Office of the Revisor of Statutes
Minnesota Session Laws - 1995, Regular Session
Key: (1) language to be deleted (2) new language
CHAPTER 8-S.F.No. 141
An act relating to elections; providing for review of
certain school board plans by the secretary of state;
changing allocation of certain election expenses;
providing for retention of election materials;
clarifying terms of office and election frequency in
certain cities; providing for transition in certain
offices; authorizing the use of more than one combined
polling place in certain school board elections;
providing for dissolution of certain election
districts; amending Minnesota Statutes 1994, sections
122.23, by adding a subdivision; 122.242, subdivision
1; 204B.32, subdivision 2; 204B.40; 205.07,
subdivision 1; 205.84, by adding a subdivision;
205A.11, subdivision 2, and by adding a subdivision;
205A.12, by adding a subdivision; and Laws 1994,
chapter 646, section 26, subdivision 3.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 122.23, is
amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd. 2b. [ORDERLY REDUCTION PLAN.] As part of the
resolution required by subdivision 2, the school board must
prepare a plan for the orderly reduction of the membership of
the board to six or seven members and a plan for the
establishment or dissolution of election districts. The plan
must be submitted to the secretary of state for review and
comment.
Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 122.242,
subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision 1. [ADOPTION AND STATE BOARD REVIEW.] Each
school board must adopt, by resolution, a plan for cooperation
and combination. The plan must address each item in this
section. The plan must be specific for any item that will occur
within three years and may be general or set forth alternative
resolutions for an item that will occur in more than three
years. The plan must be submitted to the state board of
education and the secretary of state for review and comment.
Significant modifications and specific resolutions of items must
be submitted to the state board for review and comment. In the
official newspaper of each district proposed for combination,
the school board must publish at least a summary of the adopted
plans, each significant modification and resolution of items,
and each state board review and comment.
Sec. 3. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 204B.32,
subdivision 2, is amended to read:
Subd. 2. [ALLOCATION OF COSTS ELECTION EXPENSES.]
Municipalities or counties may allocate the costs of conducting
elections to school districts for payment of their proportionate
share of such expenses for elections held at the same time as
the regular municipal or county primary and general election.
Allocated costs include expenses for election equipment and
supplies; polling locations; personnel (including election judge
compensation and the portion of salaries of election
administrative and technical employees attributable to the
preparation and conduct of the election); transportation related
to the conduct of the election; required election notices and
newspaper publication of election information; communications
devices; and postage (including mailings to election judges and
for absentee voter applications and ballots). The secretary of
state shall develop procedures for the allocation of election
expenses among counties, municipalities, and school districts
for elections that are held concurrently. The following
expenses must be included in the procedures: salaries of
election judges; postage for absentee ballots and applications;
preparation of polling places; preparation and testing of
electronic voting systems; ballot preparation; publication of
election notices and sample ballots; transportation of ballots
and election supplies; and compensation for administrative
expenses of the county auditor, municipal clerk, or school
district clerk.
Sec. 4. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 204B.40, is
amended to read:
204B.40 [BALLOTS; ELECTION RECORDS AND OTHER MATERIALS;
DISPOSITION; INSPECTION OF BALLOTS.]
The county auditors and municipal clerks shall retain all
election materials returned to them after any election for at
least one year from the date of that election. The county
auditor may also retain election materials from school district
elections. All election materials involved in a contested
election shall be retained for one year or until the contest has
been finally determined, whichever is later. Abstracts filed by
canvassing boards shall be retained permanently by any officer
with whom those abstracts are filed. Election materials no
longer required to be retained pursuant to this section shall be
disposed of in accordance with sections 138.163 to 138.21.
Sealed envelopes containing voted ballots must be retained
unopened, except as provided in this section, in a secure
location. The county auditor, municipal clerk, or school
district clerk shall not permit any voted ballots to be tampered
with or defaced.
After the time for filing a notice of contest for an
election has passed, the secretary of state may open the sealed
ballot envelopes and inspect the ballots for that election
maintained by the county auditors, municipal clerks, or school
district clerks for the purpose of monitoring and evaluating
election procedures. No inspected ballot may be marked or
identified in any manner. After inspection, all ballots must be
returned to the ballot envelope and the ballot envelope must be
securely resealed.
Sec. 5. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 205.07,
subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision 1. [DATE OF ELECTION.] The municipal general
election in each city shall be held on the first Tuesday after
the first Monday in November in every even-numbered year.
Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary and subject
to the provisions of this section, the governing body of a city
may, by ordinance passed at a regular meeting held before June 1
of any year, elect to hold the election on the first Tuesday
after the first Monday in November in each odd-numbered year. A
city may hold elections in either the even-numbered year or the
odd-numbered year, but not both. When a city changes its
elections from one year to another, and does not provide for the
expiration of terms by ordinance, the term of an incumbent
expiring at a time when no municipal election is held in the
months immediately prior to expiration is extended until the
date for taking office following the next scheduled municipal
election. If the change results in having three council members
to be elected at a succeeding election, the two individuals
receiving the highest vote shall serve for terms of four years
and the individual receiving the third highest number of votes
shall serve for a term of two years. To provide an orderly
transition to the odd or even year election plan, the governing
body of the city may adopt supplementary ordinances regulating
initial elections and officers to be chosen at the elections and
shortening or lengthening the terms of incumbents and those
elected at the initial election so as to conform as soon as
possible to the regular schedule provided in section 412.02,
subdivision 1. The term of office for the mayor may be either
two or four years. The term of office of council members is
four years. Whenever the time of the municipal election is
changed, the city clerk immediately shall notify in writing the
county auditor and secretary of state of the change of date.
Thereafter the municipal general election shall be held on the
first Tuesday after the first Monday in November in each
odd-numbered or even-numbered year until the ordinance is
revoked and notification of the change is made.
Sec. 6. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 205.84, is
amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd. 3. [TRANSITION SCHEDULE.] The governing body of a
city electing more than one council member in each ward may
adopt an orderly transition schedule to biennial November
elections in which only one council member in each ward is
elected in any municipal general election.
Sec. 7. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 205A.11,
subdivision 2, is amended to read:
Subd. 2. [COMBINED POLLING PLACE.] If there is an election
being conducted in some but not all of the precincts in the
school district, for those precincts in which no other election
is being conducted When no other election is being held in two
or more precincts on the day of a school district election, the
school board may designate a one or more combined polling
place places at which the voters in up to ten those precincts
may vote in the school district election. If there is no other
election being conducted in any part of the school district, the
school board may establish a single polling place at which all
the voters must vote.
Sec. 8. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 205A.11, is
amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd. 2a. [NOTICE OF SPECIAL ELECTIONS.] The school
district clerk shall prepare a notice to the voters who will be
voting in a combined polling place for a school district special
election. The notice must include the following information:
the date of the election, the hours of voting and the location
of the voter's polling place. The notice must be sent by
nonforwardable mail to every affected household in the school
district with at least one registered voter. The notice must be
mailed no later than 14 days before the election. The mailed
notice is not required for a school district special election
that is held on the day of the school district primary or
general election, the Tuesday following the second Monday in
September, the Tuesday following the first Monday in November,
or for a special election conducted entirely by mail. In
addition, the mailed notice is not required for voters residing
in a township if the school district special election is held on
the second Tuesday in March and the town general election is
held on that day. A notice that is returned as undeliverable
must be forwarded immediately to the county auditor.
Sec. 9. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 205A.12, is
amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd. 7. [DISSOLUTION OF ELECTION DISTRICTS.] The
governing body of a school district that enters into a
consolidation or cooperation and combination agreement may, by
resolution, dissolve election districts previously established
as provided in this section as part of the consolidation or
cooperation and combination plan. The resolution must include a
plan for the orderly transition to at-large elections of school
board members.
Sec. 10. Laws 1994, chapter 646, section 26, subdivision
3, is amended to read:
Subd. 3. [SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS.] The terms of all school
board members elected in 1996 expire on the first Monday in
January of 2001. The terms of all school board members elected
in 1998 expire on the first Monday in January of 2003.
The terms of office of school board members elected in 1995
expire on the first Monday in January of 1999 or 2001, as
provided in this paragraph. The governing body of the school
district shall select by lot the board members whose terms will
expire in January of 1999 or January of 2001. To the extent
practicable, one-half of the members elected in 1995 must expire
in January of 1999. The governing body of the school district
must complete the selection required by this paragraph no later
than 30 days before the first day to file affidavits of
candidacy for the election in 1995.
The terms of office of school board members elected in 1997
expire on the first Monday in January of 2001 or 2003, as
provided in this paragraph. No later than 30 days before the
first day to file affidavits of candidacy for the election in
1997, the governing body of the school district shall select by
lot the board members whose terms will expire in January of 2001
or January of 2003. To the extent practicable, one-half of the
members elected in 1997 must expire in January of 2001.
Sec. 11. [TRANSITION.]
Before January 1, 1998, on a day when no other election is
being held within the school district, a school district
election may be held using combined polling places that were
established before August 1, 1994.
Sec. 12. [EFFECTIVE DATE.]
Sections 1 to 4, 6, 7, and 9 to 11 are effective the day
following final enactment. Section 5 is effective January 1,
1998. Section 8 is effective January 1, 1996.
Presented to the governor March 1, 1995
Signed by the governor March 2, 1995, 11:04 a.m.
Official Publication of the State of Minnesota
Revisor of Statutes