2006 Minnesota Statutes

351.16 PETITION; REVIEW.
    Subdivision 1. Form of petition. Any registered voter may petition the county auditor
requesting a removal election and setting forth facts which allege with specificity that an elected
county official committed malfeasance or nonfeasance in the performance of official duties during
the current or any previous term in the office held by the elected county official, except that a
petition may not be submitted during the 180 days immediately preceding a general election
for the office which is held by the county official named in the petition. The petitioner must
attach to the petition documents which contain the signatures of supporters who are registered
voters totaling at least 25 percent of the number of persons who voted in the preceding election
for the office which is held by the county official named in the petition. Each page on which
signatures are included must clearly identify the purpose of the petition. The registered voters
must be residents of the county or, in a removal election involving a county commissioner, of
the commissioner district which elected the named county commissioner. The signatures of
supporters must be on forms provided by the county auditor.
    Subd. 2. County auditor's duties. The county auditor shall examine the petition to
determine whether it contains the requisite number of valid signatures of registered voters. If so,
the county auditor shall forward the petition, but not the signatures, to the clerk of appellate courts
within 15 days of receipt of the petition. If the county auditor determines that the petition does
not include the requisite number of signatures, the county auditor shall deny the petition within
15 days of receipt of the petition.
    Subd. 3. Removal of county auditor. If the county auditor is the named elected county
official, the petition must be submitted to the chair of the county board of commissioners who
shall appoint a county official to perform the duties of the county auditor specified in sections
351.14 to 351.23.
    Subd. 4. Limitation. An elected county official is not subject to a removal election on the
ground that misfeasance in the performance of official duties was committed, or on the ground
of disagreement with actions taken that were within the lawful discretion of the elected county
official.
History: 1986 c 418 s 3