application may be
submitted to the county auditor or municipal clerk by an
electronic facsimile device. An application mailed or returned
in person to the county auditor or municipal clerk on behalf of
a voter by a person other than the voter must be deposited in
the mail or returned in person to the county auditor or
municipal clerk within ten days after it has been dated by the
voter and no later than six days before the election. The
absentee ballot applications or a list of persons applying for
an absentee ballot may not be made available for public
inspection until the close of voting on election day.

An application under this subdivision may contain an
application under subdivision 5 to automatically receive an
absentee ballot application.

Sec. 4.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 203B.085, is
amended to read:

203B.085 COUNTY AUDITOR'S AND MUNICIPAL CLERK'S OFFICES TO
REMAIN OPEN DURING CERTAIN HOURS PRECEDING ELECTION.

The county auditor's office in each county and the clerk's
office in each city or town authorized under section 203B.05 to
administer absentee balloting must be open for acceptance of
absentee ballot applications and casting of absentee ballots
from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on Saturday and until deleted text begin 5:00
p.m. deleted text end new text begin 12:00 noon new text end on the day immediately preceding a primary,
special, or general election unless that day falls on a Saturday
or Sunday. Town clerks' offices must be open for absentee
voting from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon on the Saturday before a
town general election held in March. The school district clerk,
when performing the county auditor's election duties, need not
comply with this section.

Sec. 5.

new text begin [203B.30] EARLY VOTING.
new text end

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Authorization; polling place designation.
new text end

new text begin An eligible voter may cast a ballot at the county auditor's
office or at any other polling place designated for early voting
by the county auditor during the eight days before a regularly
scheduled primary or election. Early voting on the Saturday and
Monday before the election must occur during the same hours
provided for absentee voting. The county auditor shall
designate the polling places for early voting no later than 90
days before the election and publish a notice of the early
voting polling place locations one week before the first day for
early voting.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Voting procedure. new text end

new text begin A voter shall sign an early
voting roster that must include the certification provided in
section 204C.10. An individual who is not registered to vote
must register in the manner provided in section 201.061,
subdivision 3. After the roster has been signed, the
appropriate ballot for the voter's precinct, initialed by two
election judges, must be provided to the voter. The ballot must
be marked by the voter and deposited in either a precinct voting
system or in a sealed ballot box. A voter may not leave the
polling place with the ballot.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 3. new text end

new text begin Record of voting. new text end

new text begin The county auditor shall
provide the municipal clerks with the names of individuals who
have signed the early voting roster. The polling place rosters
must be marked no later than 7:00 a.m. on election day to
indicate the voters who have cast a ballot by early voting. The
rosters may be marked either by the municipal clerk before
election day or by the election judges on election day. A voter
who has cast a ballot by early voting must not be permitted to
vote at the polling place on election day. An absentee ballot
received from a voter who has cast a ballot by early voting must
be rejected by the election judges.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 4. new text end

new text begin Counting and compiling votes. new text end

new text begin Before election
day, the county auditor shall remove the early-voted ballots
from the ballot box or precinct voting system, sort the ballots
by precinct, and enclose them in a sealed envelope or container.
If the ballots have not been counted, they must be delivered
either to the election judges at the appropriate polling place
or to the counting center before the close of voting on election
day. Ballots that have been counted must be securely stored by
the county auditor with the balance of the ballots from each
respective precinct and the vote totals from these ballots must
be added to the results from the polling place.
new text end

new text begin Vote totals from early voting may not be made public until
the close of voting on election day.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 5. new text end

new text begin Special elections. new text end

new text begin Early voting for a special
election must begin no earlier than four days before the
election.
new text end