1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to elections; providing for a voter's guide 
  1.3             and a caucus guide; appropriating money; amending 
  1.4             Minnesota Statutes 1994, sections 202A.20, by adding a 
  1.5             subdivision; and 204B.27, by adding a subdivision. 
  1.6   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.7      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 202A.20, is 
  1.8   amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  1.9      Subd. 3.  [CAUCUS GUIDE.] At least 21 days before the 
  1.10  precinct caucuses, the secretary of state shall mail a caucus 
  1.11  guide to every household in the state.  The caucus guide must 
  1.12  contain information on participation in the caucus process and 
  1.13  the location of the caucus for each major political party in the 
  1.14  voter's precinct. 
  1.15     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 204B.27, is 
  1.16  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  1.17     Subd. 9.  [VOTER'S GUIDE.] At least 21 days before the 
  1.18  state primary and the state general election, the secretary of 
  1.19  state shall mail a voter's guide to every household in the 
  1.20  state.  The voter's guide must include only the following 
  1.21  information: 
  1.22     (1) the name, address, telephone number, and political 
  1.23  party or political principle of each candidate for each partisan 
  1.24  office voted on at the state primary and state general election; 
  1.25     (2) biographical information including only the occupation, 
  2.1   occupational background, educational background, experience with 
  2.2   civic organizations, and prior government experience on each 
  2.3   nominee (if provided by the candidate), not to exceed 50 words; 
  2.4      (3) a statement provided by the attorney general on the 
  2.5   purpose and effect of any proposed constitutional amendment; 
  2.6      (4) information on the procedures for voter registration 
  2.7   and the location of the voter's polling place; 
  2.8      (5) information on the procedures and application forms for 
  2.9   voting by absentee ballot; 
  2.10     (6) information on assistance available to persons with 
  2.11  disabilities; and 
  2.12     (7) maps of election districts and telephone numbers of 
  2.13  state and county election officials. 
  2.14     The secretary of state shall provide each person filing an 
  2.15  affidavit of candidacy for a partisan office with blank forms 
  2.16  and instructions to be used by the candidates to submit 
  2.17  information for the voter's guide.  Candidates must submit 
  2.18  information for the voter's guide to the secretary of state no 
  2.19  later than six weeks before the state primary election.  The 
  2.20  secretary of state may not edit any of the material submitted by 
  2.21  a candidate.  The secretary of state may provide the candidates 
  2.22  an opportunity to review their own submitted material before 
  2.23  publication. 
  2.24     The secretary of state must reject and return to the 
  2.25  candidate any statement which exceeds the word limit provided in 
  2.26  this subdivision or which contains obscene, profane, scandalous, 
  2.27  or defamatory language, or contains any language that may not be 
  2.28  legally circulated through the mails.  No later than three days 
  2.29  after the rejection of any material submitted by a candidate, an 
  2.30  appeal of the decision of the secretary of state may be made to 
  2.31  the board of review.  The board of review shall consist of 
  2.32  appointees of the governor, speaker of the house, house minority 
  2.33  leader, senate majority leader, and senate minority leader.  The 
  2.34  decision of the board in any appeal made as provided in this 
  2.35  subdivision is final.  Nothing in this section shall make the 
  2.36  author of the material submitted to the secretary of state 
  3.1   exempt from any civil or criminal action due to defamatory 
  3.2   statements made by the author.  The person writing, signing, or 
  3.3   offering a statement to the secretary of state is deemed its 
  3.4   author and publisher.  
  3.5      Sec. 3.  [APPROPRIATION.] 
  3.6      $....... is appropriated from the general fund from the 
  3.7   amount available as a result of the repeal of the presidential 
  3.8   primary to the secretary of state to implement sections 1 and 2, 
  3.9   to be available until June 30, 1997.