SF 157

1st Engrossment - 86th Legislature (2009 - 2010) Posted on 02/09/2010 02:11am

A bill for an act
relating to elections; establishing a presidential primary; amending Minnesota
Statutes 2008, sections 202A.14, subdivision 1; 202A.18, subdivision 2a;
202A.19, by adding a subdivision; 202A.192; 204C.10; proposing coding for
new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapters 202A; 204D.

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

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2008, section 202A.14, subdivision 1, is amended to
read:

Subdivision 1.

Time and manner of holding; postponement.

(a) In every state
general election year new text begin that is not a presidential election year new text end , 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.

(2) On March 1 of each odd-numbered year, 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, the first Tuesday in February shall be
considered the day of a major political party precinct caucus and sections 202A.19 and
202A.192 shall only apply on that date.

(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.

new text begin (d) In every presidential election year, the party caucus shall be held on the date of
the presidential primary as provided in section 202A.81, except that the caucus may be
postponed as provided in paragraph (c).
new text end

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2008, 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 or deleted text end new text begin office
of new text end governor new text begin and the office of United States senator, when applicable new text end . 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. 3.

Minnesota Statutes 2008, section 202A.19, is amended by adding a subdivision
to read:

new text begin Subd. 7. new text end

new text begin Section not to apply; when. new text end

new text begin This section does not apply to a major party
caucus held on a day other than the day prescribed by section 202A.14, subdivision 1.
new text end

Sec. 4.

Minnesota Statutes 2008, section 202A.192, is amended to read:

202A.192 USE OF PUBLIC FACILITIES.

Every statutory city, home rule charter city, county, town, school district, and other
public agency, including the University of Minnesota and other public colleges and
universities, shall make their facilities available for the holding of precinct caucuses new text begin held
on the day prescribed by section 202A.14, subdivision 1, new text end and new text begin for new text end legislative district or
county conventions required by this chapter. A charge for the use of the facilities may be
imposed in an amount that does not exceed the lowest amount charged to any public or
private group.

Sec. 5.

new text begin [202A.81] PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY.
new text end

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Presidential years. new text end

new text begin In each year in which a president and vice
president of the United States are to be nominated and elected, a presidential primary must
be held as provided in sections 202A.81 to 202A.88. The voters of this state may express
their preference among the candidates of the major political party of their choice for that
party's nomination to be president of the United States or may indicate a preference for
uncommitted delegates to the national party convention.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Date. new text end

new text begin The date of the presidential primary must be set by the secretary
of state in consultation with the major political parties in accordance with the following
limitations, with the goal of creating a Midwest regional primary:
new text end

new text begin (a) The date must be no earlier than the date of the first presidential primary or
caucus held in more than one state in the Midwest, defined as the states lying entirely west
of Pennsylvania, north of Arkansas, and east of Wyoming, and no later than five weeks
after that date.
new text end

new text begin (b) The secretary of state must announce the date of the presidential primary no
later than:
new text end

new text begin (1) one day after the date has been finally established for the first presidential
primary or caucus in the Midwest; and
new text end

new text begin (2) eleven weeks before the date set for the presidential primary.
new text end

Sec. 6.

new text begin [202A.82] CANDIDATES ON BALLOT.
new text end

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Required listing. new text end

new text begin After filing the affidavit of candidacy prescribed
by subdivision 2, the following individuals must be listed as candidates on the presidential
primary ballot:
new text end

new text begin (1) any individual who submits a filing fee of $5,000; and
new text end

new text begin (2) any individual nominated as a candidate for the presidential nomination of a
political party by a petition submitted not later than ten weeks before the primary and
bearing the names of 1,000 eligible voters from each congressional district.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Affidavit of candidacy. new text end

new text begin A candidate who seeks the nomination of a major
political party for president of the United States shall state on the affidavit of candidacy
that the candidate is a natural born citizen of the United States and will have been 14 years
a resident within the United States and attained the age of 35 years on the next January 20.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 3. new text end

new text begin Time for filing. new text end

new text begin The period for filing an affidavit of candidacy under
subdivision 1, clause (1), for the presidential primary must begin 16 weeks before the
primary and end 14 weeks before the primary. The period for signing nominating petitions
must begin 16 weeks before the primary and end ten weeks before the primary. An affidavit
of candidacy filed under subdivision 1, clause (2), is due ten weeks before the primary.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 4. new text end

new text begin Announcing candidates. new text end

new text begin Candidates who have filed an affidavit of
candidacy under subdivision 1, clause (1), for each political party on the presidential
primary ballot must be announced by the secretary of state the day after filings close for
the purpose of giving voters sufficient time to nominate other candidates by petition.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 5. new text end

new text begin Announcement. new text end

new text begin The determination of which candidates must be listed
on the presidential primary ballot must be made by the secretary of state not later than
eight weeks before the presidential primary. The secretary of state shall certify to the
county auditor of each county the names of all candidates in the presidential primary
at least seven weeks before the primary.
new text end

Sec. 7.

new text begin [202A.83] PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY; HOW CONDUCTED.
new text end

new text begin Except as otherwise provided in sections 202A.81 to 202A.88, 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

Sec. 8.

new text begin [202A.84] AUDITOR FURNISHED INFORMATION BY SECRETARY
OF STATE; BALLOT PREPARATION.
new text end

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Notice of filing period. new text end

new text begin Within one day after setting the date of the
presidential primary under section 202A.81, the secretary of state shall provide notice of
the date to the county auditor of each county. Within ten days after notification by the
secretary of state, each county auditor shall provide notice of the date to each municipal
clerk in the county.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Notice of primary. new text end

new text begin At least two weeks 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. 9.

new text begin [202A.85] SELECTION OF DELEGATES; NATIONAL CONVENTION
BALLOTING.
new text end

new text begin The delegates to the national convention of each major political party whose
candidates appear on the presidential primary ballot must be chosen through the caucus
and convention procedures as described in this chapter. By July 1 of each year in which a
presidential primary is held, the secretary of each party's state convention or congressional
district convention shall notify the secretary of state of the names of the delegates to the
national convention chosen and the names of the candidates to which the delegates have
been apportioned. Except for candidates who have notified the political party that they are
no longer a candidate, a political party whose apportionment of delegates does not provide
to each candidate at least as great a proportion of delegates to the national convention as
the proportion of votes the candidate received in the presidential primary ceases to be
eligible for the ten percent political party checkoff in section 10A.31, subdivision 5,
paragraph (b), clause (6), and ceases to be eligible to issue political contribution refund
receipt forms under section 290.06, subdivision 23, during the remainder of that year.
new text end

Sec. 10.

new text begin [202A.88] REIMBURSEMENT OF ELECTION EXPENSES.
new text end

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Duties of 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. Up to $7,500 of the appropriation for reimbursement of election
expenses may be retained by the secretary of state to administer the reimbursement
program.
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, in an amount not to exceed
$25 per polling place; preparation of electronic voting systems, in an amount not to exceed
$50 per precinct; 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 Limit on payments. new text end

new text begin If the total amount certified by all units for temporary
staff and overtime payments exceeds $480,000, the secretary of state shall reduce those
amounts so that they do not exceed $480,000.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 5. 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. 11.

Minnesota Statutes 2008, 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 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
agreement with the principles of the party for whose candidate I intend to vote, and I
either voted or affiliated with the party at the last state general election or intend to vote or
affiliate with the party at the next state general election."
new text end

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

(c) After the applicant signs the roster, 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. 12.

new text begin [204D.045] PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY BALLOTS.
new text end

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Form. new text end

new text begin Except as provided in this section, presidential primary
ballots shall be printed in the same manner as state primary ballots as far as practicable. A
sufficient number shall be printed for each precinct and ward in the state.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Headings. new text end

new text begin Each ballot shall be headed by the words "Presidential Primary
Ballot."
new text end

new text begin Subd. 3. new text end

new text begin Order of names. new text end

new text begin (a) The candidates must be listed on the presidential
primary ballot in the order that the affidavits of candidacy were filed with the secretary of
state.
new text end

new text begin (b) The presidential primary ballot must contain a place for the voter to indicate a
preference for having delegates to the party's national convention remain uncommitted.
new text end

new text begin (c) The ballot must contain 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

Sec. 13.

new text begin [204D.046] EXAMPLE BALLOTS; SAMPLE PRESIDENTIAL
PRIMARY BALLOTS.
new text end

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Example ballot. new text end

new text begin No later than October 1 of the year before the
presidential election, the secretary of state shall supply each county auditor with a copy of
an example ballot. The example ballot must illustrate the format required for the ballots
used in the presidential primary the following year. The official ballots must conform in
all respects to the example ballot.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Sample ballot. new text end

new text begin At least two weeks before the presidential primary, the
county auditor shall prepare a sample presidential primary ballot for public inspection.
The names of all of the candidates to be voted for in the county shall be placed on the
sample ballots in the order in which they will appear on the ballots. The county auditor
shall post the sample ballot in a conspicuous place in the auditor's office, and in each
polling location on election day and on the county's Web site.
new text end