Absentee Voting (AB) June 24 th - August 8 th September 23 th – November 7 th

What’s new this year  Hennepin County will be processing all absentee ballots by mail  Including online applications  ed/faxed applications  Central counting of all ballots will be done in the Absentee balloting center (ABC)  Scanning and linking applications in SVRS

What’s staying the same  In-person absentee voting  UOCAVA and Safe at Home  Health Care Facility Voting  Absentee Ballot Board  Storage of ballots

Dates and Hours  Absentee voting opens 46 days prior to election day  Primary: June 24 – August 8  General: September 23 – November 7  Extended hours  Saturday before election 10am-3pm  Monday before election day until 5pm June 24 th - August 8 th September 23 th – November 7 th

Types of Absentee Ballots  In-person or by mail  Registered  Voter is registered with current name and address  Non-registered  Voter is not registered or is registered with an old name or address, or a challenged voter  Safe at Home  Name and address confidentiality program  Administered by Secretary of State’s Office  UOCAVA  Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act  Health Care  Agent v. Agent delivery  Presidential

Applying for absentee ballots  Online  Faxed or ed applications are okay  These applications will be processed by Hennepin County  Scan and them to

Permanent Absentee Voters  An eligible voter applies to automatically receive absentee ballot applications  Applications mailed by county 60 days prior to election  Completed applications are addressed to the county  This app will count as both a permanent absentee app and an app for this year  Encourage the option

UOCAVA Ballots  Precinct ballot v. Federal ballot  Federal Write-in ballot (FWAB)  UOCAVA voters may submit application online

Absentee Ballot Envelopes  Absentee envelope review  Outgoing (mailing)  Signature Envelope  Registered Signature  Non-registered Signature  Registered Agent Signature  Non-registered Agent Signature  Return  Secrecy  Absentee ballot envelopes to be delivered to cities in early June  Absentee precinct kit envelopes will also be delivered in early June

Changes to Absentee Materials  Size of all envelopes will change  Recycle all old-stock

Absentee Voting Supplies  SVRS  Absentee applications  Election day registration applications (marked AB)  Envelopes  Absentee Voting Instructions  Ballots  Postage for Return Envelopes  “I voted” stickers  DYMO Label printer, labels  Plan ahead – pre-assemble supply of materials

Absentee Voting In-person June 24 th - August 8 th September 23 th – November 7 th

Issuing Absentee Ballots In-person  In person voting locations  Each city hall and Hennepin County  Minimum of one voting booth  AutoMARK available  Prohibitions against campaign materials apply June 24 th - August 8 th September 23 th – November 7 th

Absentee Voting In-Person Process  Voter requests ballot by completing an application  Staff enters application into SVRS, prints labels  Voter votes, returns ballot in secrecy envelope then places in completed signature envelope  Date stamp envelope  Accept or reject envelope  Sort envelopes by ward/precinct and by date accepted  Send ballots to County for counting June 24 th - August 8 th September 23 th – November 7 th

Expected increase  Volume of voters using absentee may increase, plan ahead  We are planning for 150,000 absentee ballots  1/3 to 1/2 in-person

SVRS Training  SVRS Absentee WebEx Training  Will be available either on FTP or online  Expect at the end of May  Topics  Processing AB applications (Registered & Non-Registered)  Absentee Ballot Board (Receiving, Accepting, Rejecting)  Troubleshooting

In-person Absentee Applications  Complete ‘office use only’ section of application  Materials issued –registered, non-registered  Application received date  Ballot Issue date  Issuers initials  Type – M=municipal, C=county, HCF=health care facility  C does not stand for counter or city!  Precinct and school district information June 24 th - August 8 th September 23 th – November 7 th

Issuing Absentee Ballots In-person  SVRS will search voter registration records  Remember to try multiple searches (most voters are registered)  Enter application into SVRS  Be sure to link existing registered voters with absentee record  Confirm voter does not have a ballot issued already June 24 th - August 8 th September 23 th – November 7 th

Issuing Absentee Ballots In-person  Labels for materials generated by SVRS  App label, Sig. Env. Label (Env#2), VRA label (if needed)  Materials for voters  Envelopes – registered v. non-registered, and secrecy  Ballot – for correct precinct and school district  Voter Registration Application (AB-EDR) – non-registered JOHN SMITH June 24 th - August 8 th September 23 th – November 7 th

Issuing Absentee Ballots In-person  Voter receives materials  Verbally provide direction  Same direction given to voters at the polls  Instruct voter to complete envelope  Act as witness  Secure completed materials for absentee ballot board June 24 th - August 8 th September 23 th – November 7 th

AB Application Label JOHN SMITH

Signature Envelope Label JOHN SMITH

Voter Registration Label JOHN SMITH 100 CONSTITUTION AVE ST PAUL MN VRA AB

Scanning AB apps into SVRS  Instructions provided  Scan AB apps as PDFs  Each record separate  AB Image Upload  Can be used later to check against Absentee signature envelopes June 24 th - August 8 th September 23 th – November 7 th

Absentee Voting Voter wants to takes the Ballot  Issue a return envelope addressed to HC PO Box Hennepin County Elections PO BOX 1220 Minneapolis, MN  Give voter printed instructions (registered vs. non-registered)  Voter may return ballot in person to city or by mail to county June 24 th - August 8 th September 23 th – November 7 th

Absentee Ballots Returned by Agent  *New Returned by Voter  Anytime during absentee period, up until 3 PM on election day  Voter does not need to log name  Return by Agent (different than agent delivery):  Anytime during absentee period, up until 3 PM on election day  Any person other than voter  May return up to 3 ballots  Must be over 18  Log agent’s name, address; agent must show ID and provide signature June 24 th - August 8 th September 23 th – November 7 th

Spoiling a ballot  If the ballot has not been accepted  Spoil the ballot in SVRS and issue a replacement ballot  If the ballot has been accepted  If the ballot is in the city’s possession: locate the ballot, spoil and issue a replacement ballot  If the ballot is in the county’s possession: the county must locate the ballot and spoil it. The city can then issue a replacement ballot  If it is after 5pm on the 7 th day before the election the voter can no longer request to replace an accepted ballot

Absentee Ballot Board June 24 th - August 8 th September 23 th – November 7 th

Establishing Absentee Ballot Board  Must establish ballot board by ordinance or resolution  Must consist of a sufficient number of trained election judges appointed as provided in M.S. 204B.19- M.S. 204B.22  May consist of deputy auditors or clerks trained in processing and counting absentee ballots  Party balance  Does not apply to trained staff

Absentee Ballot Board Process  Two or more members of different major political parties shall review returned ballot envelopes and accept or reject them  Party balance does not apply for trained staff  Clerk does not pre-examine June 24 th - August 8 th September 23 th – November 7 th

Absentee Ballot Board Process  Accept/reject within 5 days of receipt if received more than 14 days before the election  Accept/reject within 3 days of receipt if received less than 14 days before the election  Record accepted/rejected on ballot envelope, initial  Record accepted/rejected in SVRS  If rejected, indicate reason rejected and issue replacement ballot June 24 th - August 8 th September 23 th – November 7 th

Receiving Absentee Ballots  Upon receipt stamp or initial and date envelope  Record ballot as received in SVRS, or  If immediately accepting/rejecting the ballot does not need to be “received” June 24 th - August 8 th September 23 th – November 7 th

Accepting Absentee Ballots Must accept if:  Name and address match application  Voter signed envelope  Driver’s license, MN ID, or last 4 digits of SSN match application or the voter record (look up in SVRS)  If DL, MN ID or SSN do not match, compare signature to application  Voter is registered or completed AB-EDR  AB-EDR should be removed at this point, place in AB precinct kit envelope  Witness provided address and signature  And, completed proof of residence for non-registered voters  Voter has not already voted If these requirements are not met ballot must be rejected. June 24 th - August 8 th September 23 th – November 7 th

Rejecting Absentee Ballots  If rejected at least 5 days before election  Envelope remains sealed  Provide replacement ballot – “Replacement Ballot” on envelope  Include letter stating reason for rejection (see sample in OSS AB guide)  If rejected within 5 days of the election  Envelope remains sealed  Provide replacement ballot – “Replacement Ballot” on outgoing envelope  Include letter stating reason for rejection (see sample in OSS AB guide)  Attempt to notify voter of rejected ballot by phone or  Document attempts made  Late Ballots  Reject with “received late” as the rejection reason  Written rejection notice sent by county 6-10 weeks after election if voter didn’t otherwise vote June 24 th - August 8 th September 23 th – November 7 th

Rejecting Absentee Ballots

 In-Person Absentee Voters  Rejecting In-person absentee ballots should be rare  If the city rejects a ballot then the city must issue a replacement  Return Envelopes  Should have a few on hand  Ballot will be returned by mail to Hennepin County at PO Box Hennepin County Elections PO BOX 1220 Minneapolis, MN June 24 th - August 8 th September 23 th – November 7 th

Transferring ballots to County  Securely store all accepted absentee ballots until ballots are transferred to the county  Keep ballots sorted by precinct  Keep ballots separated by date accepted so that only the correct ballots are included in each shipment to the county  Cities should designate absentee “troubleshooter”  Available during absentee processing and counting  Knowledge of process  Knowledge of materials, location July 11 th – August 9 th October 3 rd – November 8 th

Transferring ballots to County  Courier  HC contracted courier(s)  Cities will set up pick up with courier  Weekly delivery  Within two weeks of general – more frequent July 11 th – August 9 th October 3 rd – November 8 th

Transferring ballots to County  Primary Day Delivery Schedule:  3:00pm – all cities  General Election Day Delivery Schedule  9:00am – all cities  Noon – Bloomington, Brooklyn Park, Eden Prairie, Edina, Golden Valley, Maple Grove, Minnetonka, Plymouth, Richfield and St Louis Park  1:30 – Rest of cities  3:00pm – all cities with remaining ballots July 11 th – August 9 th October 3 rd – November 8 th

Transferring ballots to County  Most shipments will be ballots up to the day prior  Balancing spreadsheet will be sent  Ballots should be balanced and packaged  Upon receipt, the county will re-accept the ballots in SVRS to show that they are in the county’s possession July 11 th – August 9 th October 3 rd – November 8 th

Absentee Ballot Board Process More information:  OSS Guides  Absentee Voting Guide  City Clerk Guide  School District Clerk Guide  OSS website  Absentee Ballot Board Guidelines  Accepted envelope examples  Rejected envelope examples  Notice of Rejection and Replacement example

Counting Absentee Ballots  All absentee ballot prep and counting will be done at the HC – ABC  Cities are not expected to be present during the counting of their ballots  701 Building – we will have one floor for absentee ballot processing August 3 th - August 9 th October 2 nd – November 8 th

Counting Absentee Ballots  We’re projecting that processing will take approximately 25,000 person-hours.  We will be hiring 200 people for the last week of counting - Spread the word! August 3 th - August 9 th October 2 nd – November 8 th

Absentee Results August 9 th and November 8 th

Absentee Results: On Election Night  At 8pm absentee results are loaded onto county server  At 8pm precincts begin transmitting results from each polling place  Once the county has both sets of results (AB and polling place) results are loaded onto OSS website  No results are posted without both sets of #s August 9 th and November 8 th

Absentee Results  Each jurisdiction’s AB results will be posted to FTP site  Results posted on election night  Print AB results, keep with polling place results  Send AB results to school districts  Other items on FTP site  Write-in images  Abstract of results  Ballots returned  Voted ballots will be returned to the city for 22 month retention August 9 th and November 8 th

Other Absentee Activities

Health Care Facility (HCF) Voting  Health care facilities governed by M.S :  Hospital  Residential treatment center  Nursing home  Clerk MUST conduct absentee voting outreach for residents of HCF July 20 th – August 8 th October 19 th – November 7 th

Health Care Facility Voting  20 days preceding each election  July 20 and October 19  Two judges of different major political parties  Additional 1 hour training  Travel together  Take absentee applications to residents  Issue ballots to residents  Assist patients with voting  Return voted ballots to clerk July 20 th – August 8 th October 19 th – November 7 th

Health Care Facility Voting  Coordinate with HCF prior to pre-registration cut-off  Pre-register voters for fewer non-registered residents  Receive applications prior to visit  Prepare materials beforehand  Receive list of employees to be vouchers  Sent to county no less than 20 days before election  Cities will issue general ballots to those who applied for both at the primary. City has the option to mail the ballot or deliver it in person by their HCF judges. July 20 th – August 8 th October 19 th – November 7 th

Agent Delivery Absentee Voting  Picking up and returning ballot on behalf of another voter  Begins 7 days before election day  August 2 and November 1  Voter must complete:  Absentee ballot application; and  Request for Agent Delivery of Absentee Ballot application August 2 nd - August 9 th November 1 st – November 8 th

Agent Delivery Absentee Voting  Who is eligible?  Any voter who  Has difficulty getting to the polls because of incapacitating health reasons  Is disabled  Is a patient of a health care facility  Is a resident of an assisted living facility  Is a resident of a battered women’s shelter August 2 nd - August 9 th November 1 st – November 8 th

Agent Delivery  Who can be an agent?  Must have pre-existing relationship with voter  Can’t be candidate  Can’t deliver ballots to more than three people per election  Must apply by 2pm on election day  Voted ballots must be returned by 3pm on election day  Specific signature envelopes for agent delivery process August 2 nd - August 9 th November 1 st – November 8 th

Agent Delivery Process

 Request for Agent Delivery form August 2 nd - August 9 th November 1 st – November 8 th

Agent Delivery Process  Agent Delivery Log August 2 nd - August 9 th November 1 st – November 8 th

Checking Absentee Ballot Status  Voters can view status of absentee ballot  Link from Secretary of State’s website