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The Elk River Vision <br />A welcoming community with revolutionary and spirited resourcefulness, exceptional service, and community <br />engagement that encourages and inspires prosperity <br /> <br /> <br />Request for Action <br /> <br />To <br />City Council <br />Item Number <br />4.8 <br /> <br />Meeting Date <br />May 6, 2024 <br />Prepared By <br />Tina Allard, City Clerk <br /> <br />Item Description <br />Resolution 24-21 Governing Write-in Vote <br />Counting <br />Reviewed by: <br />Cal Portner <br />Tina Allard <br /> <br />Action Requested <br />Adopt, by motion, Resolution 24-21 governing write-in vote counting. <br /> <br />Background/Discussion <br />During the 2023 legislative session, there were numerous changes in election laws. One change the city can <br />make is to adopt a resolution governing the counting of write-in votes for city races on the ballot. The <br />resolution may: <br />▪ Require a candidate to file a written request no later than the seventh day before a city election if a <br />candidate wants their vote individually recorded; or <br />▪ Require that write-in votes for a candidate will only be tallied if the total number of write-in votes for <br />that office is equal to or greater than the fewest number of non-write-in votes for a ballot candidate. <br />Additionally, new in law, in order for a write-in to be valid and counted, it now must be marked in the oval <br />opposite the blank where a voter writes an individual's name. <br /> <br />To take effect, the resolution must be adopted before the first day of filing for office. Once adopted, it will <br />remain in effect until reversed by a subsequent resolution. <br /> <br />Because the write-in vote-counting process can be time-consuming and requires resources that do not result <br />in a change of the election results, along with receiving many frivolous names on the ballot, staff recommends <br />adopting a resolution that the write-in votes will only be tallied if the total number of write-in votes for that <br />office is equal to or greater than the fewest number of non-write-in votes for a ballot candidate. <br /> <br />Here are some examples that show what this adopted resolution would look like in a few scenarios. <br /> <br />Scenario 1 Write-in Count Required <br />Total Votes in a Council Member Race 126 <br />Candidate A 75 <br />Candidate B 25 <br />Total Write-in Votes 26 <br />Page 75 of 254