2007 Minnesota Statutes

203B.02 GENERAL ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS.
    Subdivision 1. Unable to go to polling place. (a) Any eligible voter 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, including isolation or
quarantine under sections 144.419 to 144.4196 or United States Code, title 42, sections 264 to
272; disability; religious discipline; observance of a religious holiday; or service as an election
judge in another precinct may vote by absentee ballot as provided in sections 203B.04 to 203B.15.
(b) If the governor has declared an emergency and filed the declaration with the secretary of
state under section 12.31, and the declaration states that the emergency has made it difficult for
voters to go to the polling place on election day, any voter in a precinct covered by the declaration
may vote by absentee ballot as provided in sections 203B.04 to 203B.15.
    Subd. 1a. Experimental procedures. A county board may authorize any eligible voter in
the county to vote by absentee ballot without qualification by submitting a written request to the
county auditor between August 1, 1991 and November 30, 1992, notwithstanding the provisions
of subdivision 1. The county auditor shall notify the secretary of state immediately after the
adoption of such a resolution of authorization by the county board.
The application for absentee ballots must include the voter's name, residence address in the
county, address to which the ballots are to be mailed, the date of the request, and the voter's
signature.
The county auditor shall maintain a record of the number of applications for absentee ballots
submitted under this subdivision. No later than January 15, 1993, the secretary of state shall
prepare a report to the legislature on the implementation of this subdivision.
Assistance to voters in marking absentee ballots is subject to section 204C.15, subdivision 1.
    Subd. 2. Military service; temporary absence. An eligible voter who is either in the
military, or is a spouse or dependent of an individual serving in the military, or is temporarily
outside the territorial limits of the United States may vote by absentee ballot either as provided in
sections 203B.04 to 203B.15 or as provided in sections 203B.16 to 203B.27.
    Subd. 3. Permanent residence abroad. A United States citizen living permanently outside
the United States who is eligible under federal law to vote in federal elections in Minnesota may
vote by absentee ballot only as provided in sections 203B.16 to 203B.27.
History: 1981 c 29 art 3 s 2; 1983 c 303 s 2; 1984 c 471 s 3; 1986 c 444; 1991 c 227
s 9; 2006 c 242 s 16