1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to elections; making it easier to vote by 
  1.3             absentee ballot; prohibiting certain activities; 
  1.4             providing for delivery of official supplemental 
  1.5             ballots to voters on request; amending Minnesota 
  1.6             Statutes 2002, sections 203B.02, subdivision 1; 
  1.7             203B.04, subdivision 1; 203B.06, subdivision 3; 
  1.8             203B.11, subdivision 4; 204B.41. 
  1.9   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.10     Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 203B.02, 
  1.11  subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  1.12     Subdivision 1.  [UNABLE TO GO TO POLLING PLACE ELIGIBILITY 
  1.13  FOR ABSENTEE VOTING.] Any eligible voter who reasonably expects 
  1.14  to be unable to go to the polling place on election day in the 
  1.15  precinct where the individual maintains residence because of 
  1.16  absence from the precinct, illness, disability, religious 
  1.17  discipline, observance of a religious holiday, or service as an 
  1.18  election judge in another precinct may vote by absentee ballot 
  1.19  as provided in sections 203B.04 to 203B.15. 
  1.20     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 203B.04, 
  1.21  subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  1.22     Subdivision 1.  [APPLICATION PROCEDURES.] Except as 
  1.23  otherwise allowed by subdivision 2, an application for absentee 
  1.24  ballots for any election may be submitted at any time not less 
  1.25  than one day before the day of that election.  The county 
  1.26  auditor shall prepare absentee ballot application forms in the 
  1.27  format provided in the rules of the secretary of state and shall 
  2.1   furnish them to any person on request.  An application submitted 
  2.2   pursuant to this subdivision shall be in writing and shall be 
  2.3   submitted to:  
  2.4      (a) (1) the county auditor of the county where the 
  2.5   applicant maintains residence; or 
  2.6      (b) (2) the municipal clerk of the municipality, or school 
  2.7   district if applicable, where the applicant maintains residence. 
  2.8      An application shall be approved if it is timely received, 
  2.9   signed and dated by the applicant, contains the applicant's name 
  2.10  and residence and mailing addresses, and states that the 
  2.11  applicant is eligible to vote by absentee ballot for one of the 
  2.12  reasons specified in section 203B.02.  The application may 
  2.13  contain a request for the voter's date of birth, which must not 
  2.14  be made available for public inspection.  An application may be 
  2.15  submitted to the county auditor or municipal clerk by an 
  2.16  electronic facsimile device.  An application mailed or returned 
  2.17  in person to the county auditor or municipal clerk on behalf of 
  2.18  a voter by a person other than the voter must be deposited in 
  2.19  the mail or returned in person to the county auditor or 
  2.20  municipal clerk within ten days after it has been dated by the 
  2.21  voter and no later than six days before the election.  The 
  2.22  absentee ballot applications or a list of persons applying for 
  2.23  an absentee ballot may not be made available for public 
  2.24  inspection until the close of voting on election day.  
  2.25     An application under this subdivision may contain an 
  2.26  application under subdivision 5 to automatically receive an 
  2.27  absentee ballot application. 
  2.28     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 203B.06, 
  2.29  subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
  2.30     Subd. 3.  [DELIVERY OF BALLOTS.] If an application for 
  2.31  absentee ballots is accepted at a time when absentee ballots are 
  2.32  not yet available for distribution, the county auditor, or 
  2.33  municipal clerk accepting the application shall file it and as 
  2.34  soon as absentee ballots are available for distribution shall 
  2.35  mail them to the address specified in the application.  If an 
  2.36  application for absentee ballots is accepted when absentee 
  3.1   ballots are available for distribution, the county auditor or 
  3.2   municipal clerk accepting the application shall promptly:  
  3.3      (a) (1) mail the ballots to the voter whose signature 
  3.4   appears on the application if the application is submitted by 
  3.5   mail and does not request commercial shipping under clause (2); 
  3.6      (2) ship the ballots to the voter using a commercial 
  3.7   shipper requested by the voter at the voter's expense; 
  3.8      (b) (3) deliver the absentee ballots directly to the voter 
  3.9   if the application is submitted in person; or 
  3.10     (c) (4) deliver the absentee ballots in a sealed 
  3.11  transmittal envelope to an agent who has been designated to 
  3.12  bring the ballots to a voter who is disabled or who is a patient 
  3.13  in a health care facility or a participant in a residential 
  3.14  program for adults, as provided in section 203B.11, subdivision 
  3.15  4.  
  3.16     If an application does not indicate the election for which 
  3.17  absentee ballots are sought, the county auditor or municipal 
  3.18  clerk shall mail or deliver only the ballots for the next 
  3.19  election occurring after receipt of the application.  Only one 
  3.20  set of ballots may be mailed or, shipped, or delivered to an 
  3.21  applicant for any election, except as provided in section 
  3.22  203B.13, subdivision 2, or when a replacement ballot has been 
  3.23  requested by the voter for a ballot that has been spoiled or 
  3.24  lost in transit. 
  3.25     Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 203B.11, 
  3.26  subdivision 4, is amended to read: 
  3.27     Subd. 4.  [AGENT DELIVERY OF BALLOTS.] During the four days 
  3.28  preceding an election and until 2:00 p.m. on election day, an 
  3.29  eligible voter who is disabled or who is a patient of a health 
  3.30  care facility or is a participant in a residential program for 
  3.31  adults licensed under section 245A.02, subdivision 14, may 
  3.32  designate an agent to deliver the ballots to the voter from the 
  3.33  county auditor or municipal clerk.  A candidate at the election 
  3.34  may not be designated as an agent.  The voted ballots must be 
  3.35  returned to the county auditor or municipal clerk no later than 
  3.36  3:00 p.m. on election day.  The voter must complete an affidavit 
  4.1   requesting the auditor or clerk to provide the agent with the 
  4.2   ballots in a sealed transmittal envelope.  The affidavit must 
  4.3   include a statement from the voter stating that the ballots were 
  4.4   delivered to the voter by the agent in the sealed transmittal 
  4.5   envelope.  An agent may deliver ballots to no more than three 
  4.6   persons in any election.  The secretary of state shall provide 
  4.7   samples of the affidavit and transmission envelope for use by 
  4.8   the county auditors. 
  4.9      Sec. 5.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 204B.41, is 
  4.10  amended to read: 
  4.11     204B.41 [VACANCY IN NOMINATION; CHANGING BALLOTS.] 
  4.12     When a vacancy in nomination occurs through the death or 
  4.13  catastrophic illness of a candidate after the 16th day before 
  4.14  the general election, the officer in charge of preparing the 
  4.15  ballots shall prepare and distribute a sufficient number of 
  4.16  separate paper ballots which shall be headed with the words 
  4.17  "OFFICIAL SUPPLEMENTAL BALLOT."  This ballot shall contain the 
  4.18  title of the office for which the vacancy in nomination has been 
  4.19  filled and the names of all the candidates nominated for that 
  4.20  office.  The ballot shall conform to the provisions governing 
  4.21  the printing of other official ballots as far as practicable.  
  4.22  The title of the office and the names of the candidates for that 
  4.23  office shall be blotted out or stricken from the regular ballots 
  4.24  by the election judges.  The official supplemental ballot shall 
  4.25  be given to each voter when the voter is given the regular 
  4.26  ballot or is directed to the voting machine.  Regular ballots 
  4.27  shall not be changed nor shall official supplemental ballots be 
  4.28  prepared as provided in this section during the three calendar 
  4.29  days before an election.  Absentee ballots that have been mailed 
  4.30  prior to the preparation of official supplemental ballots shall 
  4.31  be counted in the same manner as if the vacancy had not 
  4.32  occurred.  Official supplemental ballots shall not be mailed to 
  4.33  absent voters to whom ballots were mailed before the official 
  4.34  supplemental ballots were prepared.  An official supplemental 
  4.35  ballot and a replacement regular ballot from which the title of 
  4.36  the office and the names of the candidates for that office have 
  5.1   been blotted out or stricken as provided in this section must be 
  5.2   provided to each absentee voter or voter residing in a precinct 
  5.3   voting by mail who requests either of them under section 
  5.4   203B.06, subdivision 3.  The election judges conducting absentee 
  5.5   voting in health care facilities as provided in section 203B.11, 
  5.6   subdivision 1, must deliver official supplemental ballots and 
  5.7   replacement regular ballots to those facilities no later than 
  5.8   5:00 p.m. on the day before the election.