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7. Administering Absentee Balloting <br />ISSUE: Eligible voters in Minnesota may vote by absentee ballot prior to Election Day. Starting 46 days before <br />the election, a voter can request an application for an absentee ballot and if approved, receive and cast an <br />absentee ballot in one visit to their county or city election offices. Ballots can also be requested, applied for <br />and received by mail and returned by the voter to the election office by 3:00 pm on Election Day or by 8:00 <br />pm on Election Day if delivered by mail or package delivery. Absentee balloting results are not known until <br />combined with polling place results when the polls close on Election Day. For those voting absentee in - <br />person, the absentee ballot application process is burdensome and confusing as voters expect the same <br />process they encounter in their polling place on Election Day. The application process should be replaced by <br />having the voter verify their identity on a paper or electronic roster. Currently electronic signatures are not <br />allowed by state law; having the authority to use electronic signatures would make the process more <br />efficient. Streamlining the voter check -in procedures would increase efficiency and decrease the time voters <br />spend in line waiting to cast their absentee ballot. Seven days before Election Day, elections administrators <br />can begin processing absentee ballots received by mail and in -person absentee voters can place their ballots <br />directly into a tabulator. Currently, a voter can request to place their ballot in a series of envelopes similar <br />to those returned by mail to be processed after they have left the building. Following legislative changes in <br />2016 allowing voters to place their ballot into a tabulator, few, if any, voters request to place their ballot into <br />envelopes. State law allows alternative sites for conducting absentee balloting but requires that these sites <br />remain open for the full 46 days prior to Election Day. Because of the increase in voting before Election Day, <br />cities should have the authority to conduct in -person absentee balloting in alternative sites for the time <br />period during which voters are allowed to place their ballots directly into a tabulator. Additionally, to respond <br />to the voter demand to vote early, this time period should be increased from seven to 14 days before Election <br />Day. Current law allows for in -person absentee voting until 5:00 p.m. on the day before Election Day. This <br />does not leave adequate time for election officials to process absentee ballots, prepare supplemental lists <br />indicating which voters have already cast absentee ballots and deliver the lists to precincts prior to opening <br />of the polls on Election Day. The current absentee voting process further requires that additional <br />supplemental lists of final absentee voters be delivered to the polls after the last mail delivery on Election <br />Day and often leads to administrative challenges and increased potential for errors in the process. As more <br />and more voters choose to vote early with absentee balloting, improvements must be made to increase <br />efficiency of administering absentee balloting before Election Day, reduce the potential for errors, and to <br />improve voter experience. <br />RECOMMENDATIONS: <br />A. Replacing the in -person absentee ballot application process with paper or electronic rosters similarly to <br />those used in polling places on Election Day and allow voters to use an electronic signature for electronic <br />rosters; <br />B. Eliminating the option to place an in -person absentee ballot in a series of envelopes instead of a <br />tabulator; <br />C. Increasing the time period that an in -person absentee voter can place their ballot directly into a tabulator <br />from seven to 46 days; <br />D. Allowing alternative in -person absentee voting sites to be established for 14 days prior to Election Day <br />instead of the full 46 days currently required by state law; <br />E. Establishing an earlier deadline for ending in -person absentee voting; and <br />F. Revising absentee ballot regulations to allow any person 18 and older to witness the absentee process <br />and sign the envelope as a witness. <br />g. Authorizing cities with health care facilities to schedule election judges to conduct absentee voting at <br />an earlier date in health care facilities. <br />2018 City of Ramsey Legislative Platform <br />