1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to elections; changing the presidential 
  1.3             primary date and filing fee, delegate apportionment, 
  1.4             public information, and rulemaking requirements; 
  1.5             eliminating obsolete language; amending Minnesota 
  1.6             Statutes 1996, sections 200.01; 207A.01; 207A.02, 
  1.7             subdivision 1a; 207A.06, subdivision 2; 207A.08; and 
  1.8             207A.09; repealing Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 
  1.9             207A.07. 
  1.10  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.11     Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 200.01, is 
  1.12  amended to read: 
  1.13     200.01 [CITATION, MINNESOTA ELECTION LAW.] 
  1.14     This chapter and chapters 201, 202A, 203B, 204B, 204C, 
  1.15  204D, 205, 205A, 206, 207A, 208, 209, 211A, 211B, and 211C shall 
  1.16  be known as the Minnesota election law. 
  1.17     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 207A.01, is 
  1.18  amended to read: 
  1.19     207A.01 [PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY.] 
  1.20     A presidential primary must be held on the first Tuesday in 
  1.21  April of March each year after 1999 in which a president and 
  1.22  vice president of the United States are to be nominated and 
  1.23  elected, at which the voters of this state may express their 
  1.24  preference among the candidates of the major political party of 
  1.25  their choice, for that party's nomination to be president of the 
  1.26  United States or may vote for uncommitted delegates to the 
  1.27  national party convention.  For the purposes of sections 207A.01 
  2.1   to 207A.07 207A.09, "political party" or "party" means a 
  2.2   political party as defined in section 200.02, subdivision 7.  
  2.3      Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 207A.02, 
  2.4   subdivision 1a, is amended to read: 
  2.5      Subd. 1a.  [TIME FOR FILING; FEE.] The period for filing an 
  2.6   affidavit of candidacy for the presidential primary must begin 
  2.7   16 weeks before the primary and end 14 weeks before the 
  2.8   primary.  The filing fee is $500 $1,000.  The period for signing 
  2.9   nominating petitions must begin 16 weeks before the primary and 
  2.10  end ten weeks before the primary. 
  2.11     Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 207A.06, 
  2.12  subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  2.13     Subd. 2.  [CHOSEN DELEGATES.] Delegates to the national 
  2.14  convention of each political party appearing on the presidential 
  2.15  primary ballot must be chosen by the state convention or 
  2.16  congressional district convention of that party, except as 
  2.17  otherwise provided in this subdivision.  The secretary of each 
  2.18  party's state convention or congressional district convention 
  2.19  shall promptly notify the secretary of state of the names of the 
  2.20  delegates to the national convention chosen as supporters of 
  2.21  each presidential candidate. and the names of the candidates to 
  2.22  which the delegates have been apportioned by July 1 of each year 
  2.23  in which a presidential primary is held.  A political party 
  2.24  whose apportionment of delegates does not conform to the results 
  2.25  of the presidential primary ceases to be eligible to issue 
  2.26  political contribution refund receipt forms under section 
  2.27  290.06, subdivision 23, until it notifies the secretary of state 
  2.28  of an apportionment that does conform to the results of the 
  2.29  presidential primary. 
  2.30     Sec. 5.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 207A.08, is 
  2.31  amended to read: 
  2.32     207A.08 [INFORMATION ON PARTY CHOICE.] 
  2.33     Notwithstanding section 204C.18, subdivision 1, or other 
  2.34  law to the contrary, a person entitled to inspect the duplicate 
  2.35  registration file or receive a copy of a current precinct the 
  2.36  public information list under section 201.091 must also be 
  3.1   informed of indicate the party choice of any voter who voted in 
  3.2   the most recent presidential primary under this chapter. 
  3.3      Sec. 6.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 207A.09, is 
  3.4   amended to read: 
  3.5      207A.09 [RULEMAKING AUTHORITY.] 
  3.6      The secretary of state shall adopt rules to implement the 
  3.7   provisions of this chapter as follows: 
  3.8      (1) to implement section sections 207A.01 to 207A.08; 
  3.9      (2) to determine a method for verifying the signatures on 
  3.10  nominating petitions and petitions in place of filing fees for 
  3.11  the presidential primary; 
  3.12     (3) to determine the format of the presidential primary 
  3.13  ballots; and 
  3.14     (4) to determine the manner of paying or reimbursing the 
  3.15  costs to the counties of conducting the presidential primary. 
  3.16     Sec. 7.  [REPEALER.] 
  3.17     Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 207A.07, is repealed.