Bill Text: MN SF1393 | 2011-2012 | 87th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Physical assistance in marking ballots for voters limitation expansion
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2011-05-05 - Referred to Local Government and Elections [SF1393 Detail]
Download: Minnesota-2011-SF1393-Introduced.html
1.2relating to elections; prohibiting certain individuals from marking a ballot for a
1.3voter;amending Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 204C.15, subdivision 1.
1.4BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
1.5 Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 204C.15, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
1.6 Subdivision 1. Physical assistance in marking ballots. A voter who claims a
1.7need for assistance because of inability to read English or physical inability to mark
1.8a ballot may obtain the aid of two election judges who are members of different major
1.9political parties. The election judges shall mark the ballots as directed by the voter and in
1.10as secret a manner as circumstances permit. If the voter is deaf or cannot speak English or
1.11understand it when it is spoken, the election judges may select two individuals who are
1.12members of different major political parties to provide assistance. The individuals shall
1.13assist the voter in marking the ballots. A voter in need of assistance may alternatively
1.14obtain the assistance of any individual the voter chooses. Only the following persons
1.15may not provide assistance to a voter: the voter's employer, an agent of the voter's
1.16employer, an officer or agent of the voter's union, a paid individual providing health care
1.17or health-related personal assistance to the voter, or a candidate for election. The person
1.18who assists the voter shall, unaccompanied by an election judge, retire with that voter to a
1.19booth and mark the ballot as directed by the voter. No person who assists another voter
1.20as provided in the preceding sentence shall mark the ballots of more than three voters at
1.21one election. Before the ballots are deposited, the voter may show them privately to an
1.22election judge to ascertain that they are marked as the voter directed. An election judge
1.23or other individual assisting a voter shall not in any manner request, persuade, induce,
1.24or attempt to persuade or induce the voter to vote for any particular political party or
2.1candidate. The election judges or other individuals who assist the voter shall not reveal
2.2to anyone the name of any candidate for whom the voter has voted or anything that took
2.3place while assisting the voter.
1.3voter;amending Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 204C.15, subdivision 1.
1.4BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
1.5 Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 204C.15, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
1.6 Subdivision 1. Physical assistance in marking ballots. A voter who claims a
1.7need for assistance because of inability to read English or physical inability to mark
1.8a ballot may obtain the aid of two election judges who are members of different major
1.9political parties. The election judges shall mark the ballots as directed by the voter and in
1.10as secret a manner as circumstances permit. If the voter is deaf or cannot speak English or
1.11understand it when it is spoken, the election judges may select two individuals who are
1.12members of different major political parties to provide assistance. The individuals shall
1.13assist the voter in marking the ballots. A voter in need of assistance may alternatively
1.14obtain the assistance of any individual the voter chooses. Only the following persons
1.15may not provide assistance to a voter: the voter's employer, an agent of the voter's
1.16employer, an officer or agent of the voter's union, a paid individual providing health care
1.17or health-related personal assistance to the voter, or a candidate for election. The person
1.18who assists the voter shall, unaccompanied by an election judge, retire with that voter to a
1.19booth and mark the ballot as directed by the voter. No person who assists another voter
1.20as provided in the preceding sentence shall mark the ballots of more than three voters at
1.21one election. Before the ballots are deposited, the voter may show them privately to an
1.22election judge to ascertain that they are marked as the voter directed. An election judge
1.23or other individual assisting a voter shall not in any manner request, persuade, induce,
1.24or attempt to persuade or induce the voter to vote for any particular political party or
2.1candidate. The election judges or other individuals who assist the voter shall not reveal
2.2to anyone the name of any candidate for whom the voter has voted or anything that took
2.3place while assisting the voter.
