Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 13, September 23, 2024
Subpart 1.
Transmission of voter
registration applications.
A completed voter registration application may be submitted
to any state agency or county auditor. The secretary of state shall provide
training to state agencies on the proper forwarding of voter registration
applications. Voter registration applications submitted to the secretary of
state must be forwarded to the appropriate county auditor for entry into the
statewide registration system. With the approval of the appropriate county
auditor, the secretary of state shall enter the registration applications into
the statewide registration system for that county.
The secretary of state may electronically transmit the
information on the voter registration applications to the appropriate county
auditor. The county auditor shall promptly enter the information into the
statewide registration system. The original applications submitted to the
secretary of state must be maintained either by the secretary of state or by
the appropriate county auditor. Voter registration applications must be stored
in either paper, microfilm, or electronic format.
The secretary of state shall have full access to all
functions of the statewide registration system.
Subp. 2.
Verification; defined;
notification.
A. Verification means:
(1) that the information provided by the
applicant on the voter registration application for all of the following
categories matches the information in the same categories of the database
maintained by the Department of Public Safety or in the database of the Social
Security Administration if the applicant has no driver's license or
identification card:
(a) name;
(b) date of birth;
(c) Minnesota driver's license or Minnesota
state identification card number; or
(d) last four digits of Social Security
number, if the applicant has not been issued a Minnesota driver's license or
Minnesota state identification card.
If a voter has not been issued a Minnesota driver's license,
a Minnesota state identification card, or a Social Security number, and the
voter has so indicated on the voter's voter registration application, units (c)
and (d) are inapplicable and the registration is verified; or
(2) that if after matching the
information listed in subitem (1), even though the information may not be an
exact match, the county auditor can still reasonably conclude that the
information in the database of the Department of Public Safety, or in the
database of the Social Security Administration if the applicant has no driver's
license or identification card, and the information provided by the applicant
on the voter registration application, relate to the same person, in which case
the county auditor shall note in the statewide registration system the basis
for the conclusion.
B.
The secretary of state must attempt to verify information entered into the
voter registration system as a result of new voter registration applications by
comparing the information stored by the voter registration system with
information contained in the database maintained by the Department of Public
Safety. The secretary of state must provide reports on attempted verifications
that show the information of record in each database and that list:
(1) voter registration applications that
match the information in the Department of Public Safety database or, in the
case of an applicant who does not have a Minnesota driver's license or
Minnesota identification card in the database of the Social Security
Administration, and that are therefore verified;
(2) voter registration applications that
cannot be verified with certainty against the information in the Department of
Public Safety database or, in the case of an applicant who does not have a
Minnesota driver's license or Minnesota identification card, in the database of
the Social Security Administration. The report must match and contrast the
information contained in the several databases; and
(3) voter registration applications with
Minnesota drivers' license numbers, Minnesota identification card numbers, or
if the applicant has no driver's license or identification card, the last four
digits of the applicant's Social Security number that do not match the numbers
of record in the Department of Public Safety database or, in the case of an
applicant who does not have a Minnesota driver's license or Minnesota
identification card, in the database of the Social Security Administration.
The reports prepared by the secretary of state must include a
separate list of potential matches for incomplete mail-in registrations
described in Minnesota Statutes, section
201.061,
subdivision 1a.
C. The county auditor must review the reports
provided by the secretary of state of records that have not been verified with
certainty within ten days after the reports become available in the statewide
voter registration system. The auditor must attempt to match the information on
the voter registration application with the information in the database
maintained by the Department of Public Safety or, in the case of an applicant
who does not have a Minnesota driver's license or Minnesota identification
card, in the database of the Social Security Administration, to permit the
auditor to verify the information supplied on the voter registration
application. The auditor shall attempt to obtain from the applicant any needed
information by mail or, if a telephone number or an e-mail address was provided
by the applicant, by telephone or e-mail. The auditor must record on the voter
record in the statewide voter registration system each registration verified in
this manner.
If the auditor cannot verify information for a registration,
the auditor must record that the information supplied on the voter registration
application could not be verified and is incomplete pursuant to Minnesota
Statutes, section
201.121,
subdivision 1.
Subp.
3.
Correction.
If a Minnesota driver's license number or Minnesota state
identification card number supplied by the applicant cannot be verified because
it does not exist in the Department of Public Safety database, the secretary of
state or the county auditor shall correct the voter record to indicate that the
number must not be used as the verification number on the voter record. In the
case of an applicant who does not have a Minnesota driver's license number,
Minnesota identification card number, or Social Security number that can be
verified by comparison with the Department of Public Safety database, or in the
database of the Social Security Administration, if the applicant has no
Minnesota driver's license or Minnesota identification card, the unique voter
record number generated by the statewide voter registration system must be used
as the verification number for the record.
Subp. 4. [Repealed, 31 SR 350]
Subp. 5.
Updates.
A. A voter with an active voter registration
may change the information on record by submitting a voter registration
application meeting all the requirements for a new voter registration
application.
B. If, after matching
the updated information with the information contained in the Department of
Public Safety database or, in the case of an applicant who does not have a
Minnesota driver's license or Minnesota identification card, in the database of
the Social Security Administration, the accuracy of the updated information
cannot be verified, the county auditor must send a notice to the voter whose
information cannot be verified and request that the voter provide the
information or contact the registration office.
If the discrepancy cannot be resolved, the county auditor
must challenge the voter in the statewide voter registration system and may
refer the matter to the county attorney. If during the verification process the
Department of Public Safety provides information that indicates that the voter
is ineligible to vote, the county auditor must challenge the voter in the
statewide voter registration system and refer the matter to the county
attorney.
Statutory Authority: MS s
14.388;
201.022;
201.221
