The secure delivery of absentee ballots and providing a penalty. (FE)

Current law requires that an absentee ballot be returned by mail or in person to the municipal clerk. Under the bill, an absentee ballot must be returned by mail or by the voter, a member of the voter's immediate family, or the voter's legal guardian to the office of the municipal clerk; to the municipal clerk at an alternate absentee ballot site; to the site of a collection event; or to the voter's polling place on election day. If the voter is unable to deliver the absentee ballot and has no legal guardian or immediate family residing in this state, the voter may designate, in writing, one person who is a registered voter in this state to deliver the ballot, except that the voter may not designate a candidate on the ballot nor compensate the person to deliver the ballot. No person designated to deliver a ballot may deliver more than one ballot for any election for a person who is not a member of the person's immediate family.

The bill allows a municipality to designate a site other than the municipal clerk's office as a location for a voter to return his or her completed absentee ballot.

Unlike an alternate absentee ballot site under current law, a site designated for the collection of completed absentee ballots may not be used by a voter to make a request for and vote by absentee ballot. However, similar to an alternate absentee ballot site, a designated collection site must be located as near as practicable to the office of the municipal clerk. In addition, like an alternate absentee ballot site, a collection site must be staffed by the municipal clerk or employees of the clerk and be accessible to all individuals with disabilities. Under the bill, a voter may return his or her completed absentee ballot to a collection site only during the period that coincides with the period for making applications for in person absentee ballots. That period begins no earlier than 14 days preceding an election and ends no later than the Sunday preceding that election.

Finally, the bill prohibits a person from obtaining a marked absentee ballot from another person in order to deliver it to the municipal clerk or polling place, unless the person obtaining the ballot is a member of the voter's immediate family or the voter's legal guardian. A person who violates this prohibition is guilty of a Class I felony.

Because this bill creates a new crime or revises a penalty for an existing crime, the Joint Review Committee on Criminal Penalties may be requested to prepare a report.