Section 201.016 Residence Requirements for Voting; Violations; Penalty

MINNESOTA STATUTES AND CODES

Section 201.016 Residence Requirements for Voting; Violations; Penalty

201.016 RESIDENCE REQUIREMENTS FOR VOTING; VIOLATIONS; PENALTY.

Subdivision 1.Determination of residence.

An eligible voter may vote only in the precinct in which the voter maintains residence. The residence of a voter shall be determined in accordance with section 200.031.

Subd. 1a.Violations; penalty.

(a) The county auditor shall mail a notice to any voter who the county auditor can determine has: (1) provided the address at which the voter maintains residence, but was allowed to vote in a precinct other than the precinct in which the voter maintains residence; and (2) not voted in the wrong precinct previously. The notice must be in the form provided by the secretary of state.

(b) The county auditor shall mail a violation notice to any voter who otherwise voted in a precinct in which the voter did not maintain residence on election day. The county auditor shall also change the status of the voter in the statewide registration system to "challenged" and the voter shall be required to provide proof of residence to either the county auditor or to the election judges in the voter's precinct before voting in the next election. Any of the forms authorized by section 201.061 for registration at the polling place may be used for this purpose.

(c) A voter who votes in a precinct other than the precinct in which the voter maintains residence after receiving an initial violation notice as provided in this subdivision is guilty of a petty misdemeanor.

(d) A voter who votes in a precinct other than the precinct in which the voter maintains residence after having been found to have committed a petty misdemeanor under paragraph (b) is guilty of a misdemeanor.

(e) Reliance by the voter on inaccurate information regarding the location of the voter's polling place provided by the state, county, or municipality is an affirmative defense to a prosecution under this subdivision.

Subd. 2.Duration of residence.

The governing body of any city by resolution may require an eligible voter to maintain residence in a precinct for a period of 30 days prior to voting on any question affecting only that precinct or voting to elect public officials representing only that precinct. The governing body of any town by resolution may require an eligible voter to maintain residence in that town for a period of 30 days prior to voting in a town election. The school board of any school district by resolution may require an eligible voter to maintain residence in that school district for a period of 30 days prior to voting in a school district election.