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in each shrink-wrapped ballot <br />package as they are opened in the <br />polling place; <br />e) Shorten the deadline for major <br />political parties to provide lists of <br />persons interested in serving as <br />election judges to election officials to <br />within one month (30 days) following <br />precinct caucuses; and <br />f) Allow cities the option of certifying <br />primary elections results within three <br />days of the election instead of waiting <br />until the third day. <br />SD -65. Administering Absentee <br />Balloting <br />Issue: Eligible voters in Minnesota may <br />vote by absentee ballot prior to Election <br />Day. Starting 46 days before the election, a <br />voter can request, receive and cast an <br />absentee ballot in one visit to their county or <br />city election offices. Ballots can also be <br />requested and received by mail and returned <br />by the voter to the election office by 3:00 <br />pm on Election Day or by 8:00 pm on <br />Election Day if delivered by mail or package <br />delivery. <br />Seven days before Election Day, elections <br />administrators can begin processing <br />absentee ballots received by mail and in- <br />person that until then, have been stored in <br />secured envelopes at the election office. To <br />increase efficiency and improve the <br />experience for voters, in-person absentee <br />voters should be allowed to place their ballot <br />in a secure tabulator instead of a series of <br />envelopes to be opened after the voter has <br />left the building. This provides the in-person <br />voter the same experience as voting in their <br />polling place on Election Day. The voter <br />would be able to correct mistakes made by <br />the voter when marking the ballot such as <br />party cross-over voting in a primary election <br />or over -voting. Currently, mistakes are not <br />found until after a voter has left the building <br />increasing the possibility of the voter not <br />having the opportunity to correct their ballot <br />resulting in one or more votes on their ballot <br />not being counted. If a voter is allowed to <br />place their ballot into the tabulator, mistakes <br />can be discovered by the tabulator while the <br />voter is still present ensuring the ballot is <br />counted as the voter intended. Absentee <br />balloting results are not known until <br />combined with polling place results when <br />the polls close on Election Day. <br />Current law allows for in-person absentee <br />voting until 5:00 p.m. on the day before <br />Election Day. This does not leave adequate <br />time for election officials to process <br />absentee ballots, prepare supplemental lists <br />indicating which voters have already cast <br />absentee ballots and deliver the lists to <br />precincts prior to opening of the polls on <br />Election Day. The current absentee voting <br />process further requires that additional <br />supplemental lists of final absentee voters be <br />delivered to the polls after the last mail <br />delivery on Election Day and often leads to <br />administrative challenges and increased <br />potential for errors in the process. <br />As more and more voters choose to vote <br />early with absentee balloting, improvements <br />must be made to increase efficiency of <br />administering absentee balloting before <br />Election Day, reduce the potential for errors, <br />and to improve voter experience. <br />Response: The League of Minnesota <br />Cities supports: <br />a) Allowing in-person absentee voters to <br />place their ballots in a secure <br />tabulator instead of a series of <br />envelopes to be processed after the <br />voter has left the building; <br />b) Establishing an earlier deadline for <br />ending in-person absentee voting; <br />c) Revising absentee ballot regulations to <br />allow any person 18 and older to <br />League of Minnesota Cities <br />2016 City Policies Page 42 <br />