Carver County details 2026 absentee processing changes, adds public viewing and chain-of-custody steps

County elections staff presented a series of operational changes intended to improve absentee ballot processing and public transparency ahead of the 2026 election. Dave Frishman, the county’s property finance director leading the presentation, said the elections office will open a new public viewing area for absentee‑ballot processing and expand processing capacity so up to six teams of two party‑list election judges can work in the absentee room.

Frishman also described a new chain‑of‑custody plan to address physical and cybersecurity risks, citing measures such as documented custody logs, lockable metal boxes and tamper‑evident seals. “The goal is to address the physical and cybersecurity of election related materials,” Frishman said. He told the board counties must submit chain‑of‑custody plans to the secretary of state’s office by June 1.

Kendra Olson, Carver County elections manager, clarified the statutory change in the in‑person absentee cutoff: “That new statutory language cutoff of 5PM applies to in person drop offs,” Olson said, noting ballots arriving by mail with a post‑office communication may still be accepted. Olson described required extended hours during the two weekend periods before the general election and other business‑hour windows during the 46‑day absentee voting stretch.

Frishman told commissioners the changes are largely codifications of best practices and that Carver County has used party‑list election judges for many required tasks since 2018. He said the adjustments — more processing space, additional teams and clearer chain‑of‑custody rules — aim to let the county report the first round of precinct results earlier on election night.