1.1 A bill for an act
1.2 relating to elections; modifying provisions related to absentee voting; amending
1.3 Minnesota Statutes 2024, sections 203B.05, subdivision 1; 203B.121, subdivisions
1.4 4, 5; 203B.30, subdivision 3.
1.5BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
1.6 Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 203B.05, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
1.7 Subdivision 1.Generally.The full-time clerk of any city or town shall administer the
1.8provisions of sections 203B.04 to 203B.15 and 203B.30 if:
1.9 (1) the county auditor of that county has designated the clerk to administer them; or
1.10 (2) the clerk has given the county auditor of that county notice of intention to administer
1.11them.
1.12 The designation or notice must specify whether the clerk will be responsible for the
1.13administration of a ballot board as provided in section 203B.121 and whether the
1.14municipality's office will be designated an absentee voting location pursuant to section
1.15203B.081, subdivision 1, or only for early voting pursuant to section 203B.081, subdivision
1.161a.
1.17 A clerk of a city that is located in more than one county may only administer the
1.18provisions of sections 203B.04 to 203B.15 and 203B.30 if the clerk has been designated
1.19by each of the county auditors or has provided notice to each of the county auditors that the
1.20city will administer absentee voting. A clerk may only administer the provisions of sections
1.21203B.04 to 203B.15 and 203B.30 if the clerk has technical capacity to access the statewide
1.22voter registration system in the secure manner prescribed by the secretary of state. The
1Section 1.
REVISOR JFK/VJ 25-0455403/05/25
State of Minnesota
This Document can be made available
in alternative formats upon request
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
H. F. No. 2474
NINETY-FOURTH SESSION
Authored by Tabke, Klevorn, Stephenson, Freiberg, Gomez and others03/17/2025
The bill was read for the first time and referred to the Committee on Elections Finance and Government Operations 2.1secretary of state must identify hardware, software, security, or other technical prerequisites
2.2necessary to ensure the security, access controls, and performance of the statewide voter
2.3registration system. A clerk must receive training approved by the secretary of state on the
2.4use of the statewide voter registration system before administering this section. A clerk may
2.5not use the statewide voter registration system until the clerk has received the required
2.6training. The county auditor must notify the secretary of state of any municipal clerk who
2.7will be administering the provisions of this section and the duties that the clerk will
2.8administer.
2.9 EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective upon the revisor of statutes' receipt of
2.10the early voting certification and applies to elections held on or after the 85th day after the
2.11revisor of statutes receives the certification, whichever is later.
2.12 Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 203B.121, subdivision 4, is amended to read:
2.13 Subd. 4.Opening of envelopes.(a) After the close of business on the 19th day before
2.14the election, the ballots from secrecy ballot envelopes within the signature envelopes marked
2.15"Accepted" may be opened, duplicated as needed in the manner provided in section 206.86,
2.16subdivision 5, initialed by the members of the ballot board, and deposited in the appropriate
2.17ballot box. If more than one voted ballot is enclosed in the ballot envelope, the ballots must
2.18be returned in the manner provided by section 204C.25 for return of spoiled ballots, and
2.19may not be counted.
2.20 (b) Accepted signature envelopes must be segregated by precinct and processed in
2.21accordance with this subdivision on a precinct-by-precinct basis. Precincts within a
2.22combination polling place established in section 205A.11, subdivision 2, may be processed
2.23together. At each step, members of the ballot board must notify the official responsible for
2.24the ballot board if there is a discrepancy in the count. Any discrepancy must be noted in the
2.25ballot board incident log.
2.26 (c) Before opening accepted signature envelopes, two members of the ballot board must
2.27count and record the number of envelopes and ensure that the count matches either the
2.28number of accepted signature envelopes provided by the official responsible for the ballot
2.29board or the number of signature envelopes accepted by the ballot board that day.
2.30 (d) After ballot envelopes have been removed from the signature envelopes, two members
2.31of the ballot board must count and record the number of ballot envelopes to ensure the count
2.32matches the number of accepted signature envelopes. Any discrepancy must be noted in
2.33the ballot board incident log. The governing body responsible for the ballot board must
2.34retain all ballot envelopes through the contest period of that election.
2Sec. 2.
REVISOR JFK/VJ 25-0455403/05/25 3.1 (e) After ballots have been removed from the ballot envelopes, two members of the
3.2ballot board must count and record the number of ballots to ensure the count matches the
3.3number of accepted signature envelopes, accounting for any empty envelopes or spoiled
3.4ballots, which must be noted on the ballot board incident log.
3.5 Sec. 3. Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 203B.121, subdivision 5, is amended to read:
3.6 Subd. 5.Storage and counting of absentee ballots.(a) On a day on which absentee
3.7ballots are inserted into a ballot box, two members of the ballot board must:
3.8 (1) remove the ballots from the ballot box at the end of the day;
3.9 (2) without inspecting the ballots, ensure that the number of ballots removed from the
3.10ballot box is equal to the number of voters whose absentee ballots were accepted from the
3.11tally in subdivision 4 that were to be inserted into the ballot box that day; and
3.12 (3) seal and secure all voted and unvoted ballots present in that location at the end of
3.13the day.
3.14 (b) After the polls have closed on election day, two members of the ballot board must
3.15count the ballots, tabulating the vote in a manner that indicates each vote of the voter and
3.16the total votes cast for each candidate or question. In state primary and state general elections,
3.17the results must indicate the total votes cast for each candidate or question in each precinct
3.18and report the vote totals tabulated for each precinct. The count must be recorded on a
3.19summary statement in substantially the same format as provided in section 204C.26. The
3.20ballot board shall must submit at least one completed summary statement to the county
3.21auditor or municipal clerk. The county auditor or municipal clerk may require the ballot
3.22board to submit a sufficient number of completed summary statements to comply with the
3.23provisions of section 204C.27, or the county auditor or municipal clerk may certify reports
3.24containing the details of the ballot board summary statement to the recipients of the summary
3.25statements designated in section 204C.27.
3.26 In state primary and state general elections, These vote totals shall must be added to the
3.27vote totals on the summary statements of the returns for the appropriate precinct. In other
3.28elections, these vote totals may be added to the vote totals on the summary statement of
3.29returns for the appropriate precinct or may be reported as a separate total.
3.30 The count shall must be public. No vote totals from ballots may be made public before
3.31the close of voting on election day.
3.32 (c) In addition to the requirements of paragraphs (a) and (b), if the task has not been
3.33completed previously, the members of the ballot board must verify as soon as possible, but
3Sec. 3.
REVISOR JFK/VJ 25-0455403/05/25 4.1no later than 24 hours after the end of the hours for voting, that voters whose absentee ballots
4.2arrived after the rosters were marked or supplemental reports were generated and whose
4.3ballots were accepted did not vote in person on election day. An absentee ballot submitted
4.4by a voter who has voted in person on election day must be rejected. All other accepted
4.5absentee ballots must be opened in accordance with the procedures outlined in subdivision
4.64, except for the absentee ballots cast using the alternative procedure in section 203B.081,
4.7subdivision 3, duplicated if necessary, and counted by members of the ballot board. The
4.8vote totals from these ballots must be incorporated into the totals with the other absentee
4.9ballots and handled according to paragraph (b).
4.10 Sec. 4. Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 203B.30, subdivision 3, is amended to read:
4.11 Subd. 3.Processing of ballots.At the end of each day when early voting occurs, the
4.12early voting officials must:
4.13 (1) remove and secure ballots cast during the early voting period following the procedures
4.14in section 203B.121, subdivision 5, paragraph (a). that day, noting the date, voting location,
4.15and number of ballots cast;
4.16 (2) without inspecting the ballots, ensure that the number of ballots removed from the
4.17ballot box is equal to the number of voter certificates that were signed by voters in subdivision
4.182, paragraph (b); and
4.19 (3) seal and secure all voted and unvoted ballots present in that location at the end of
4.20the day.
4.21 The absentee ballot board must count the ballots after the polls have closed on election
4.22day following the procedures in section 203B.121, subdivision 5, paragraph (b).
4.23 EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective upon the revisor of statutes' receipt of
4.24the early voting certification and applies to elections held on or after the 85th day after the
4.25revisor of statutes receives the certification, whichever is later.
4Sec. 4.
REVISOR JFK/VJ 25-0455403/05/25