2012 AB Envelope Registered Voters

All of these documents are available from the agency contact person: Bert Black at Office of the Secretary of State, 180 State Office Building, 100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard, Saint Paul MN 55155, 651-201-1326 (voice), 651-215-0682 (FAX), Bert.Black@state.mn.us. TTY users may call the Office of the Secretary of State through the Minnesota Relay Service at 711.

Alternative Format/Accommodation. Upon request, this information can be made available in an alternative format, such as large print, braille, or audio. To make such a request or if you need an accommodation to make this hearing accessible, please contact the agency contact person at the address or telephone number listed above.

Public Comment: all interested or affected persons, including representatives of associations or other interested groups, will have an opportunity to participate. You have until 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, October 19, 2011, to submit written comment in support of or in opposition to the proposed rules or any part or subpart of the rules. Your comment must be in writing and received by the agency contact person by the due date. Comment is encouraged. Your comments should identify the portion of the proposed rules addressed, the reason for the comment, and any change proposed. You are encouraged to propose any change that you desire. You must also make any comments about the legality of the proposed rules during this comment period.

In addition to submitting comments, you may also request that the Office hold a hearing on the rules. You must make your request for a public hearing in writing, which the agency contact person must receive by 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, October 19, 2011. You must include your name and address in your written request. In addition, you must identify the portion of the proposed rules that you object to or state that you oppose the entire set of rules. Any request that does not comply with these requirements is not valid and the Office cannot count it when determining whether it must hold a public hearing. You are also encouraged to state the reason for the request and any changes you want made to the proposed rules.

Method of Adoption. The Office of the Secretary of State intends to adopt rules without a public hearing following the procedures in the rules of the Office of Administrative Hearings, Minnesota Rules, parts 1400.2300 to 1400.2310, and the Administrative Procedure Act, Minnesota Statutes, sections 14.22 to 14.28. If, however, 25 or more persons submit a written request for a hearing on the rules by 4:30 p.m. on October 19, 2011, the Office will hold a public hearing in Room 300N, State Office Building, 100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard, Saint Paul, Minnesota 55155, starting at 9:30 A.M. on Wednesday, November 2, 2011. To find out whether the Office will adopt the rules without a hearing or if it will hold the hearing, you should contact the agency contact person after October 19, 2011 and before November 2, 2011 or check the website of the Office of Secretary of State at: http://www.sos.state.mn.us/index.aspx?page=1687

Administrative Law Judge. If there is a hearing, Administrative Law Judge Eric L. Lipman is assigned to conduct the hearing. Judge Lipman can be reached at the Office of Administrative Hearings, 600 North Robert Street, P.O. Box 64620, Saint Paul, Minnesota 55164-0620, telephone 651-361-7842, and FAX 651-361-7936. This rule hearing procedure is governed by Minnesota Rules, parts 1400.2000 to 1400.2240, and Minnesota Statutes, sections 14.131 to 14.20. You should direct questions about the rule hearing procedure to the administrative law judge.

Modifications. The Office may modify the proposed rules, either as a result of public comment or as a result of the rule hearing process. It must support modifications by data and views submitted to the Office or presented at the hearing. The adopted rules may not be substantially different than these proposed rules unless the Office follows the procedure under Minnesota Rules, part 1400.2110. If the proposed rules affect you in any way, the Office encourages you to participate in the rulemaking process.

Adoption Procedure if No Hearing. If no hearing is required, the Office may adopt the rules after the end of the comment period. The Office will submit the rules and supporting documents to the Office of Administrative Hearings for review for legality. You may ask to be notified of the date the rules are submitted to the office. If you want to receive notice of this, to receive a copy of the adopted rules, or to register with the agency to receive notice of future rule proceedings, submit your request to the agency contact person listed above.

Adoption Procedure After a Hearing. If the Office holds a hearing, you and all interested or affected persons, including representatives of associations or other interested groups, will have an opportunity to participate. You may present your views either orally at the hearing or in writing at any time before the hearing record closes. All evidence presented should relate to the proposed rules. You may also submit written material to the Administrative Law Judge to be recorded in the hearing record for five working days after the public hearing ends. At the hearing the Administrative Law Judge may order that this five-day comment period be extended for a longer period but not more than 20 calendar days. Following the comment period, there is a five-working-day rebuttal period when the Office and any interested person may respond in writing to any new information submitted. No one may submit additional evidence during the five-day rebuttal period. The Office of Administrative Hearings must receive all comments and responses submitted to the Administrative Law Judge no later than 4:30 p.m. on the due date. All comments or responses received will be available for review at the Office of Administrative Hearings. After the close of the hearing record, the Administrative Law Judge will issue a report on the proposed rules. You may ask to be notified of the date that the Administrative Law Judge’s report will become available, and can make this request at the hearing or in writing to the Administrative Law Judge. You may also ask to be notified of the date that the Office adopts the rules and the rules are filed with the Secretary of State by requesting this at the hearing or by writing to the agency contact person stated above.

Lobbyist Registration. Minnesota Statutes, chapter 10A, requires each lobbyist to register with the State Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board. Ask any questions about this requirement of the Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board at: Suite #190, Centennial Building, 658 Cedar Street, St. Paul, Minnesota 55155, telephone 651-296-5148 or 1-800-657-3889.

Office of the Secretary of State of Minnesota

REQUEST FOR COMMENTS

    Possible Amendment to Rules Governing Absentee and Mail Ballots, Minnesota Rules, chapter 8210

    Subject of Rules. The Office of the Secretary of State of Minnesota requests comments on its possible amendment to rules governing absentee and mail ballots. The Office is considering rules amendments that make small changes to the text, formatting and layout of the absentee and mail ballot envelopes and instructions to accomplish the following:  clarify which fields are required, clarify that witnesses who are not public officials or notaries must list a street address in Minnesota, inform voters how to check on the status of their absentee ballot, revise the confidentiality notice on the instructions and require election officials to label the transmittal envelope for replacement ballots as such. The Office is also considering changes to the rules governing presidential-only absentee balloting to conform to previous rule and statutory changes to absentee balloting.

    Persons Affected. The amendment to the rules would likely affect absentee and mail voters and county auditors, election directors and municipal clerks who administer absentee and mail voting.

    Statutory Authority. Minnesota Statutes, sections 203B.08, 203B.09 and 203B.125 authorize the Secretary of State to adopt rules for absentee ballots, and they state, in relevant part:

    203B.08: Subd. 4. Rules.
    The secretary of state shall adopt rules establishing procedures to be followed by county auditors and municipal clerks to assure accurate and timely return of absentee ballots. The rules of the secretary of state may authorize procedures and methods of return in addition to those specified in this section.
    203B.09: The secretary of state shall adopt rules establishing the form, content, and type size and style for the printing of blank applications for absentee ballots, absentee voter lists, return envelopes, certificates of eligibility to vote by absentee ballot, ballot envelopes, and directions for casting an absentee ballot. Any official charged with the duty of printing any of these materials shall do so in accordance with these rules.
    203B.125 The secretary of state shall adopt rules establishing methods and procedures for issuing ballot cards and related absentee forms to be used as provided in section 203B.08, subdivision 1a, and for the reconciliation of voters and ballot cards before tabulation under section 204C.20,
 Minnesota Statutes, section 204B.45 authorizes the Secretary of State to adopt rules for mail balloting and states, in relevant part:

    Subd. 3. Election Law applied; rules.
    The Minnesota Election Law is applicable to mail balloting except as provided by this section or by rules adopted by the secretary of state, but only paper ballots may be used. The secretary of state shall adopt rules for the conduct of mail balloting, including instructions to voters, procedures for challenge of voters, public observation of the counting of ballots, and procedures for proper handling and safeguarding of ballots to ensure the integrity of the election.

    Public Comment. Interested persons or groups may submit comments or information on these possible rules in writing until 4:30 p.m. on August 26, 2011. The Office will not publish a notice of intent to adopt the rules until more than 60 days have elapsed from the date of this request for comments.. The Office does not plan to appoint an advisory committee to comment on the possible rules.

    Rules Drafts. The Office has not yet drafted the possible amendments and does not anticipate that a draft of the amendments will be available before the publication of the proposed rules.

    Agency Contact Person. Written comments, questions, requests to receive a draft of the rules when it has been prepared, and requests for more information on these possible rules should be directed to: Bert Black at Office of the Secretary of State, 180 State Office Building, 100 Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard, Saint Paul MN 55155, 651-201-1326, 651-215-0682 FAX, Bert.Black@state.mn.us. TTY users may call the Office by calling the MN Relay Service at 711.

    Alternative Format. Upon request, this information can be made available in an alternative format, such as large print, braille, or audio. To make such a request, please contact the agency contact person at the address or telephone number listed above.

    NOTE: Comments received in response to this notice will not necessarily be included in the formal rulemaking record submitted to the administrative law judge if and when a proceeding to adopt rules is started. The agency is required to submit to the judge only those written comments received in response to the rules after they are proposed. If you submit comments during the development of the rules and want to ensure that the Administrative Law Judge reviews the comments, you should resubmit the comments after the rules are formally proposed.

Dated: June 22, 2011                                 Mark Ritchie
                                                                Secretary of State