Minnesota Administrative Rules

8250.0370 FORM OF CANARY BALLOT.

Subpart 1.

General form.

The canary ballot must be prepared in the same manner as the white ballot, except as provided in this part. The county auditor may add the name of the county directly under the heading of the canary ballot. The county auditor must add the date of the election directly under the heading of the canary ballot and the name of the county, if this name is printed on the ballot. If the canary ballot contains a ballot question, the following instruction must be printed directly under the instructions required in part 8250.0400. "To vote for a question, put an (X) in the square next to the word 'YES' for that question. To vote against a question, put an (X) in the square next to the word 'NO' for that question." Ballots for electronic voting systems must be prepared in the manner provided for paper ballots to the extent practicable.

Subp. 2.

Ballot order.

County offices must be listed first on the canary ballot in the following order and identified as follows in upper case letters:

COUNTY COMMISSIONER

COUNTY AUDITOR

COUNTY TREASURER

COUNTY RECORDER

COUNTY SHERIFF

COUNTY ATTORNEY

COUNTY SURVEYOR

COUNTY CORONER

The name and number of the district that the person elected will represent must be printed in upper case letters or numbers directly under the title of the office.

If two of the offices listed in this subpart have been combined into one office, the combined office must take the place of the first office listed in this subpart.

The names of candidates to fill vacancies at a special election must be listed under the heading "Special election for (name of office) to fill vacancy in term expiring (date)" with the name of the office, the date of expiration of the term, and any other information necessary to distinguish the office. Vacant offices being filled by special election must be listed with other offices of that type but after any offices for which a candidate will be elected for a full term.

Any county offices not listed in this subpart must follow the office of county coroner on the ballot and must be listed in the order determined by the county auditor.

County ballot questions must be printed after county offices on the canary ballot. When more than one county question is on the ballot, each county ballot question must be designated by a number and must be preceded by the words "COUNTY QUESTION" in upper case letters and the number assigned to the question. The county auditor or county board shall provide a title for each county question printed on the canary ballot. The title must not contain more than ten words. The county attorney shall review the title to determine whether it accurately describes the question asked. The title must not be used on the ballot until it has been approved by the county attorney. The title must be printed in upper case letters and must be printed above the question to which it refers. The body of the question must be printed in upper and lower case letters.

Special district offices must follow the last county question. The words "SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION DISTRICT SUPERVISOR" in upper case letters must precede the names of candidates for the soil and water conservation district board. Where soil and water conservation district supervisor offices are designated by number, the offices must be listed in numerical order. The name and number of the district that the person elected will represent must be printed in upper case letters or numbers directly under the title of the office.

Judicial offices must follow special district offices and appear in the following order: chief justice - Supreme Court, associate justice - Supreme Court, judge - Court of Appeals, and judge - District Court. Where judicial seats are designated by number, the offices must be listed in numerical order. Optical scan ballots must be prepared in the order provided in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 206.

Subp. 3.

Ballot size.

The canary ballot must be no less than four inches wide and no more than 30 inches long.

Statutory Authority:

MS s 204D.11

History:

19 SR 593; 20 SR 2787; 23 SR 459; 25 SR 616

Published Electronically:

October 4, 2013