HF 3255

as introduced - 93rd Legislature (2023 - 2024) Posted on 04/17/2023 10:51am

A bill for an act
relating to elections; requiring major party candidates to be certified by a major
party before being placed on the ballot; amending ballot placement requirements;
amending petition requirements; amending Minnesota Statutes 2022, sections
204B.03; 204B.071; 204B.10, by adding a subdivision; 204D.07, subdivision 1;
204D.08, subdivision 3; 204D.12; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota
Statutes, chapter 204B.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

new text begin [204B.025] MAJOR POLITICAL PARTY CERTIFICATION OF
CANDIDATES.
new text end

new text begin (a) The chair of each major political party must certify to the secretary of state the names
of candidates for partisan office who sought the endorsement of the major political party at
a convention organized by the major political party and received at least 30 percent of the
vote on a ballot. The certification must include the name of the candidate and the office for
which they are certified. The chair must also include in the certification the date, location,
number of voting delegates at the convention at which a candidate sought the major political
party's endorsement, highest percentage of the vote that each candidate received on a ballot,
and name of the candidate who received the major political party's endorsement, if any.
new text end

new text begin (b) The certification for congressional and legislative candidates must be submitted to
the secretary of state no later than seven days before the start of the filing period. The party
chair must submit the certification for candidates elected statewide before the start of the
filing period or within 24 hours after the end of the party convention, whichever is later.
new text end

new text begin (c) After the deadlines provided in paragraph (b), the chair of a major political party
may certify additional names of candidates who received the party's endorsement in
accordance with the major party's constitution, rules, and bylaws. The party chair must
submit the certification to the secretary of state. The certification must include the name of
the candidate and the office for which they are certified.
new text end

new text begin (d) The secretary of state must post the information certified by the chairs of the major
political parties on the secretary of state's website and forward the names of certified
candidates for legislative offices to the applicable county auditors as soon as practicable.
new text end

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2022, section 204B.03, is amended to read:

204B.03 MANNER OF NOMINATION.

new text begin (a) new text end Candidates of a major political party for any partisan office new text begin who have been certified
by the chair of a major political party under section 204B.025, new text end except presidential elector
and all candidates for nonpartisan office new text begin , new text end shall apply for a place on the primary ballot by
filing an affidavit of candidacy as provided in section 204B.06, and except as otherwise
provided in section 204D.07, subdivision 3, shall be nominated by primary. new text begin Only candidates
who have been certified by the chair of a major political party as provided in section
204B.025 may file for office for nomination by that major political party.
new text end

new text begin (b) new text end Candidates for any partisan office who do not seek the nomination of a major political
party new text begin or who are not eligible to be the nominee of a major political party due to a lack of
certification by the chair of a major political party as provided in section 204B.025 new text end shall be
nominated by nominating petition as provided in sections 204B.07 and 204B.08, and, except
for presidential elector candidates, shall file an affidavit of candidacy as provided in section
204B.06. new text begin In accordance with section 204B.07, the political party or political principal listed
on a candidate's nominating petition must not include the name of a major political party,
in whole or in part, or the word "nonpartisan."
new text end

Sec. 3.

Minnesota Statutes 2022, section 204B.071, is amended to read:

204B.071 PETITIONS; RULES OF SECRETARY OF STATE.

The secretary of state shall adopt rules governing the manner in which petitions required
for any election in this state are circulated, signed, filed, and inspected. The secretary of
state shall provide samples of petition forms for use by election officials. new text begin Notwithstanding
any rules to the contrary, nominating petitions may be printed on letter-sized paper.
new text end

Sec. 4.

Minnesota Statutes 2022, section 204B.10, is amended by adding a subdivision to
read:

new text begin Subd. 1a. new text end

new text begin Affidavits of candidacy; partisan candidates. new text end

new text begin An official with whom
affidavits of candidacy for partisan office are filed must only accept an affidavit of candidacy
from a candidate for a partisan office for nomination with a major political party if the
candidate's name appears on a major political party chair's certification of candidates provided
by section 204B.025. The official must reject an affidavit of candidacy for partisan office
for nomination with a major political party from a candidate whose name has not been
certified by the chair of a major political party.
new text end

Sec. 5.

Minnesota Statutes 2022, section 204D.07, subdivision 1, is amended to read:

Subdivision 1.

Duties of county auditor.

Except as provided in subdivisions 2 and 3,
the county auditor shall place on the appropriate state primary ballot the name of each
candidate who has properly filed an affidavit of candidacy with the auditor and of each
candidate certified by the secretary of state pursuant to section 204D.06. new text begin For partisan offices,
the county auditor may only place the names of candidates that were certified by the chair
of a major political party as provided by section 204B.025 on a state primary ballot.
new text end

Sec. 6.

Minnesota Statutes 2022, section 204D.08, subdivision 3, is amended to read:

Subd. 3.

Rotation of names.

new text begin (a) Except as provided in paragraph (b), new text end on state primary
ballots the name of each candidate for nomination to a partisan or nonpartisan office shall
be rotated with the names of the other candidates for nomination to that office so that the
name of each candidate appears substantially an equal number of times at the top, at the
bottom, and at each intermediate place in that group of candidates. If the number of
candidates for an office is equal to or less than the number to be elected, no rotation of
candidate names is required and the official preparing the ballot shall determine the position
of the candidates by lot.

new text begin (b) When the chair of a major political party has certified that a candidate received the
party's endorsement under section 204B.025, candidates must not be rotated and must be
placed on the ballot as provided in this paragraph. The candidate who received the party's
endorsement must be listed first, followed by any other candidates who filed for this office
in descending order of the percentage of the vote that they received at the party convention.
In the case of a tie, the secretary of state must determine the position of the tied candidates
by lot.
new text end

Sec. 7.

Minnesota Statutes 2022, section 204D.12, is amended to read:

204D.12 NAMES PLACED ON GENERAL ELECTION BALLOTS.

Without payment of an additional fee, the county auditor shall place on the appropriate
state general election ballot the name of every candidate:

(1) whose nomination at the state primary has been certified by the appropriate canvassing
board new text begin or whose nomination was declared upon the close of filing under section 204D.03,
subdivision 3 new text end ;

(2) who has been nominated by petition, including candidates certified by the secretary
of state; and

(3) who was nominated and whose name was omitted from the state nonpartisan primary
ballot pursuant to section 204D.07, subdivision 3. Only the names of duly nominated
candidates may be placed on a ballot.