HF 497

as introduced - 81st Legislature (1999 - 2000) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to elections; providing for a runoff election 
  1.3             if no candidate for certain offices at a state general 
  1.4             or special election receives a majority of the votes 
  1.5             cast; appropriating money; amending Minnesota Statutes 
  1.6             1998, sections 10A.25, subdivision 2; 204B.35, 
  1.7             subdivision 4; and 204C.33, subdivisions 1 and 3; 
  1.8             proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, 
  1.9             chapter 204D. 
  1.10  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.11     Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 10A.25, 
  1.12  subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  1.13     Subd. 2.  [MAXIMUM EXPENDITURES.] (a) In a year in which an 
  1.14  election is held for an office sought by a candidate, no 
  1.15  expenditures shall be made by the principal campaign committee 
  1.16  of that candidate, nor any approved expenditures made on behalf 
  1.17  of that candidate which expenditures and approved expenditures 
  1.18  result in an aggregate amount in excess of the following: 
  1.19     (1) for governor and lieutenant governor, running together, 
  1.20  $1,626,691; 
  1.21     (2) for attorney general, $271,116; 
  1.22     (3) for secretary of state, state treasurer, and state 
  1.23  auditor, separately, $135,559; 
  1.24     (4) for state senator, $40,669; 
  1.25     (5) for state representative, $20,335. 
  1.26     (b) If a special election cycle occurs during a general 
  1.27  election cycle, expenditures by or on behalf of a candidate in 
  2.1   the special election do not count as expenditures by or on 
  2.2   behalf of the candidate in the general election. 
  2.3      (c) The expenditure limits in this subdivision for an 
  2.4   office are increased by ten percent for a candidate who is 
  2.5   running for that office for the first time and who has not run 
  2.6   previously for any other office whose territory now includes a 
  2.7   population that is more than one-third of the population in the 
  2.8   territory of the new office. 
  2.9      (d) The expenditure limits in this subdivision for an 
  2.10  office are increased by 15 percent for a candidate whose name is 
  2.11  on the ballot in a runoff election under section 204D.31. 
  2.12     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 204B.35, 
  2.13  subdivision 4, is amended to read: 
  2.14     Subd. 4.  [ABSENTEE BALLOTS; PREPARATION; DELIVERY.] 
  2.15  Ballots necessary to fill applications of absentee voters shall 
  2.16  be prepared and delivered at least 30 days before the election 
  2.17  to the officials who administer the provisions of chapter 203B, 
  2.18  except that, before a runoff election under section 204D.31, 
  2.19  ballots shall be prepared and delivered to the election 
  2.20  officials and to absent voters who received ballots for the 
  2.21  general or special election under section 203B.16 as soon as 
  2.22  practicable after the general or special election.  
  2.23     This section applies to school district elections held on 
  2.24  the same day as a statewide election or an election for a county 
  2.25  or municipality located partially or wholly within the school 
  2.26  district. 
  2.27     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 204C.33, 
  2.28  subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  2.29     Subdivision 1.  [COUNTY CANVASS.] The county canvassing 
  2.30  board shall meet at the county auditor's office on or before the 
  2.31  seventh day following the state general election.  After taking 
  2.32  the oath of office, the board shall promptly and publicly 
  2.33  canvass the general election returns delivered to the county 
  2.34  auditor.  Upon completion of the canvass, the board shall 
  2.35  promptly prepare and file with the county auditor a report which 
  2.36  states:  
  3.1      (a) The number of individuals voting at the election in the 
  3.2   county and in each precinct; 
  3.3      (b) The number of individuals registering to vote on 
  3.4   election day and the number of individuals registered before 
  3.5   election day in each precinct; 
  3.6      (c) The names of the candidates for each office and the 
  3.7   number of votes received by each candidate in the county and in 
  3.8   each precinct; 
  3.9      (d) The number of votes counted for and against a proposed 
  3.10  change of county lines or county seat; and 
  3.11     (e) The number of votes counted for and against a 
  3.12  constitutional amendment or other question in the county and in 
  3.13  each precinct.  
  3.14     The result of write-in votes cast on the general election 
  3.15  ballots must be compiled by the county auditor before the county 
  3.16  canvass.  The county auditor shall arrange for each municipality 
  3.17  to provide an adequate number of election judges to perform this 
  3.18  duty or the county auditor may appoint additional election 
  3.19  judges for this purpose.  The county auditor may open the 
  3.20  envelopes or containers in which the voted ballots have been 
  3.21  sealed in order to count and record the write-in votes and must 
  3.22  reseal the voted ballots at the conclusion of this process. 
  3.23     Upon completion of the canvass, the county canvassing board 
  3.24  shall declare the candidate duly elected who received the 
  3.25  highest number of votes for each county and state office voted 
  3.26  for only within the county, except as provided in section 
  3.27  204D.31.  The county auditor shall transmit one of the certified 
  3.28  copies of the county canvassing board report for state and 
  3.29  federal offices to the secretary of state by express mail or 
  3.30  similar service immediately upon conclusion of the county 
  3.31  canvass. 
  3.32     Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 204C.33, 
  3.33  subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
  3.34     Subd. 3.  [STATE CANVASS.] The state canvassing board shall 
  3.35  meet at the secretary of state's office on the second 
  3.36  Tuesday Friday following the state general election to canvass 
  4.1   the certified copies of the county canvassing board reports 
  4.2   received from the county auditors and shall prepare a report 
  4.3   that states: 
  4.4      (a) The number of individuals voting in the state and in 
  4.5   each county; 
  4.6      (b) The number of votes received by each of the candidates, 
  4.7   specifying the counties in which they were cast; and 
  4.8      (c) The number of votes counted for and against each 
  4.9   constitutional amendment, specifying the counties in which they 
  4.10  were cast.  
  4.11     All members of the state canvassing board shall sign the 
  4.12  report and certify its correctness.  The state canvassing board 
  4.13  shall declare the result within three days after completing the 
  4.14  canvass.  
  4.15     Sec. 5.  [204D.31] [RUNOFF ELECTION.] 
  4.16     Subdivision 1.  [PROCEDURE.] If no candidate for the office 
  4.17  of state senator or representative, state constitutional 
  4.18  officer, or United States senator or representative in Congress 
  4.19  receives a majority of the votes cast for that office at a 
  4.20  general or special election, the candidates receiving the 
  4.21  highest and next highest number of votes must be placed on the 
  4.22  ballot for a runoff election.  Immediately after the state 
  4.23  canvass, the secretary of state shall certify to the county 
  4.24  auditors the names of the candidates who will appear on the 
  4.25  runoff ballot.  The runoff election must be held on the sixth 
  4.26  Tuesday after the state general election, except that, if the 
  4.27  special election was held on a day other than the day of the 
  4.28  state general election, the runoff election must be held on the 
  4.29  second Tuesday after the special election.  The ballot for the 
  4.30  runoff election must be prepared by the same officers and in the 
  4.31  same form as the ballot for the general or special election, 
  4.32  except that no blank lines may be provided for filling in the 
  4.33  names of individuals whose names do not appear on the runoff 
  4.34  ballot.  The runoff election must be held in the same manner as 
  4.35  the general or special election.  The returns of the runoff 
  4.36  election must be delivered promptly upon completion to the 
  5.1   county auditor of the county in which the runoff election is 
  5.2   held.  The county canvassing board shall canvass and certify the 
  5.3   returns to the secretary of state on the next day, excluding 
  5.4   Sundays and legal holidays, following the runoff election.  The 
  5.5   state canvassing board shall complete its canvass of the runoff 
  5.6   election within seven days after the runoff election. 
  5.7      Subd. 2.  [PUBLIC SUBSIDY.] The board of campaign finance 
  5.8   and public disclosure shall pay to each candidate whose name 
  5.9   appears on the ballot in a runoff election an additional public 
  5.10  subsidy equal to 15 percent of the public subsidy paid to the 
  5.11  candidate from the state elections campaign fund for the general 
  5.12  election or from the general fund for a special election.  The 
  5.13  amount necessary to make the payments is appropriated to the 
  5.14  board from the general fund.