Laserfiche WebLink
witness the absentee process and sign <br />the envelope as a witness; and <br />d) Authorizing cities with health care <br />facilities to schedule election judges to <br />conduct absentee voting at an earlier <br />date in health care facilities. <br />SD -66. Felon Voting Rights <br />Restoration <br />Issue: There is confusion as to when felon <br />voting rights are restored, and notification of <br />restoration is inconsistent or nonexistent. <br />While there were some changes made to <br />data sharing requirements between the <br />Department of Corrections and the Office of <br />the Secretary of State in the 2013 legislative <br />session, the process of notifying felons of <br />their eligibility to vote was not improved. <br />This very often leads to challenges placed <br />on Election Day rosters for felons who are <br />not eligible to vote and election judges must <br />then challenge the voter and spend time and <br />resources determining a voter's eligibility. <br />Response: The League of Minnesota <br />Cities supports the restoration of voting <br />rights to felons once they have completed <br />their term of incarceration. This will <br />eliminate the administrative burden of <br />challenging voters at the polls and <br />determining eligibility from various <br />jurisdictions. This will also eliminate the <br />need for investigation by local law <br />enforcement of those who have <br />unknowingly registered to vote or voted <br />before their rights were restored. <br />SD -67. Write-in Candidates in City <br />Elections <br />Issue: For federal, state and county offices, <br />write-in candidates are totaled together as <br />one number for write-in votes. If a candidate <br />wants the write-in votes to be individually <br />recorded, the candidate must file a written <br />request with the Secretary of State no later <br />than seven days before the general or special <br />Election Day. This provides any declared <br />write-in candidate the same provisions for <br />tabulation as a candidate whose name is <br />printed on the ballot. Because this <br />requirement does not exist in city elections, <br />city election officials are required to take <br />considerable time and resources to count and <br />individually record write-in votes cast, many <br />of which are frivolous. <br />Response: The League of Minnesota <br />Cities supports legislation to give cities <br />the option to require that write-in <br />candidates for local elective offices file a <br />formal request with the chief election <br />official at least seven days before the city <br />election if they wish to have their write-in <br />votes individually recorded. <br />SD -68. Ranked Choice Voting <br />Issue: Current law allows charter cities to <br />consider and adopt Ranked Choice Voting <br />(RCV) as an alternative voting method in <br />local elections. State statute does not extend <br />this authority to statutory cities. <br />Additionally, there are no statewide <br />standards for conducting RCV. The lack of <br />consistent guidelines on how to effectively <br />implement a RCV system imposes <br />significant challenges for election <br />administrators and voters. <br />Response: The League of Minnesota <br />Cities supports legislation that would give <br />statutory cities the same authority given <br />to charter cities to consider and adopt <br />RCV. The League of Minnesota Cities <br />also supports statewide standards for <br />those cities that chose to adopt RCV to <br />ensure it is implemented consistently <br />throughout the state to give voters <br />confidence in the fairness of the <br />alternative process of casting their ballots <br />and in the outcome of such elections. <br />League of Minnesota Cities <br />2016 City Policies Page 43 <br />