Skip to main content Skip to office menu Skip to footer
Capital IconMinnesota Legislature

Office of the Revisor of Statutes

205A.03 PRIMARIES.

Subdivision 1.Resolution requiring primary in certain circumstances.

The school board of a school district may, by resolution adopted by April 15 of any year, decide to choose nominees for school board by a primary as provided in this section. The resolution, when adopted, is effective for all ensuing elections of board members in that school district until it is revoked. If the board decides to choose nominees by primary and if there are more than two candidates for a specified school board position or more than twice as many school board candidates as there are at-large school board positions available, the school district must hold a primary.

Subd. 2.Date.

The school district primary must be held on the second Tuesday in August in the year when the school district general election is held. The clerk shall give notice of the primary in the manner provided in section 205A.07. The date of a school district primary held in an odd-numbered year may be postponed for inclement weather as provided in section 205A.055.

Subd. 3.Candidates, filing.

The clerk shall place upon the primary ballot without partisan designation the names of individuals whose candidacies have been filed and for whom the proper filing fee has been paid. When not more than twice as many school board candidates as there are at-large school board positions available file for nomination for the office or when not more than two candidates for a specified school board position file for nomination for that office, their names must not be placed upon the primary ballot and must be placed on the school district general election ballot as the nominees for that office.

Subd. 4.Results.

The school district primary must be conducted and the returns made in the manner provided for the state primary as far as practicable. On the third day after the primary, the school board of the school district shall canvass the returns, and the two candidates for each specified school board position who receive the highest number of votes, or a number of candidates equal to twice the number of individuals to be elected to at-large school board positions who receive the highest number of votes, are the nominees for the office named. Their names must be certified to the school district clerk who shall place them on the school district general election ballot without partisan designation and without payment of an additional fee.

Subd. 5.Recount.

A losing candidate at the school district primary may request a recount of the votes for that nomination subject to section 204C.36.

Subd. 6.Vacancy in nomination.

When a vacancy occurs in a nomination made at a school district primary, the vacancy must be filled in the manner provided in section 204B.13.

Official Publication of the State of Minnesota
Revisor of Statutes