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HF 3549

2nd Engrossment - 89th Legislature (2015 - 2016) Posted on 09/01/2016 10:31am

KEY: stricken = removed, old language.
underscored = added, new language.

Bill Text Versions

Engrossments
Introduction Posted on 03/23/2016
1st Engrossment Posted on 03/29/2016
2nd Engrossment Posted on 05/13/2016

Current Version - 2nd Engrossment

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A bill for an act
relating to elections; establishing a presidential primary; modifying provisions
related to the precinct caucuses; making technical and conforming changes;
amending Minnesota Statutes 2014, sections 201.091, subdivision 4; 202A.14,
subdivision 1; 202A.18, subdivision 2a; 204B.14, subdivisions 2, 4; 204C.10;
204D.09, subdivision 1; Minnesota Statutes 2015 Supplement, section 204C.04,
subdivision 2; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 207A.

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

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 201.091, subdivision 4, is amended to read:


Subd. 4.

Public information lists.

The county auditor shall make available for
inspection a public information list which must contain the name, address, year of birth, and
voting history of each registered voter in the county. new text begin The list must include the party choice
of any voter who voted in the most recent presidential primary.
new text end The telephone number must
be included on the list if provided by the voter. The public information list may also include
information on voting districts. The county auditor may adopt reasonable rules governing
access to the list. No individual inspecting the public information list shall tamper with
or alter it in any manner. No individual who inspects the public information list or who
acquires a list of registered voters prepared from the public information list may use any
information contained in the list for purposes unrelated to elections, political activities, or
law enforcement. The secretary of state may provide copies of the public information lists
and other information from the statewide registration system for uses related to elections,
political activities, or in response to a law enforcement inquiry from a public official
concerning a failure to comply with any criminal statute or any state or local tax statute.

Before inspecting the public information list or obtaining a list of voters or other
information from the list, the individual shall provide identification to the public official
having custody of the public information list and shall state in writing that any information
obtained from the list will not be used for purposes unrelated to elections, political
activities, or law enforcement. Requests to examine or obtain information from the public
information lists or the statewide registration system must be made and processed in the
manner provided in the rules of the secretary of state.

Upon receipt of a statement signed by the voter that withholding the voter's name
from the public information list is required for the safety of the voter or the voter's family,
the secretary of state and county auditor must withhold from the public information list the
name of a registered voter.

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 202A.14, subdivision 1, is amended to read:


Subdivision 1.

Time and manner of holding; postponement.

(a) In every state
general election year, beginning at 7:00 p.m. on the date established pursuant to paragraph
(b), there shall be held for every election precinct a party caucus in the manner provided
in sections 202A.14 to 202A.19.

(b)(1) The chairs of the two largest major political parties shall jointly submit to
the secretary of state, no later than March 1 of each odd-numbered year, the single date
on which the two parties have agreed to conduct their precinct caucuses in the next
even-numbered year.new text begin For a year when a presidential primary is scheduled, the date
submitted must not be the date of the presidential primary, or the town general election
date provided in section 205.075, subdivision 1.
new text end

(2) Within two business days after the parties have agreed on a single date on which
to conduct their precinct caucuses, the secretary of state shall publicly announce the
official state precinct caucus date for the following general election year.

(3) If the chairs of the two largest major political parties do not jointly submit a
single date for conducting their precinct caucuses as provided in this paragraph, then for
purposes of the next general election year, new text begin one of new text end the deleted text begin first Tuesday in Februarydeleted text end new text begin following
dates
new text end shall be considered the day of a major political party precinct caucus and sections
202A.19 and 202A.192 shall only apply on that datenew text begin :
new text end

new text begin (i) the first Tuesday in February in a year when no presidential primary is required; or
new text end

new text begin (ii) the Tuesday immediately prior to the presidential primary in a year when a
presidential primary is required
new text end .

(4) For purposes of this paragraph, the two largest major political parties shall be the
parties whose candidates for governor received the greatest and second greatest number of
votes at the most recent gubernatorial election.

(c) In the event of severe weather a major political party may request the secretary of
state to postpone caucuses. If a major political party makes a request, or upon the secretary
of state's own initiative, after consultation with all major political parties and on the advice
of the federal Weather Bureau and the Department of Transportation, the secretary of state
may declare precinct caucuses to be postponed for a week in counties where weather
makes travel especially dangerous. The secretary of state shall submit a notice of the
postponement to news media covering the affected counties by 6:00 p.m. on the scheduled
day of the caucus. A postponed caucus may also be postponed pursuant to this subdivision.

Sec. 3.

Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 202A.18, subdivision 2a, is amended to read:


Subd. 2a.

Preference ballot.

Prior to the opening of nominations for the election of
permanent offices and delegates, a ballot must be distributed to permit caucus participants
to indicate their preference for the deleted text begin offices of president of the United States ordeleted text end new text begin office of
the
new text end governor. The results of preference voting must be reported to the secretary of state
immediately upon conclusion of the voting, in the manner provided by the secretary of
state. The secretary of state shall provide the appropriate forms to the party for reporting
the results.

Sec. 4.

Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 204B.14, subdivision 2, is amended to read:


Subd. 2.

Separate precincts; combined polling place.

(a) The following shall
constitute at least one election precinct:

(1) each city ward; and

(2) each town and each statutory city.

(b) A single, accessible, combined polling place may be established no later than
new text begin November 1 if a presidential primary is scheduled to occur in the following year or new text end May 1
of any new text begin other new text end year:

(1) for any city of the third or fourth class, any town, or any city having territory in
more than one county, in which all the voters of the city or town shall cast their ballots;

(2) for contiguous precincts in the same municipality;

(3) for up to four contiguous municipalities located entirely outside the metropolitan
area, as defined by section 200.02, subdivision 24, that are contained in the same county; or

(4) for noncontiguous precincts located in one or more counties.

A copy of the ordinance or resolution establishing a combined polling place must
be filed with the county auditor within 30 days after approval by the governing body. A
polling place combined under clause (3) must be approved by the governing body of each
participating municipality. A polling place combined under clause (4) must be approved
by the governing body of each participating municipality and the secretary of state and
may be located outside any of the noncontiguous precincts. A municipality withdrawing
from participation in a combined polling place must do so by filing a resolution of
withdrawal with the county auditor no later than new text begin October 1 if a presidential primary is
scheduled to occur in the following year or
new text end April 1 of any new text begin other new text end year.

The secretary of state shall provide a separate polling place roster for each precinct
served by the combined polling place, except that in a precinct that uses electronic rosters
the secretary of state shall provide separate data files for each precinct. A single set of
election judges may be appointed to serve at a combined polling place. The number of
election judges required must be based on the total number of persons voting at the last
similar election in all precincts to be voting at the combined polling place. Separate ballot
boxes must be provided for the ballots from each precinct. The results of the election must
be reported separately for each precinct served by the combined polling place, except in a
polling place established under clause (2) where one of the precincts has fewer than ten
registered voters, in which case the results of that precinct must be reported in the manner
specified by the secretary of state.

Sec. 5.

Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 204B.14, subdivision 4, is amended to read:


Subd. 4.

Boundary change procedure.

Any change in the boundary of an election
precinct must be adopted at least ten weeks before the date of the next election and, for the
state primary and general electionnew text begin or presidential primarynew text end , no later than deleted text begin Junedeleted text end new text begin December
new text end 1 in the yearnew text begin prior to the yearnew text end of the state general election. The precinct boundary
change shall not take effect until notice of the change has been posted in the office of the
municipal clerk or county auditor for at least 56 days.

The county auditor must publish a notice illustrating or describing the congressional,
legislative, and county commissioner district boundaries in the county in one or more
qualified newspapers in the county at least 14 days before the first day to file affidavits of
candidacy for the state general election in the year ending in two.

Alternate dates for adopting changes in precinct boundaries, posting notices
of boundary changes, and notifying voters affected by boundary changes pursuant
to this subdivision, and procedures for coordinating precinct boundary changes with
reestablishing local government election district boundaries may be established in the
manner provided in the rules of the secretary of state.

Sec. 6.

Minnesota Statutes 2015 Supplement, section 204C.04, subdivision 2, is
amended to read:


Subd. 2.

Elections covered.

For purposes of this section, "election" means a
regularly scheduled election, an election to fill a vacancy in the office of United States
senator or United States representative, an election to fill a vacancy in nomination for a
constitutional office, deleted text begin ordeleted text end an election to fill a vacancy in the office of state senator or state
representativenew text begin , or a presidential primary under chapter 207Anew text end .

Sec. 7.

Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 204C.10, is amended to read:


204C.10 PERMANENT REGISTRATION; VERIFICATION OF
REGISTRATION.

(a) An individual seeking to vote shall sign a polling place roster or voter signature
certificate which states that the individual is at least 18 years of age, a citizen of the United
States, has resided in Minnesota for 20 days immediately preceding the election, maintains
residence at the address shown, is not under a guardianship in which the court order
revokes the individual's right to vote, has not been found by a court of law to be legally
incompetent to vote or has the right to vote because, if the individual was convicted of
a felony, the felony sentence has expired or been completed or the individual has been
discharged from the sentence, is registered and has not already voted in the election. The
roster must also state: "I understand that deliberately providing false information is a felony
punishable by not more than five years imprisonment and a fine of not more than $10,000,
or both."new text begin At the presidential primary, the polling place roster must also state: "I am in
general agreement with the principles of the party for whose candidate I intend to vote."
new text end

(b) A judge may, before the applicant signs the roster or voter signature certificate,
confirm the applicant's name, address, and date of birth.

(c) After the applicant signs the roster or voter signature certificate, the judge shall
give the applicant a voter's receipt. The voter shall deliver the voter's receipt to the judge
in charge of ballots as proof of the voter's right to vote, and thereupon the judge shall
hand to the voter the ballot. The voters' receipts must be maintained during the time for
notice of filing an election contest.

Sec. 8.

Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 204D.09, subdivision 1, is amended to read:


Subdivision 1.

Example ballot.

deleted text begin (a)deleted text end No later than May 1 of each year, the secretary
of state shall supply each auditor with a copy of an example ballotnew text begin to be used at the state
primary and state general election
new text end . The example ballot must illustrate the format required
for the ballots used in the primary and general elections that year. deleted text begin (b)deleted text end The county auditor
shall distribute copies of the example ballot to municipal and school district clerks in
municipalities and school districts holding elections that year. The official ballot must
conform in all respects to the example ballot.

Sec. 9.

new text begin [207A.11] PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY ESTABLISHED.
new text end

new text begin (a) A presidential primary must be held each year in which a president and vice
president of the United States are to be nominated and elected.
new text end

new text begin (b) The party chairs must jointly submit to the secretary of state, no later than March
1 in a year prior to a presidential election year, the single date on which the parties
have agreed to conduct the presidential primary in the next year. If a date is not jointly
submitted by the deadline, the presidential primary must be held on the first Tuesday in
March in the year of the presidential primary. No other election may be conducted on the
date of the presidential primary.
new text end

new text begin (c) The secretary of state, in consultation with the party chairs, must adopt rules to
implement the provisions of this chapter.
new text end

new text begin (d) For purposes of this chapter, "political party" or "party" means a major political
party as defined in section 200.02, subdivision 7.
new text end

Sec. 10.

new text begin [207A.12] CONDUCTING PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY.
new text end

new text begin (a) Except as otherwise provided by law, the presidential primary must be conducted,
and the results canvassed and returned, in the manner provided by law for the state primary.
new text end

new text begin (b) An individual seeking to vote at the presidential primary must be registered to
vote pursuant to section 201.054, subdivision 1. The voter must request the ballot of the
party for whose candidate the individual wishes to vote. Notwithstanding section 204C.18,
subdivision 1, the election judge must record in the polling place roster the name of the
political party whose ballot the voter requested. When posting voter history pursuant to
section 201.171, the county auditor must include the name of the political party whose
ballot the voter requested.
new text end

new text begin (c) Immediately after the state canvassing board declares the results of the
presidential primary, the secretary of state must notify the chair of each party of the results.
new text end

new text begin (d) The results of the presidential primary must bind the election of delegates
in each party.
new text end

Sec. 11.

new text begin [207A.13] FORM OF BALLOTS; CANDIDATES ON BALLOT.
new text end

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Form. new text end

new text begin (a) Except as provided by law, presidential primary ballots
shall be printed in the same manner as state primary ballots as far as practicable. A
sufficient number of each ballot shall be printed for each precinct and ward in the state.
new text end

new text begin (b) There must be separate ballots for the names of the candidates of each political
party. Each ballot must be headed by the words "Presidential Primary Ballot." The
heading must also indicate the party that appears on the ballot.
new text end

new text begin (c) The ballot for each political party must contain a place for a voter to indicate a
preference for having delegates to the party's national convention remain uncommitted
and a blank line printed below the other choices on the ballot so that a voter may write in
the name of a person who is not listed on the ballot.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Candidates on the ballot. new text end

new text begin (a) Each party must determine which candidates
are to be placed on the presidential primary ballot for that party. The chair of each party
must submit to the secretary of state the names of the candidates to appear on the ballot for
that party no later than 63 days before the presidential primary. Once submitted, changes
must not be made to the candidates that will appear on the ballot.
new text end

new text begin (b) No later than the seventh day before the presidential primary, the chair of
each party must submit to the secretary of state the names of any write-in candidates to
be counted for that party.
new text end

Sec. 12.

new text begin [207A.14] NOTICE OF PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY; SAMPLE
BALLOTS.
new text end

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Notice of primary to counties and municipalities. new text end

new text begin Twenty weeks
before a presidential primary is to be held, the secretary of state shall provide notice to the
county auditor of each county of the date of the presidential primary. Within ten days after
notification by the secretary of state, each county auditor shall provide notice of the date
of the presidential primary to each municipal clerk in the county.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Sample ballots. new text end

new text begin No later than 70 days before the presidential primary,
the secretary of state must supply each county auditor with sample ballots to be used at
the presidential primary. The sample ballots must illustrate the format required for the
ballots used in the presidential primary.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 3. new text end

new text begin Notice of primary to public. new text end

new text begin At least 15 days before the date of the
presidential primary, each municipal clerk shall post a public notice stating the date of
the presidential primary, the location of each polling place in the municipality, and the
hours during which the polling places in the municipality will be open. The county
auditor shall post a similar notice in the auditor's office with information for any polling
places in unorganized territory in the county. The governing body of a municipality or
county may publish the notice in addition to posting it. Failure to give notice does not
invalidate the election.
new text end

Sec. 13.

new text begin [207A.15] REIMBURSEMENT OF ELECTION EXPENSES.
new text end

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Reimbursement by secretary of state. new text end

new text begin The secretary of state shall
reimburse the counties and municipalities for expenses incurred in the administration of
the presidential primary from money appropriated by the legislature for this purpose, as
provided in this section. As part of the secretary of state's budget request for a biennium
in which a presidential primary will occur, the secretary shall include an estimate of the
total amount of local costs for conducting the presidential primary that are expected to be
eligible for reimbursement under subdivision 2.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Reimbursable expenses. new text end

new text begin The following expenses are eligible for
reimbursement: preparation and printing of ballots; postage for absentee ballots;
publication of the sample ballot; preparation of polling places; preparation of electronic
voting systems; compensation for temporary staff or overtime payments; salaries of
election judges; and compensation of county canvassing board members.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 3. new text end

new text begin Certification of costs. new text end

new text begin Within 60 days after the presidential primary, the
county auditor shall submit to the secretary of state a request for payment of the costs
incurred by the county for the presidential primary, and the municipal clerk shall submit
to the secretary of state a request for payment of the costs incurred by the municipality
for the presidential primary. The request for payment must be accompanied by an
itemized description of actual county or municipal expenditures, including copies of
invoices. In addition, the county auditor or municipal clerk must certify that the request
for reimbursement is based on actual costs incurred by the county or municipality in the
presidential primary. The secretary of state shall provide each county and municipality
with the appropriate forms for this certification. The secretary of state must not reimburse
expenses unless the certification of costs has been submitted as provided in this
subdivision. The secretary of state shall complete the issuance of reimbursements to the
counties and municipalities no later than 90 days after the presidential primary.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 4. new text end

new text begin Apportionment of reimbursements. new text end

new text begin If the total amount of requests from
all counties and municipalities for reimbursement of expenses exceeds the total amount
appropriated to the secretary of state for this purpose, the secretary of state shall apportion
the reimbursements to the counties and municipalities on the basis of the number of
persons in each jurisdiction registered to vote at 7:00 a.m. on the day of the presidential
primary as a fraction of the total number of persons registered to vote in the state at that
time in jurisdictions that request reimbursement.
new text end

Sec. 14. new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE.
new text end

new text begin This act is effective July 1, 2017, and applies to elections conducted on or after
that date.
new text end