Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie says he approves of election law changes made by the Legislature and says they will make voting more convenient.
He said in a statement:
"These laws further modernize our elections by make voting more convenient for eligible voters, and reducing costs and workload for election officials."
But he said he'd still like to see expanded early voting established in the state.
He said this year's changes, which go into effect Aug. 1, include:
- No Excuse Absentee Balloting — The law will allow Minnesota voters to cast absentee ballots without having to provide an excuse; current law requires voters to provide an excuse, including being ill or out of their precinct on Election Day, when casting absentee ballots. Minnesota will join 28 other states in offering no-excuse absentee voting to voters.
- Expanded Mail Balloting — The law will allow all townships outside of the metro area to use this cost-saving approach, which will provide for registered voters in these areas to receive their ballots directly in the mail.
- Lowering Taxpayers' Costs of Recounts — The law lowers the threshold for triggering a taxpayer-paid recount and will save tax dollars by reducing the number of recounts when the vote margin is too wide to change the election results. The law also will require candidates to request a recount in writing if they want the public to pay the expense of a recount.
- Establishing a Pilot Project for Electronic Poll Books — The law will allow select jurisdictions to pilot poll books in the 2013 elections. The use of technology in the polling place will facilitate the voting process for voters and relieve some of the burden on election judges.