1997 Minnesota Statutes

     204D.13 White ballot; partisan offices. 

    Subdivision 1.    Order of offices.  The candidates for 
 partisan offices shall be placed first on the white ballot and 
 shall appear in the following order:  senator in Congress shall 
 be first; representative in Congress, second; state senator, 
 third; and state representative, fourth.  The candidates for 
 state offices shall follow in the order specified by the 
 secretary of state.  Candidates for governor and lieutenant 
 governor shall appear so that a single vote may be cast for both 
 offices.  

    Subd. 2.    Order of political parties.  The first name 
 printed for each partisan office on the white ballot shall be 
 that of the candidate of the major political party that received 
 the smallest average number of votes at the last state general 
 election.  The succeeding names shall be those of the candidates 
 of the other major political parties that received a 
 succeedingly higher average number of votes respectively.  For 
 the purposes of this subdivision, the average number of votes of 
 a major political party shall be computed by dividing the total 
 number of votes counted for all of the party's candidates for 
 statewide office at the state general election by the number of 
 those candidates at the election.  

    On voting machines the first name printed for each office 
 means the position nearest the top or left edge of the machine, 
 whichever applies.  

    Subd. 3.    Nominees by petition; placement on ballot.  
 The names of candidates nominated by petition for a partisan 
 office voted on at the state general election shall be placed on 
 the white ballot after the names of the candidates for that 
 office who were nominated at the state primary.  Candidates 
 nominated by petition shall be placed on the ballot in the order 
 in which the petitions were filed.  The political party or 
 political principle of the candidate as stated on the petition 
 shall be placed after the name of a candidate nominated by 
 petition.  The word "nonpartisan" shall not be used to designate 
 any partisan candidate whose name is placed on the white ballot 
 by nominating petition. 

    Subd. 4.    Simultaneous nomination.  A candidate who is 
 nominated by a major political party and one or more minor 
 political parties shall appear on the ballot in the space 
 designated for the major political party candidate for the 
 office sought.  A candidate who is nominated by more than one 
 minor political party but is not the nominee of a major 
 political party shall appear on the ballot in the position 
 designated for the first party filing a nominating petition with 
 the filing officer.  The name of each political party nominating 
 the candidate shall appear on the ballot with the candidate's 
 name. 

    HIST: 1981 c 29 art 6 s 13; 1983 c 253 s 20; 1996 c 419 s 8 

*   NOTE:  The amendments to this section by Laws 1996, chapter 
*419, are suspended during any time that the decision of the 
*eighth circuit court of appeals in Twin Cities Area New Party v. 
*McKenna, No. 94-3417MN, is stayed or the mandate of the court is 
*recalled.  If the McKenna decision is reversed, the amendments 
*to this section expire and the prior law is revived.  Laws 1996, 
*chapter 419, section 10.