SF3096

Purpose of the Bill

The purpose of this bill is to modify provisions related to election judges in Minnesota, focusing specifically on the procedures for managing election ballots.

Main Provisions

• Ballot Count Certification: The bill mandates that at least two election judges must certify the number of ballots delivered to a precinct before voting begins. This certification can rely on the assumption that the total count of prepackaged ballots is correct.
• Ballot Counting Procedure: When a package of ballots is opened, two judges must count the ballots in the package to confirm that the total matches the provided count. Any discrepancies found must be recorded in an incident log.
• Initialing Ballots: The bill requires that at least two election judges initial the back of all ballots either before or as soon as possible after voting begins. These judges are prohibited from making any other marks on the ballots.

Significant Changes to Existing Law

This bill updates the procedure for counting and initialing ballots by explicitly allowing judges to assume the accuracy of prepackaged ballot counts and by formalizing the requirement for initialing ballots to prevent any unauthorized marking beyond the required initials.

Relevant Terms

• Election judges
• Ballot certification
• Prepackaged ballots
• Incident log
• Initialing ballots