8.f)1) Absentee Voting for 2010 Elections Meeting Date: 4/20/2010
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City Council Agenda Report
City of Scandia
14727 209`h St. North
Scandia, MN 55073 (651) 433-2274
Action Requested: Receive a report on absentee balloting for the 2010 elections, and give
staff direction on whether or not Scandia should administer absentee
ballots or allow Washington County to do so.
Deadline/Timeline: Washington County requests a decision on delegation of absentee
voting administration by May 1.
Background: • The State Legislature has made many changes to elections
procedures that will be effective for the 2010 Primary and General
elections. The procedures for absentee ballot(AB) administration
are changing significantly.
• Previously, Scandia (and most other municipalities) administered
their own AB ballots. AB applications were accepted and ballots
provided at the city office. Returned ABs were reviewed and
accepted by local election judges, and ABs were counted with all
other ballots on election night at the local precinct. The city
provided extra office hours the Saturday before the election for
absentee voting as a convenience to local voters.
• A significant number of Scandia voters submitted ABs in the last
election(we estimate close to 400, or about 15%.)
• The new process will be significantly more complex, with
procedures aimed at reducing the chance that valid ABs will be
rejected. AB applications and returns will be tracked using a state-
wide computer system, and will be counted as soon as they are
accepted rather than waiting for election night. A local Absentee
Ballot Board would review and accept or reject ABs as they come
in. Additional training for staff and AB Boards will be required,
and new computer peripheral hardware and software must be
purchased and installed.
• The Administrator and Deputy Clerk met with county elections
staff to discuss the new AB process. Initially, we felt that the City
should continue to administer absentee voting as a service to our
residents. If we do not do so, voters will need to travel to Forest
Lake or Stillwater to obtain ballots. The Saturday office hours for
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AB voting prior to Election Day would be eliminated.
• If the City does not process its own ABs, we will not know the
vote totals immediately on election night. That means that we will
not know on election night in November who the winners are in
our City Council race,until the county provides the counts from
ABs.
• After receiving more information about what will be required to
administer the AB process, we are no longer enthusiastic about
doing so locally. Disadvantages include:
o Cost of required equipment (between $300 and $400) and
the limited space in which to install it.
o The challenge and possible additional cost of appointing
and training a party-balanced AB board that would be
available as ballots are returned.
o Limited staff time for the required training on the new
computer system, and the time needed to process ABs as
they are returned.
• We have also learned that most of the cities in Washington County
have decided not to administer absentee voting. It appears that
only Stillwater and Scandia(and White Bear Lake, for their small
portion in the county) may still be interested in doing so.
• If we do not administer ABs, we will still be able to provide AB
applications to our residents, which then can then mail to
Washington County and save a trip to a county service center.
Recommendation: Because this decision has impacts on service to our citizens, staff
wanted the Council to be aware of and have input into this decision.
Staff recommends that Scandia allow Washington County to
administer ABs for the 2010 elections.
Attachments/ • None
Materials provided:
Contact(s):
Prepared by: Anne Hurlburt, Administrator
(absentee voting)
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