1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to elections; providing for election judges 
  1.3             who are not members of a major political party; 
  1.4             amending Minnesota Statutes 1994, sections 204B.19, 
  1.5             subdivision 5; 204B.21, subdivision 1; 204B.25, 
  1.6             subdivision 3; and 204C.15. 
  1.7   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.8      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 204B.19, 
  1.9   subdivision 5, is amended to read: 
  1.10     Subd. 5.  [PARTY BALANCE REQUIREMENT.] No more than half of 
  1.11  the election judges in a precinct who are members of a major 
  1.12  political party may be members of the same major political party 
  1.13  unless the election board consists of an odd number of election 
  1.14  judges, in which case the number of election judges who are 
  1.15  members of the same major political party may be one more than 
  1.16  half the number of election judges in that precinct.  
  1.17     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 204B.21, 
  1.18  subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  1.19     Subdivision 1.  [APPOINTMENT LISTS; DUTIES OF POLITICAL 
  1.20  PARTIES AND COUNTY AUDITOR.] On July 1 in a year in which there 
  1.21  is an election for a partisan political office, the county or 
  1.22  legislative district chairs of each major political party, 
  1.23  whichever is designated by the state party, shall prepare a list 
  1.24  of eligible voters to act as election judges in each election 
  1.25  precinct in the county or legislative district.  The chairs 
  1.26  shall furnish the lists to the county auditor of the county in 
  2.1   which the precinct is located.  
  2.2      The county auditor shall also keep a list of eligible 
  2.3   voters who are willing to serve as election judges and who do 
  2.4   not claim membership in a major political party. 
  2.5      By July 15, the county auditor shall furnish to the 
  2.6   appointing authorities a list of the appropriate names for each 
  2.7   election precinct in the jurisdiction of the appointing 
  2.8   authority.  Separate lists shall be submitted by the county 
  2.9   auditor for each major political party and for those who do not 
  2.10  belong to a major political party.  
  2.11     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 204B.25, 
  2.12  subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
  2.13     Subd. 3.  [TRAINED ELECTION JUDGES; NUMBER REQUIRED.] Each 
  2.14  election precinct in which less than 100 individuals voted at 
  2.15  the last state general election shall have at least two election 
  2.16  judges who are not members of different the same major political 
  2.17  parties party who have received training as required in this 
  2.18  section.  In every other election precinct, no individual may 
  2.19  serve as an election judge who has not received training as 
  2.20  required by subdivision 1. 
  2.21     Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 204C.15, is 
  2.22  amended to read: 
  2.23     204C.15 [ASSISTANCE TO VOTERS.] 
  2.24     Subdivision 1.  [INTERPRETERS; PHYSICAL ASSISTANCE IN 
  2.25  MARKING BALLOTS.] A voter who claims under oath a need for 
  2.26  assistance because of inability to read English or physical 
  2.27  inability to mark a ballot may obtain the aid of two election 
  2.28  judges who are not members of different the same major political 
  2.29  parties party.  The election judges shall mark the ballots as 
  2.30  directed by the voter and in as secret a manner as circumstances 
  2.31  permit.  If the voter is deaf or cannot speak English or 
  2.32  understand it when it is spoken, the election judges may select 
  2.33  two individuals who are not members of different the same major 
  2.34  political parties party to act as interpreters.  The 
  2.35  interpreters shall take an oath similar to that taken by 
  2.36  election judges, and shall assist the individual in marking the 
  3.1   ballots.  A voter in need of assistance may alternatively obtain 
  3.2   the assistance of any individual the voter chooses.  The 
  3.3   individual who assists the voter shall take an oath of 
  3.4   eligibility to do so.  Only the following persons may not 
  3.5   provide assistance to a voter:  the voter's employer, an agent 
  3.6   of the voter's employer, an officer or agent of the voter's 
  3.7   union, or a candidate for election.  The person who assists the 
  3.8   voter shall, unaccompanied by an election judge, retire with 
  3.9   that voter to a booth and mark the ballot as directed by the 
  3.10  voter.  No person who assists another voter as provided in the 
  3.11  preceding sentence shall mark the ballots of more than three 
  3.12  voters at one election.  Before the ballots are deposited, the 
  3.13  voter may show them privately to an election judge to ascertain 
  3.14  that they are marked as the voter directed.  An election judge 
  3.15  or other individual assisting a voter shall not in any manner 
  3.16  request, persuade, induce, or attempt to persuade or induce the 
  3.17  voter to vote for any particular political party or candidate.  
  3.18  The election judges or other individuals who assist the voter 
  3.19  shall not reveal to anyone the name of any candidate for whom 
  3.20  the voter has voted or anything that took place while assisting 
  3.21  the voter.  
  3.22     Subd. 2.  [OUTSIDE THE POLLING PLACE.] An individual who is 
  3.23  unable to enter a polling place where paper ballots or an 
  3.24  electronic voting system are used may register and vote without 
  3.25  leaving a motor vehicle.  Two election judges who are not 
  3.26  members of different the same major political parties party 
  3.27  shall assist the voter to register and to complete a voter's 
  3.28  certificate and shall provide the necessary ballots.  The voter 
  3.29  may request additional assistance in marking ballots as provided 
  3.30  in subdivision 1.  
  3.31     Subd. 2a.  [LEVER MACHINE PRECINCTS.] An individual who is 
  3.32  unable to enter a polling place where a lever voting system is 
  3.33  used may register and vote without leaving a motor vehicle. Two 
  3.34  election judges who are not members of different the same 
  3.35  political parties party shall assist the voter to register.  
  3.36  They shall provide the voter with the necessary ballots, a 
  4.1   ballot envelope and an absentee ballot return envelope, which 
  4.2   shall be completed by the voter, returned to the election judge, 
  4.3   and processed pursuant to section 203B.12. 
  4.4      An individual who is unable to enter a voting machine booth 
  4.5   in a precinct where a lever voting system is used shall be 
  4.6   provided with the necessary ballots, a ballot envelope, and an 
  4.7   absentee ballot return envelope, which shall be completed by the 
  4.8   voter and returned to the election judge and processed pursuant 
  4.9   to section 203B.12.  
  4.10     Subd. 3.  [VOTING LINES.] In all polling places two 
  4.11  election judges shall assist a disabled voter to enter the 
  4.12  polling place and go through the registration and voting lines.  
  4.13  The voter may also request the assistance of election judges or 
  4.14  any other individual in marking ballots, as provided in 
  4.15  subdivision 1.