Minnesota Session Laws - 1987, Regular Session

  

                         Laws of Minnesota 1987 

                        CHAPTER 222-H.F.No. 638 
           An act relating to elections; requiring election 
          judges to inform voters of certain laws; providing for 
          selection of a party in certain primary elections; 
          requiring parties to have different colored ballot 
          book pages; amending Minnesota Statutes 1986, sections 
          204C.13, subdivision 2; 204C.22, subdivision 3; 
          204D.08, subdivision 4; 206.80; and 206.84, 
          subdivision 3.  
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
    Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1986, section 204C.13, 
subdivision 2, is amended to read:  
    Subd. 2.  [VOTING BOOTHS.] One of the election judges shall 
explain to the voter the proper method of marking and folding 
the ballots and, during a primary election, the effect of 
attempting to vote in more than one party's primary.  Except as 
otherwise provided in section 204C.15, the voter shall retire 
alone to an unoccupied voting booth and mark the ballots without 
undue delay.  The voter may take sample ballots into the booth 
to assist in voting.  The election judges may adopt and enforce 
reasonable rules governing the amount of time a voter may spend 
in the voting booth marking ballots.  
    Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1986, section 204C.22, 
subdivision 3, is amended to read:  
    Subd. 3.  [VOTES FOR TOO MANY CANDIDATES.] If a voter 
places a mark (X) beside the names of more candidates for an 
office than are to be elected or nominated, the ballot is 
defective with respect only to that office.  No vote shall be 
counted for any candidate for that office, but the rest of the 
ballot shall be counted if possible.  At a primary, if a 
voter has not indicated a party preference and places a mark (X) 
beside the names of candidates of more than one party on the 
partisan ballot, the ballot is totally defective and no votes on 
it shall be counted.  If a voter has indicated a party 
preference at a primary, only votes cast for candidates of that 
party shall be counted.  
    Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1986, section 204D.08, 
subdivision 4, is amended to read:  
    Subd. 4.  [STATE PARTISAN PRIMARY BALLOT; PARTY COLUMNS.] 
The state partisan primary ballot shall be headed by the words 
"State Partisan Primary Ballot."  The ballot shall be printed on 
white paper.  The ballot must be designed to include a form of 
party indicator by which the voter may choose the party in whose 
primary the voter intends to vote.  Each major political party 
shall have a separate column on the ballot, which column shall 
be headed by the words ".......... Party," giving the party 
name.  Below the party name the following statement shall be 
printed.  
    "Do not vote for candidates of more than one party.  If you 
do, your entire ballot will be defective and no vote marked on 
your ballot will be counted."  
    The names of the candidates seeking the nomination of each 
major political party shall be listed in that party's column.  
If only one individual files an affidavit of candidacy seeking 
the nomination of a major political party for an office, the 
name of that individual shall be placed on the state partisan 
primary ballot at the appropriate location in that party's 
column.  
    In each column, the candidates for senator in congress 
shall be listed first, candidates for representative in congress 
second, candidates for state senator third, candidates for state 
representative fourth and then candidates for state office in 
the order specified by the secretary of state.  
    The party columns shall be substantially the same in width, 
type and appearance.  The columns shall be separated by a 12 
point solid line. 
    Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 1986, section 206.80, is 
amended to read:  
    206.80 [ELECTRONIC VOTING SYSTEMS.] 
    (a) An electronic voting system may not be employed unless 
it 
    (1) permits every voter to vote in secret;  
    (2) permits every voter to vote for all candidates and 
questions for whom or upon which the voter is legally entitled 
to vote;  
    (3) provides for write-in voting when authorized;  
    (4) rejects by means of the automatic tabulating equipment, 
except as provided in section 206.84 with respect to write-in 
votes, all votes for an office or question when the number of 
votes cast on it exceeds the number which the voter is entitled 
to cast;  
    (5) permits a voter at a primary election to select 
secretly the party for which the voter wishes to vote; and 
    (6) rejects, by means of the automatic tabulating 
equipment, all votes cast in a primary election by a voter when 
the voter votes for candidates of more than one party, except as 
provided in (b).  
    (b) A punch card electronic voting system must permit a 
voter at a partisan primary election to select the party for 
which the voter wishes to vote by punching out an indicator for 
one of the parties only, and must reject, by means of the 
automatic tabulating equipment, all votes cast in a partisan 
primary election by a voter for candidates of a party other than 
the one chosen by the voter from the party indicators. 
    Sec. 5.  Minnesota Statutes 1986, section 206.84, 
subdivision 3, is amended to read:  
    Subd. 3.  [BALLOTS.] The ballot information, whether placed 
on the ballot card or on the ballot booklet must, as far as 
practicable, be in the same order provided for paper ballots, 
except that the information may be in vertical or horizontal 
rows, or on a number of separate pages.  The secretary of state 
shall provide by rule for standard ballot formats for electronic 
voting systems.  
    The pages of a partisan primary ballot booklet may must be 
different colors or may otherwise differentiate between the for 
different parties.  The colors available for partisan primary 
ballot booklet pages are purple, orange, and buff.  The chairs 
of the major political parties shall choose from among those 
colors in a random drawing conducted by the secretary of state.  
A color chosen by a party is permanently assigned to that party. 
    A partisan primary ballot booklet must be designed to 
include a form of party indicator by which the voter may choose 
the party in whose primary the voter intends to vote. 
    All pages of a party's primary ballot must be consecutive, 
without the insertion of pages from another party.  Partisan 
primary ballot booklets must contain a prominent notice of the 
effect of attempting to vote in more than one party's primary.  
A separate ballot booklet may also be used for each party in a 
partisan primary.  
    Ballots for all questions must be provided in the same 
manner.  Where ballot booklets are placed in a marking device, 
they shall be arranged on or in the marking device in the places 
provided.  Ballot cards may contain special printed marks and 
holes as required for proper positioning and reading of the 
ballots by electronic vote counting equipment.  Ballot cards 
must contain an identification of the precinct for which they 
have been prepared which can be read visually and which can be 
tabulated by the automatic tabulating equipment. 
    Approved May 26, 1987