1.1 A bill for an act
1.2 relating to elections;
modifying student voter registration requirements for
1.3 postsecondary
institutions;amending Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 201.1611.
1.4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE
LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
1.5 Section 1. Minnesota Statutes
2024, section 201.1611, is amended to read:
1.6 201.1611 POSTSECONDARY
INSTITUTION AND SCHOOL DISTRICT VOTER
1.7 REGISTRATION.
1.8 Subdivision
1.Forms. (a) All postsecondary institutions that enroll students
accepting
1.9 state or federal financial
aid must provide Minnesota voter registration forms and information
1.10 about how to register to
vote and request and submit an absentee ballot in all other 49 states
1.11 to each student during the fall
and spring of each year. In state election years, it must be
1.12 provided 15 days in advance of
the deadline for registering to vote for the state general
1.13 election. If the voter
registration forms are provided electronically, the electronic message
1.14 must be devoted exclusively to
voter registration.
1.15 (b) All school districts must
make available paper or electronic voter registration
1.16 applications each May and
September to all students registered as students of the school
1.17 district who are eligible to
register or preregister to vote. A school district has no obligation
1.18 to provide voter registration
applications to students who participate in a postsecondary
1.19 education option program or who
otherwise maintain residence in the district but do not
1.20 attend a school operated by the
district. A school district fulfills its obligation to a student
1.21 under this section if it
provides a voter registration application to the student one time.
2.1 (c) The voter registration
forms must contain spaces for the information required in
2.2 section 201.071, subdivision
1, and applicable rules of the secretary of state. The institutions
2.3 and school districts may request
these forms from the secretary of state. Institutions must
2.4 consult with their campus
student government in determining the most effective means of
2.5 distributing the forms and in
seeking to facilitate election day registration of students under
2.6 section 201.061, subdivision
3. School districts must advise students that completion of the
2.7 voter registration
application is not a school district requirement.
2.8 (d) The institutions must
report to the secretary of state by November 30 of each year
2.9 on their implementation of
this section. At a minimum, the report must include how and
2.10 when the forms were distributed
and the voter engagement plan under subdivision 3,
2.11 paragraph (b) (c),
clause (2). Institutions may include information about methods that were
2.12 effective in increasing student
registrations.
2.13 (e) By February 1 of each year,
the secretary of state must report to the chairs and ranking
2.14 minority members of the
legislative committees with jurisdiction over elections on the
2.15 information under paragraph
(d). The secretary must highlight best practices and innovative
2.16 methods that were most
effective in registering students to vote.
2.17 Subd. 2.Student
voter registration. A copy of each completed voter registration form
2.18 must be sent to the county
auditor of the county in which the voter maintains residence or
2.19 to the secretary of state as
soon as possible. All completed voter registration forms must be
2.20 forwarded no later than 21 days
before the general election.
2.21 Subd. 3.Voter
information. (a) All postsecondary institutions that enroll students
2.22 accepting state or federal
financial aid must maintain a webpage to share resources to help
2.23 students determine where and
how they are eligible to vote. The webpage must include the
2.24 following:
2.25 (1) resources from state and
local election officials on voter registration and voting
2.26 requirements including voter
registration deadlines; residency requirements; acceptable
2.27 methods of proving residency
for same day registration, as applicable; and absentee voting
2.28 options;
2.29 (2) applicable deadlines for
requesting and submitting an absentee ballot, as well as
2.30 additional options for early
and in-person voting, and voting on election day;
2.31 (3) resources to help students
who are registered in another state to apply for absentee
2.32 ballots in that state, and may
include resources from state and local election officials from
2.33 that state;
3.1 (4) the campus vote
coordinator's name and contact information; and
3.2 (5) the voter engagement plan
required by paragraph (b) (c), clause (2).
3.3 (b) All postsecondary
institutions that enroll students accepting state or federal financial
3.4 aid must provide a
voter registration form and an absentee ballot request form applicable
3.5 to a student's home
state upon the student's request.
3.6 (b) (c) All
postsecondary institutions that enroll students accepting state or federal
3.7 financial aid must designate
a staff person as the campus vote coordinator. The campus vote
3.8 coordinator must:
3.9 (1) ensure the institution
complies with this section; and
3.10 (2) consult with the campus
student association to develop a voter engagement plan that
3.11 identifies goals and
activities, resources to accomplish the identified goals and activities,
3.12 and individual or key
departments responsible for executing the identified goals and activities.
3.13 EFFECTIVE DATE. This
section is effective the day following final enactment.
