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203B.21 BALLOTS AND ENVELOPES.
    Subdivision 1. Form. Absentee ballots under sections 203B.16 to 203B.27 shall conform to
the requirements of the Minnesota Election Law, except that modifications in the size or form of
ballots or envelopes may be made if necessary to satisfy the requirements of the United States
postal service. The return envelope must be designed in one of the following ways:
(1) it must be of sufficient size to contain an additional envelope that when sealed, conceals
the signature, identification, and other information; or
(2) it must provide an additional flap that when sealed, conceals the signature, identification,
and other information.
The flap or the additional envelope must be perforated to permit election officials to inspect the
returned certificate for completeness or to ascertain other information at any time after receiving
the returned ballot without opening the return envelope.
    Subd. 2. Mailing of ballots; return. Ballots and instructions for marking them, ballot
envelopes, and return envelopes shall be sent by first class mail to addresses within the continental
United States and by air mail to addresses outside the continental United States. The ballot
envelope and return envelope shall be marked "Official Ballot," and shall contain sufficient
postage to assure proper return delivery. The return envelope shall be addressed to comply with
any method for return of absentee ballots as authorized under section 203B.08, subdivision 2.
    Subd. 3. Back of return envelope. On the back of the return envelope an affidavit form
shall appear with space for:
(a) the voter's address of present or former residence in Minnesota;
(b) a statement indicating the category described in section 203B.16 to which the voter
belongs;
(c) a statement that the voter has not cast and will not cast another absentee ballot in the
same election or elections;
(d) a statement that the voter personally marked the ballots without showing them to anyone,
or if physically unable to mark them, that the voter directed another individual to mark them; and
(e) the voter's military identification card number, passport number, or, if the voter does
not have a valid passport or identification card, the signature and certification of an individual
authorized to administer oaths under federal law or the law of the place where the oath was
administered or commissioned or noncommissioned personnel of the military not below the
rank of sergeant or its equivalent.
The affidavit shall also contain a signed and dated oath in the form required by section 705
of the Help America Vote Act, Public Law 107-252, which must read:
"I swear or affirm, under penalty of perjury, that:
I am a member of the uniformed services or merchant marine on active duty or an eligible
spouse or dependent of such a member; a United States citizen temporarily residing outside
the United States; or other United States citizen residing outside the United States; and I am a
United States citizen, at least 18 years of age (or will be by the date of the election), and I am
eligible to vote in the requested jurisdiction; I have not been convicted of a felony, or other
disqualifying offense, or been adjudicated mentally incompetent, or, if so, my voting rights have
been reinstated; and I am not registering, requesting a ballot, or voting in any other jurisdiction in
the United States except the jurisdiction cited in this voting form. In voting, I have marked and
sealed my ballot in private and have not allowed any person to observe the marking of the ballot,
except for those authorized to assist voters under state or federal law. I have not been influenced.
My signature and date below indicate when I completed this document.
The information on this form is true, accurate, and complete to the best of my knowledge. I
understand that a material misstatement of fact in completion of this document may constitute
grounds for a conviction for perjury."
    Subd. 4. Names on envelopes, instructions. No envelope, return envelope, or instruction to
voters shall contain the name of an individual who appears as a candidate on any enclosed ballot.
History: 1981 c 29 art 3 s 21; 1983 c 303 s 5; 1985 c 72 s 2; 1991 c 320 s 3; 2005 c 156 art
6 s 28,29

Official Publication of the State of Minnesota
Revisor of Statutes