October, 2000
Robin Anthony, Editor
Inside this issue:
Counties!
Don’t
forget: Election Night
Reporting Tests will be
October
26th
and
st
November 1 from 1:30 –
3:00 p.m. Please send
mock
results
for all
precincts. Thank you for
your assistance!
Your
testing will ensure a
successful Election!
Greetings from the Secretary of
State
Roster Updates
Law Books are Coming!
Message from the Elections
Director
911 Addresses Changes
Download Precinct Election
Results!
New Help Desk Employee
Q&A
DVS/SOS/Counties Workgroup
Election schedule for the next 90
days
New Polling Place Finder on
Web Page!
Please Welcome Our Newest Member of the Elections Division
Dawn Prouty joins us as our new Administrative Assistant. Dawn formerly
worked with the Department of Commerce and the Department of Public Safety.
She has two children (Kareen, aged two, and Isaiah, aged one). Her interests
include weight lifting (so don’t mess with her); reading (history is her favorite
subject); and spending time with friends and family. Dawn attended Minneapolis
Community College and says “I was going to school to become a U.S. Marshal,
the career I dreamed of as a child, and while I was growing up. Then I became
pregnant with my daughter, and decided that instead of tracking down fugitives
from the law and bringing them to justice, I would track down my children
instead!” Dawn adds “I am very excited and honored to be working with such a
great crew in the Elections Division!” Please welcome Dawn when you call the
Elections Division.
Townships and Cities
Election Debriefing
Registration Form
Just a reminder: We are sending all Township and City
Clerks a copy of each issue of the Ballot Bulletin
automatically through November of this year ONLY. If
you are interested in receiving issues on a regular basis,
please complete and return the request form on the back
of this issue. In addition, you can always find the Ballot
Bulletin are on our web page under “Publications.”
Update on the NEW VR System!
We have received all completed individual evaluations
and calculated final scores for each of the three vendors.
We are in negotiations with the vendor with the top
score.
Once negotiations are complete, we will
announce the winning vendor and begin implementation.
Please stay tuned for an update in our November Ballot
Bulletin! We would like to thank Cindy Schultz, McLeod
County; Gary Poser Anoka County; and Mary Kay Kes,
Scott County for their participation in the evaluation of
this last go around during a very busy time.
Assistance for the Visually Impaired Voters
Braille and cassette versions of absentee ballot
applications, voter registration instructions, and the
"Voter's Guide" are available from our office. These will
be sent to you upon request. We will send these
materials either to the requesting county or directly to the
voter. To request these items, please call the Auditor
Hotline at 651-282-0244.
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New Web Page Feature!
What’s the status of my Roster?
Greetings from the Minnesota Secretary Of State
Here we are, with the Election Day just around the corner.
You’ll be able to know where your roster is in the
printing process by going to a web page:
www.soshelpdesk.state.mn.us Check this site to
see this great new feature.
Planning an election seems a lot like planning a wedding - - so
many things to do, details to consider, long hours, little thanks
for the people you are doing it for, a high level of anxiety…
and all for, just one day. Not everything will be absolutely
perfect no matter how hard we try, but as long as the major
pieces are in place, everything will turn out beautifully.
Where Did All The Voters Go?
At the Primary Debriefings concerns were raised by
several counties regarding voters “lost” from the
Voter Registration System. After some research, we
found that the main reason this is occurring is due
to some MAPPER steps not being followed. It is
VERY important for counties to credit the history
after it is posted. We are working with all counties
that have addressed this as a concern. As we move
forward with the implementation of the New Voter
Registration System, we hope to resolve these
issues in the initial training, ongoing training, and
concise and detailed instruction manuals.
In addition, a lot of people are really looking forward to being
able to use the new, web-based Election Night Reporting
System. For Primary Day, media outlets were a bit skeptical,
at first, but because of your efforts, we delivered results like
they’d never seen before. Now, they are eager to use the
system again for the General Election!
You might be interested to know that, Minnesota is the first
state in the country to display precinct level results on the
web. Thank you for helping to put the state of Minnesota on
the map. Minnesota continues to be a leader in the way our
state administers elections, and you all are a part of that!
The Law Books Are Coming!
The Law Books Are Coming….
And thank you for your work all-around. In this office, we
hear lots of wonderful comments from citizens all across the
state about the great job you are doing. A couple more weeks,
and we’ll have another major accomplishment of which to be
proud.
Look for the NEW Minnesota Election Laws
2000 in the very near future! This publication
includes the election statutes, as amended by
the 2000 session of the legislature and all of
the election administration rules, as amended
earlier this year.
Thanks again and good luck on the Election!
For the first time, this publication contains a
comprehensive index to help you find
references to specific topics (such as absentee
ballots, for example) anywhere the topic is
mentioned in either the statutes or the rules.
Mary Kiffmeyer
Secretary of State
Once you receive these, you should discard
ALL of the current pages and tabs in your 1997
Minnesota Election Laws blue binder, and
insert the enclosed pages. We will be sending
you new (and improved) tabs in a separate
mailing during the next few weeks.
Kids Voting Programs
Just a reminder: Minnesota Statutes 204C.06 restricts
who is allowed in the polling place. Teachers and
elementary or secondary school students may be
present at the polling place during voting hours if
authorized by the Secretary of State. Minnesota
Statutes 204B.27 also requires that these “activities…
must be administered in a manner that does not interfere
with the conduct of the election.” If your county or city is
considering working with Kids Voting, or a similar
program, to permit students to be present in the polling
place during voter hours, remember to request
authorization from this office. Thanks!
If you do not have the 1997 blue binder, please
insert these pages in any available binder and
notify our office at 651-215-1440.
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candidate. The interest and excitement is growing as we
all countdown to Election Day. Then, suddenly, on
November 7, the election process will “blast off,” with a
roar.
Of course, we can’t expect any election to go perfectly.
There will be the usual confusion and unhappiness that
spoils election day for some voters. There is always the
clean up to be done afterwards with canvassing,
recounts, and contests. But we can be confident that
November 7 will be another election day that proves to
the entire world that America has achieved something as
remarkable as a lunar landing: an election process that
permits us to peacefully choose and change our leaders.
We should all be proud of the dedication and sacrifices
made by those who went before us to reach this goal;
you should be proud of the quiet, unsung contributions
you make every day to keep this ideal alive.
COUNTDOWN AND BLASTOFF!
If you were a schoolchild in the early to mid 60’s (or if
you knew children who were), you probably remember
the excitement that surrounded the Mercury, Gemini,
and Apollo program space shots. On “launch days”, a
remarkable event happened in school classrooms
everywhere: ordinary activities were interrupted when a
television was wheeled into the room. It seemed so outof-place for a television to be in a school in those times!
Good luck with the
Election!
Brad King
After a few moments of adjusting the antennas and
flipping the channels (no one had remote controls,
either), the entire class watched the black-and-white
picture intently as Walter Cronkite, David Brinkley, or
another news anchor of that era, explained what the
NASA scientists hoped to accomplish with the mission
that was about to be launched into space. Sometimes,
there were mechanical glitches that delayed the flight;
the television might even be wheeled away, only to be
returned that afternoon or the next day. But usually, the
suspense built as the countdown for launch began. Many
of the class rules for decorum were suspended; the class
might be allowed to “count down” from ten, or to cheer
loudly when the rocket soared off the launch pad in a
cloud of fire and smoke. All too soon, the excitement
was over, and the television was wheeled away until
another day.
Director of Elections
911 Address Changes
When a voter’s address changes due to 911
conversions, but voters have not really moved, the
voters DO NOT have to re-register. The new
address should simply be entered in the voter’s
registration record.
Good News for Counties, Towns,
and Cities!
Download election results!!!
You will now be able to download state and federal
election results by precinct from a text file beginning 8:00
a.m. the day after the Election. You can download the
text file into excel, word, access, lotus, etc.
Our upcoming November general election reminds me
of those “space shot” moments. Like the NASA
scientists, we have all been working hard for months
behind the scenes to prepare for this election. It can be
dull, painstaking, and frustrating work; work that is often
unnoticed or unappreciated by our neighbors or coworkers. It is an extremely complicated project, with
plenty of opportunities for glitches, even when everyone
is trying to do their best.
Just go to the election results page of the Secretary of
State’s web page, and you will find this option.
New Help Desk Employee
Please help us welcome the newest Member of the Secretary
of State’s Help Desk Bradley David Olson. Brad is a
Network Support Specialist Certified and is currently
pursuing a BS degree in Science/Engineering. Brad has
helpdesk experience from Fortis, IBM Global Services at
American Express, and the Dayton Hudson Corporation. We
are excited to have him join our team!
Now, suddenly, the election has been “wheeled” into
everyone’s living room, with campaign ads, debates, and
news specials attempting to distract us from our daily
routines. Candidates and parties are encouraging
potential voters to register and then turnout to vote for a
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Some things about write-in candidates are
still the same:
Question: Do we still need to report ALL write-ins for
ALL offices to the state?
(1) Reporting the number of all write-in votes as
part of the precinct summary statements
prepared by election judges. Despite the
legislature’s change in the county canvassing
procedure, Minnesota Statutes 204C.24,
subdivision 1(a) was not amended by the 2000
legislation. This law requires that “the number of
votes each candidate received” be included in
each copy of the precinct summary statement.
(2) Write-in votes for candidates for county or
other local offices. Since the 2000 write-in
legislation did not apply to these offices, votes
for undeclared write-in candidates for these
offices must be counted.
Answer: No: There were some important changes in
the law in 2000. M.S. 204B.09 subd. 3 states: “A
candidate for state or federal office who wants write-in
votes for the candidate to be counted must file a written
request with the filing office for the office sought no later
than the day before the general election. The filing
officer shall provide copies of the form to make the
request.“
For most state and federal offices, the filing officer is the
Secretary of State’s Office. For the 5th Congressional
District, and any State Senate or State Representative
District located entirely in just one county, the filing
officer is the County Auditor.
In addition, M.S. 204C.33 Subd. 1 part (e) states: “The
result of write-in votes cast on the general election
ballots must be compiled by the county auditor before
the county canvass, except that write-in votes for a
candidate for state or federal office must not be counted
unless the candidate has timely filed a request under
section 204B.09, subdivision 3. The county auditor
shall arrange for each municipality to provide an
adequate number of election judges to perform this duty
or the county auditor may appoint additional election
judges for this purpose. The county auditor may open
the envelopes or containers in which the voted ballots
have been sealed in order to count and record the writein votes and must reseal the voted ballots at the
conclusion of this process.“
Elections Division
Secretary of State’s Office
(651) 215-1440
Auditor Hotline
(651) 284-0244
Question: How will we know which state and federal
candidates asked to have their write-in voter counted?
Toll Free Available to Public
1-877-600-VOTE
Answer: The Secretary of State’s Office will send a
system message and email to Auditors on or before
November 6th listing all state and federal write-in
candidates who filed with this office. (Only three have
filed with the Secretary of State’s Office as of this date.)
If you receive a state or federal write-in candidate filing
in your office, please fax a copy of the declaration to us
immediately.
J. Bradley King, Director
(651) 296-9217
Mike McCarthy, Assistant Director
(651) 296-9212
Robin R. Anthony, State Program Admin. Sr.
(651) 215-1439
Michele McNulty, State Program Admin. Sr.
(651) 296-9218
Randall Cutting, GIS Administrator
(651) 215-0014
Dawn Prouty, Administrative Assistant
(651) 215-1440
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forwarded to counties EVERY Friday. Consequently, the
counties should no longer be receiving the “great big
bunches” they grew accustomed to.
In addition, DVS has agreed to send all their VR cards to
the SOS’s Office on Tuesday of every week. Therefore, all
VR cards will be forwarded to counties within a week.
6. Review MOU
The workgroup made the following recommendations to
the Memo of Understanding:
DVS/SOS/COUNTY Workgroup
Page 1: Delete the second introductory paragraph in its
entirety.
Page 1: Number (1), 3rd line, change “will” to “may.”
Page 1: Number (2), Delete the last sentence.
Page 1: Number (3), 2nd line, change “19” business days to
“10”; 4th line, change “25” business days to “15”; and 7th
line, change “14” business days to “7.”
Page 2: Number (5) 6th line, change “June 2001” to
“December 2001.”
Thursday, September 28, 2000
Quarterly Meeting
Attendees: Robin Anthony, SOS; Luci Botzek, MACO; Brad
King, SOS; Gary Larson, DVS, Pat McCormack, DVS; Patty
O’Connor, Blue Earth County; Gary Poser, Anoka County;
and Cindy Schultz, McLeod County
1.
Feedback on Posters?
7. Other
 There was some concern that counties are getting
hard copies of VR cards from DVS that are not on
the electronic transfer. DVS will continue to look
into this and report back to the SOS’s Office.
 Discussed future agenda items; see below.
 The Elections Division will prepare an amended
MOU and route to the workgroup for comments,
Elections Division will advise Secretary
Kiffmeyer; DVS will advise Director Brian Lamb.
 There was discussion regarding the accuracy of
addresses that the voter records on their
application. DVS will look into running these
applications through an address correction system
to flag the incorrect address.
Gary Larson (DVS) will keep Robin Anthony
(SOS) informed.
 Next Meeting is scheduled for December 15, 2000,
10-11:30 a.m. in the State Office Building
There was confusion to the voters in some areas regarding
the last date to pre-register to vote. There was a
recommendation to change the language to read something
like: “…Last day to register to vote at all Driver’s License
Centers in Minnesota for the (date) election in order for
your name to appear on the Polling Place voters list…..”
This topic will be added to a future agenda item.
Reprinting posters for each election is not a problem.
2. Timing of the electronic transfers from Olmsted County
Agenda item deleted. Not applicable.
3. Can there be a date added to the electronic transfer? When
the voter
registered?
DVS will request their programmers to develop this
program on their end. SOS will also need to have
programmers address this on their end as well.
Future Agenda Items:
1.
2.
4. Timing from when DVS sends SOS VR cards.
On 9-26-00, the SOS received cards as late as July 28 th. In
addition, DVS delivered a group of voter registration cards
(approximately 150), which were lost on an employee's
desk who changed offices and are older than September
1st. DVS will be upgrading their quality control and
performing audits of the workflow regarding VR cards.
3.
4.
5. SOS policy on timing that VR cards go to counties.
5.
There have been questions raised by counties asking where
the “great big bunches” of VR cards are. In the past, the
SOS use to hold the VR cards until there were several to
send to counties. Since September of 1999, the policy of
the SOS’s Office has changed. All VR cards are
6.
7.
5
Review draft of amended MOU.
Review election calendar so DVS is aware of
upcoming elections and can preplan.
Status of programming changes to be included the
date of application. Both DVS and SOS will require
these programming changes.
The workgroup would like to revisit the VR
application that DVS uses. It was agreed to review it
after session since there are always changes to the
form after each legislative session.
The feasibility of using electronic signature
technology to complete a voter registration
application.
Date for when the posters should be complete and
sent out in the future.
Language of posters in Driver’s License Centers
“What’s up?” in the Next 90 Days…
11/03/00 Fri.
Municipalities/schools: Last day to post sample ballot (4 days before election - 205.16, subd. 3; 205A.07, subd. 2).
Counties/municipalities: First day for agent delivery of absentee ballots to voter in health care facility (during the 4 days before
election - 203B.11, subd. 4).
Counties: Last day to publish sample ballot (204D.16).
11/04/00 Sat.
Counties/municipalities: Offices open 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. for absentee voting (203B.05, subd. 1; 203B.085).
11/06/00 Mon. Counties/municipalities: Offices open Monday until 5 p.m. for absentee voting (203B.05, subd. 1; 203B.085).
GENERAL ELECTION
- Polls open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. - Non-metro towns may open as late as 10 a.m.
- No public meetings or school events 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
11/07/00 Tue. (204C.03; 204C.05, subd. 1; 204D.03, subd. 2).
Counties/municipalities: Agents may return absentee ballots until 3:00 p.m. (203B.08, subd. 1).
Municipalities: Last day to hold a special election until Dec. 18 (40 days after election - 205.10, subd. 3).
11/09/00 Thu.
Municipalities: Last day to return polling place rosters and completed voter registration cards to auditor (within 48 hours after end
of voting - 204C.27).
Counties/municipalities/schools: Last day to canvass election results (within 7 days after election - 204C.33, subd. 1; 205.185,
subd. 3; 205A.10, subd. 3).
11/14/00 Tue.
Counties/municipalities/schools: Last day for local office candidates to file Certification of Filing form (within 7 days after
election - 211A.05, subd. 1).
Counties/municipalities/schools: Auditors and clerks may issue certificate of election to local winners if:
1) candidate has submitted a certification of filing form (211A.05, subd. 1);
11/15/00 Wed.
2) losing candidate has not requested a recount (204C.36; 204C.40; 205.185; 205A.10, subd. 3); and
3) a notice of contest has not been filed (209.021, subd. 1).
11/17/00 Fri.
Counties: Finish mailing random sample verification to at least 3% of election day registrants (within 10 days - 201.121, subd. 3;
8200.2700).
Counties/municipalities/schools: Last day to request a recount or contest election, if canvass completed on November 14 (within 7
days after canvass completed - 204C.36; 209.021, subd. 1).
11/21/00 Tue.
State: State canvassing board meets (two weeks after election -204C.33, subd. 3).
Secretary of State: Prepares certificates of election for winning federal and state candidates (after state canvass - 204C.40).
12/07/00 Thu. Counties/municipalities/schools: campaign financial reports due (211A.02, subd. 1(b)(3)).
Municipalities/schools: First day to hold a special election (40 days after election - 205.10, subd. 3; 205A.05, subd. 1).
12/18/00 Mon. State: Presidential electors meet at governor's office to vote for president and vice-president (Monday following second Wednesday
in December, presidential election years - 208.06).
12/19/00 Tue. Counties: Finish updating voter history (within 6 weeks after election - 201.171).
01/01/01 Mon. Term begins for newly elected officers (first Monday in January – 204D.02, subd. 2)
01/31/01 Wed. Counties/municipalities/schools: Campaign financial reports are due (211A.02, subd. 1 (b))
The New Polling Place Finder!
We are pleased to announce a new and improved
Polling Place Finder on our web site! The search
is quicker and more accurate for users.
IMPORTANT! If you ever book marked the
Polling Place Finder, or if you linked to it with
one of your pages, you may want to make the
change to the new URL address in your link.
http://elections.sos.state.mn.us/precinct_finder/
This page will continually be improved, so please
do provide comments!
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October 10, 2000
Elections Division Questionnaire
Fax to the Elections Division by November 3, 2000 at (651) 296-9073
The Elections Division, in partnership with Aitkin County Auditor, Kirk Peyser; Mahnomen County Auditor,
Frank Thompson; Stevens County Auditor, Mark Meuwissen; and Watonwan County Auditor, Don
Kuhlman, will be hosting four General Election Debriefings in December. There will be a two part Agenda as
follows:
Part 1: “Lessons Learned” from the 2000 General Election (60 minutes)
Part 2: “Looking Ahead” Secretary of State’s Office in conjunction with
Election Officials (60 minutes)
For planning purposes, please tell us which Debriefing will you be attending. Attendees will receive a
questionnaire to fill out before the Debriefings to assist us in establishing a more detailed agenda. In addition,
more detailed information with meeting location directions and hotel arrangements will be sent to you. After
each debrief, everyone is welcome to join together for an informal lunch at a site recommended by the hosting
Auditor.

Wednesday, December 13th: 10 a.m. – 12 noon * Debriefing in Morris, Stevens County

Thursday, December 14th: 10 a.m. – 12 noon * Debriefing in Mahnomen, Mahnomen County

Friday, December 15th: 10 a.m. – 12 noon * Debriefing in Aitkin, Aitkin County

Monday, December 18th: 10 a.m. – 12 noon * Debriefing in St. James, Watonwan County
County:
Who from your County?
Fax to the Elections Division by Friday, November 3, 2000, 4:30 p.m. at (651) 296-9073
7