Scott County outlines 2026 election changes and new local procedures

Julie Hanson, Scott County's property and customer service manager, told the Shakopee City Council on July 7 that county and legislative changes will alter how local elections are run in 2026, and urged city staff to prepare.

Hanson said the county's late filing window for local offices will be July 14'—'—28 and reminded clerks that new law requires filings to be emailed to the county within one business day of filing. She listed key dates: the primary is Aug. 11, early voting in the primary begins July 24, the general election is Nov. 3, absentee voting for the general starts Sept. 18 and early voting begins Oct. 16.

Why it matters: Hanson said the changes aim to reduce errors and streamline operations after problems in 2024. She described a county SharePoint that will host daily statewide voter registration system (SVRS) balancing reports for city clerks and approved staff, not for public viewing unless legal guidance allows it.

Hanson said the SharePoint will include a default balancing spreadsheet to standardize reporting and reduce the risk of mismatch between local and county records. "We will have daily upload of the statewide voter registration system reports that show that each of the absentee cities have balanced," she said, adding that only clerks and designated staff will have access to the private site.

On operational changes, Hanson said the county plans to coordinate vendors and ballot printing for special elections to avoid repeated fees and improve efficiency. "By us doing the coordination, that is one fee for all the elections," she said, noting the county handled six special elections in November 2025 and sought to reduce taxpayer expense.

Hanson also described several procedural reforms: a county-developed chain-of-custody plan (due June 1) that local clerks may adopt or exceed; an errors-and-omissions correction process for ballot printing that reduces the need for judicial correction when all involved parties agree; and codified election judge training materials from the Office of the Secretary of State.

On poll operations, Hanson said new poll pads will provide one roster for the entire jurisdiction, print a voter receipt with a barcode and reduce handwriting-related balancing problems. "One poll pad will contain all of the Shakopee voters," she said, adding that multi-precinct cities must use double checks to avoid wrong ballot styles.

Hanson warned about federal and state proposals affecting registration and voting access if enacted. She described proposed laws requiring documentary proof of citizenship to register and said such changes would eliminate online and mail registration and could impose immediate effective dates if signed. "Noncitizen voting is shown to be incredibly rare," Hanson said, but added that sweeping documentary requirements could overwhelm local staff and increase wait times.

Councilors asked whether the public would see balancing reports. Hanson said the county would consider public access but that the SharePoint is currently restricted to clerks and approved staff while legal questions about public release are resolved. "I might actually need to talk to the county attorney and the secretary of state's office and see, at that point, what exactly is public," she said.

What happens next: Hanson said the county will provide training for balancing and will follow up with clerks on implementation details. She offered to answer follow-up questions and provide materials to city staff.