1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to presidential electors; providing for
1.3 	alternates and providing certain voting procedures;
1.4 	amending Minnesota Statutes 2004, sections 208.03;
1.5 	208.04, subdivision 1; 208.05; 208.06; 208.07; 208.08.
1.6 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.7 	Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 208.03, is
1.8 	amended to read:
1.9 	208.03 NOMINATION OF PRESIDENTIAL ELECTORS.
1.10 	Presidential electors for the major political parties of
1.11 	this state shall be nominated by delegate conventions called and
1.12 	held under the supervision of the respective state central
1.13 	committees of the parties of this state.  On or before primary
1.14 	election day the chair of the major political party shall
1.15 	certify to the secretary of state the names of the persons
1.16 	nominated as presidential electors, the names of eight alternate
1.17 	presidential electors,and the names of the party candidates for
1.18 	president and vice-president.

1.19 	Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 208.04,
1.20 	subdivision 1, is amended to read:
1.21 		Subdivision 1.Form of presidential ballots.  When
1.22 	presidential electors and alternates are to be voted for, a vote
1.23 	cast for the party candidates for president and vice-president
1.24 	shall be deemed a vote for that party's electors and alternates 
1.25 	as filed with the secretary of state.  The secretary of state
2.1 	shall certify the names of all duly nominated presidential and
2.2 	vice-presidential candidates to the county auditors of the
2.3 	counties of the state.  Each county auditor, subject to the
2.4 	rules of the secretary of state, shall cause the names of the
2.5 	candidates of each major political party and the candidates
2.6 	nominated by petition to be printed in capital letters, set in
2.7 	type of the same size and style as for candidates on the state
2.8 	white ballot, before the party designation.  To the left of, and
2.9 	on the same line with the names of the candidates for president
2.10 	and vice-president, near the margin, shall be placed a square or
2.11 	box, in which the voters may indicate their choice by marking an
2.12 	"X."
2.13 	The form for the presidential ballot and the relative
2.14 	position of the several candidates shall be determined by the
2.15 	rules applicable to other state officers.  The state ballot,
2.16 	with the required heading, shall be printed on the same piece of
2.17 	paper and shall be below the presidential ballot with a blank
2.18 	space between one inch in width.

2.19 	Sec. 3. Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 208.05, is
2.20 	amended to read:
2.21 	208.05 STATE CANVASSING BOARD.
2.22 	The State Canvassing Board at its meeting on the second
2.23 	Tuesday after each state general election shall open and canvass
2.24 	the returns made to the secretary of state for presidential
2.25 	electors and alternates, prepare a statement of the number of
2.26 	votes cast for the persons receiving votes for these offices,
2.27 	and declare the person or persons receiving the highest number
2.28 	of votes for each office duly elected.  When it appears that
2.29 	more than the number of persons to be elected as presidential
2.30 	electors or alternates have the highest and an equal number of
2.31 	votes, the secretary of state, in the presence of the board
2.32 	shall decide by lot which of the persons shall be declared
2.33 	elected.  The governor shall transmit to each person declared
2.34 	elected a certificate of election, signed by the governor,
2.35 	sealed with the state seal, and countersigned by the secretary
2.36 	of state.

3.1 	Sec. 4. Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 208.06, is
3.2 	amended to read:
3.3 	208.06 ELECTORS TO MEET AT CAPITOL; FILLING OF VACANCIES.
3.4 	The presidential electors and alternate presidential
3.5 	electors, before 12:00 M. on the day before that fixed by
3.6 	Congress for the electors to vote for president and
3.7 	vice-president of the United States, shall notify the governor
3.8 	that they are at the State Capitol and ready at the proper time
3.9 	to fulfill their duties as electors.  The governor shall deliver
3.10 	to the electors present a certificate of the names of all the
3.11 	electors.  If any elector named therein fails to appear before
3.12 	9:00 a.m. on the day, and at the place, fixed for voting for
3.13 	president and vice-president of the United States, an alternate,
3.14 	chosen from among the alternates by lot, shall be appointed to
3.15 	act for that elector.  If more than eight alternates are
3.16 	necessary,the electors present shall, in the presence of the
3.17 	governor, immediately elect by ballot a person to fill the
3.18 	vacancy.  If more than the number of persons required have the
3.19 	highest and an equal number of votes, the governor, in the
3.20 	presence of the electors attending, shall decide by lot which of
3.21 	those persons shall be elected.

3.22 	Sec. 5. Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 208.07, is
3.23 	amended to read:
3.24 	208.07 CERTIFICATE OF ELECTORS.
3.25 	Immediately after the vacancies have been filled, the
3.26 	original electors and alternates present shall certify to the
3.27 	governor the names of the persons elected to complete their
3.28 	number, and the governor shall at once cause written notice to
3.29 	be given to each person elected to fill a vacancy.  The persons
3.30 	so chosen shall be presidential electors and shall meet and act
3.31 	with the other electors.

3.32 	Sec. 6. Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 208.08, is
3.33 	amended to read:
3.34 	208.08 ELECTORS TO MEET AT STATE CAPITOL.
3.35 	The original, alternate,and substituted presidential
3.36 	electors, at 12:00 M., shall meet in the executive chamber at
4.1 	the State Capitol and shall perform all the duties imposed upon
4.2 	them as electors by the Constitution and laws of the United
4.3 	States and this state.
4.4 	Each elector, as a condition of having been chosen under
4.5 	the name of the party of a presidential and a vice-presidential
4.6 	candidate, is obligated to vote for those candidates.  The
4.7 	elector shall speak aloud or affirm in a nonverbal manner the
4.8 	name of the candidate for president and for vice-president for
4.9 	whom the elector is voting and then confirm that vote by written
4.10 	public ballot.
4.11 	If an elector fails to cast a ballot for the presidential
4.12 	or vice-presidential candidate of the party under whose name the
4.13 	elector was chosen, the elector's vote or abstention is
4.14 	invalidated and an alternate presidential elector, chosen by lot
4.15 	from among the alternates, shall cast a ballot in the name of
4.16 	the elector for the presidential and vice-presidential candidate
4.17 	of the party under whose name the elector was chosen.  The
4.18 	invalidation of an elector's vote or abstention on the ballot
4.19 	for president or vice-president does not apply if the
4.20 	presidential candidate under whose party's name the elector was
4.21 	chosen has without condition released the elector or has died or
4.22 	become mentally disabled.  The invalidation of an elector's vote
4.23 	or abstention on the ballot for vice-president does not apply if
4.24 	the vice-presidential candidate under whose party's name the
4.25 	elector was chosen has released without condition the elector or
4.26 	has died or become mentally disabled.