1998 Minnesota Statutes

     201.071 Registration cards. 

    Subdivision 1.    Form.  A registration card must be of 
 suitable size and weight for mailing and contain spaces for the 
 following required information:  voter's first name, middle 
 name, and last name; voter's previous name, if any; voter's 
 current address; voter's previous address, if any; voter's date 
 of birth; voter's municipality and county of residence; voter's 
 telephone number, if provided by the voter; date of 
 registration; and voter's signature.  The card must also contain 
 a certification of voter eligibility. 

    The form of the voter registration card and the 
 certification of voter eligibility must be as provided in the 
 rules of the secretary of state.  Voter registration forms 
 authorized by the National Voter Registration Act may also be 
 accepted as valid. 

    Subd. 2.    Instructions.  A registration card shall be 
 accompanied by instructions specifying the manner and method of 
 registration, the qualifications for voting, the penalties for 
 false registration, and the availability of registration and 
 voting assistance for elderly and handicapped individuals and 
 residents of health care facilities and hospitals.  If, prior to 
 election day, a person requests the instructions in Braille, on 
 cassette tape, or in a version printed in 16-point bold type 
 with heavy leading, the county auditor shall provide them in the 
 form requested.  The secretary of state shall prepare Braille 
 and cassette copies and make them available.  

    Subd. 3.    Deficient registration.  No registration is 
 deficient if it contains the voter's name, address, date of 
 birth, prior registration if any and signature.  The absence of 
 a zip code number does not cause the registration to be 
 deficient.  The election judges shall request an individual to 
 correct a registration card if it is deficient or illegible or 
 if the name or number of the voter's school district is missing 
 or obviously incorrect.  No eligible voter may be prevented from 
 voting unless the voter's registration card is deficient or the 
 voter is duly and successfully challenged in accordance with 
 section 201.195 or 204C.12. 

    A registration card accepted prior to August 1, 1983, is 
 not deficient for lack of date of birth.  The county or 
 municipality may attempt to obtain the date of birth for a 
 registration card accepted prior to August 1, 1983, by a request 
 to the voter at any time except at the polling place.  Failure 
 by the voter to comply with this request does not make the 
 registration deficient.  

    Subd. 4.    Change of registration.  Any county auditor 
 who receives a registration card indicating that an individual 
 was previously registered in a different county in Minnesota 
 shall notify the county auditor of that county electronically 
 through the statewide registration system in the manner 
 prescribed in the rules of the secretary of state.  A county 
 auditor receiving a registration card indicating that a voter 
 was previously registered in a different precinct in the same 
 county or receiving a notification as provided in this 
 subdivision shall remove that individual's voter registration 
 card from the files. Any county auditor who receives a 
 registration card or notification requiring a change of 
 registration records under this subdivision as a result of an 
 election day registration shall also check the statewide 
 registration system to determine whether the individual voted in 
 more than one precinct in the most recent election.  

    Subd. 5. Repealed, 1990 c 585 s 34 

    Subd. 6. Repealed, 1990 c 585 s 34 

    Subd. 7. Repealed, 1983 c 124 s 6 

    Subd. 8.    School district assistance.  School 
 districts shall assist county auditors in determining the school 
 district in which a voter resides. 

    HIST: 1973 c 676 s 5; 1974 c 583 s 3,4; 1977 c 395 s 3; 1978 c 
 714 s 2,30; 1981 c 29 art 2 s 9; 1981 c 92 s 1; 1983 c 124 s 
 1-3; 1983 c 303 s 1; 1984 c 471 s 1; 1984 c 628 art 3 s 11; 1986 
 c 444; 1987 c 175 s 1; 1987 c 266 art 1 s 8,9; 1987 c 361 s 5; 
 1988 c 646 s 3; 1990 c 453 s 1; 1990 c 585 s 6,7; 1993 c 223 s 
 1; 1997 c 147 s 3