Minn. R. agency 133, ch. 8290, pt. 8290.1300
The secretary of state shall establish internal procedures designed to facilitate voting by program participants that minimize the number of persons with access to program participant data while maintaining the integrity of the election process.
A program participant who is eligible to vote may register to vote with the secretary of state as a permanent absentee voter pursuant to Minnesota Statutes, section 5B.06. The secretary of state shall maintain a record of each program participant registering to vote as a permanent absentee voter. If a program participant withdraws or is canceled from the program, the individual loses eligibility to vote through Safe at Home. In order to comply with the Help America Vote Act when registering to vote, the program participant must provide a copy of a photo identification with the combined voter registration and permanent absentee ballot request form if:
Upon certification of an application, the secretary of state must suppress any record for a program participant found in the system. When a program participant withdraws or is canceled from the program, the secretary of state must unsuppress any voter record for the program participant in the statewide voter registration system.
If a program participant or applicant submits notification in accordance with part 8290.0700 that the program participant voter has moved or the voter's name has changed, the secretary of state must update the program participant's voter record.
Whenever the secretary of state is notified that an election will be taking place, the secretary of state must, at least 60 days before the election, or in the case of a special election, within two business days after it is scheduled, identify all program participant voters who live in the jurisdiction.
The secretary of state must communicate to the appropriate election administrator of each jurisdiction the number of ballots necessary for each jurisdiction to provide ballots to program participant voters whose records are not challenged. Notwithstanding part 8210.0200, the election administrator must provide the appropriate ballots for that election to the secretary of state.
The secretary of state must forward ballots to each program participant whose voter record is not challenged by first class mail, accompanied by a notice of the criteria for being eligible to vote in Minnesota, absentee ballot instructions, a ballot envelope, a signature envelope, and a return envelope addressed to the secretary of state.
The secretary of state must send a notice to program participants whose voter records are challenged to explain the basis of the challenge and that the program participant will not be provided with a ballot unless the program participant returns a signed statement swearing or affirming that the program participant is eligible to vote. If the program participant returns the signed statement, the secretary of state must remove the challenge from the program participant's voter record, request a ballot for the program participant, and forward it to the program participant by first class mail.
The secretary of state must return unvoted absentee ballots to the appropriate county auditor in cases in which:
The county auditor shall forward the envelope bearing the verification certificate to the appropriate absentee ballot board.
The absentee ballot board must review the verification certificate and may only reject the absentee ballot if the verification certificate indicates that the secretary of state was not satisfied that the program participant met the requirements of this part or if the secretary has subsequently notified the county auditor that the ballot should be rejected, in accordance with subpart 10e. If the absentee ballot board accepts the ballot, the election judges must write "SAH" followed by a sequential number for each Safe at Home ballot processed and "AB" on the election day registration roster page. An accepted ballot is counted as any other registered absentee ballot for statistical purposes.
If the secretary of state forwards a certification envelope to a county auditor at least five days before the election that indicates that the ballot should be rejected because of reasons identified in subpart 8, item C, subitem (3) or (4), the secretary of state must request a replacement ballot from the county auditor for the program participant. The county auditor must promptly fulfill this request and the secretary of state must forward it to the program participant by first class mail.
If within five days before the election the secretary of state forwards a certification envelope to a county auditor that indicates that the ballot should be rejected because of reasons identified in subpart 8, item C, subitem (3) or (4), the secretary of state must attempt to contact the program participant by telephone to notify the program participant that the ballot will be rejected.
If, after a ballot was sent to a program participant for an upcoming election, the program participant withdraws or is canceled from the program, the secretary of state must inform the former program participant that the former program participant is no longer eligible to vote through Safe at Home. If the program participant was canceled from the program due to mail returned as undeliverable, the secretary of state is exempt from the requirement to provide the former program participant with the written notice required by this subpart or any other written notice required by this part.
If, prior to the time frame for processing ballots in accordance with Minnesota Statutes, section 203B.121, subdivision 4, a program participant's residential address is updated on the program participant's voting record in accordance with subpart 2c, then the secretary of state must mark the voter's record of the ballot as "spoiled."
If the secretary of state has not received the voted ballot from the program participant, the secretary of state must notify the program participant that the program participant should destroy the ballot and dispose of the other ballot materials and that the ballot will not be counted if it is returned.
If the program participant's ballot was forwarded to the county auditor and otherwise would have been accepted, then the secretary of state must promptly notify the county auditor in writing that the ballot board should reject the ballot.
The secretary of state must request a replacement ballot for the voter from the appropriate county auditor. Before sending the new ballot to the participant, the secretary of state must print the words "Replacement Ballot" on the signature envelope.
If, after a ballot was forwarded to the county auditor that otherwise would have been accepted,
Within six to ten weeks after the election, the secretary of state must send a notice to a program participant if the absentee ballot board was instructed to reject the program participant's ballot.
By March 31 of each year, the secretary of state must determine whether any program participants who cast ballots in the preceding 12-month period are recorded in the statewide voter registration system as having both a record of casting a ballot under this part and also voting in the same election. If it is found that a program participant voter casting a ballot under this part also has a voting history record for the same election in the statewide voter registration system, the secretary of state shall notify the appropriate county attorney of that fact.
The secretary of state must revoke the program participant's permanent absentee voter status under this part until the county attorney confirms that the issue has been resolved in favor of the program participant if voting records under this part and voting history records in the statewide voter registration system show that the program participant has not only cast a ballot under this part but also voted in the same election by other means.
The secretary of state must maintain a record for each election with the number of ballots requested by precinct/school district combinations, blank ballots received from each county auditor, assembled ballots sent to program participants, unvoted ballots returned to the county auditors, ballot envelopes returned by program participants to the secretary of state, and certification envelopes forwarded to county auditors.
By April 30 of each odd-numbered year, the secretary of state shall issue a report on the activities of program participants during the period of two calendar years ending on December 31 preceding the report date.
Minn. R. agency 133, ch. 8290, pt. 8290.1300
Statutory Authority: MS s 5B.08