Subdivision 1.Statewide registration system.

(a) The statewide registration system is the official record of registered voters. The voter registration applications and the terminal providing access to the statewide registration system must be under the control of the county auditor or the public official to whom the county auditor has delegated the responsibility for maintaining voter registration records. The voter registration applications and terminals providing access to the statewide registration system must not be removed from the control of the county auditor except as provided in this section. The county auditor may make photographic copies of voter registration applications in the manner provided by section 138.17.

(b) A properly completed voter registration application that has been submitted electronically or in paper form to the secretary of state or a county auditor must be maintained by the secretary of state or the county auditor for at least 22 months after the date that the information on the application is entered into the database of the statewide registration system. The secretary of state or the county auditor may dispose of the applications after retention for 22 months in the manner provided by section 138.17.

(c) Data contained on a voter registration application submitted electronically through the secure website established in section 201.061, subdivision 1, must be maintained in its original form, in a manner suitable for printing, for the period required by this section. The Internet Protocol address used to submit an application electronically must be maintained with the voter registration application data.

Subd. 2.Exception.

The secretary of state may maintain voter records of participants of the Safe at Home program for the purposes of chapter 5B.