SF 1527

1st Engrossment - 85th Legislature (2007 - 2008) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

A bill for an act
relating to elections; establishing a nonbinding presidential primary;
appropriating money; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes,
chapter 207A.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

new text begin [207A.11] PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY.
new text end

new text begin A nonbinding presidential primary must be held on the first Tuesday after the
first Monday in February of each year in which a president and vice president of the
United States are to be nominated and elected. The voters of this state may express their
preference among the candidates of the major political party of their choice for that
party's nomination to be president of the United States or may indicate a preference for
uncommitted delegates to the national party convention. For the purposes of sections
207A.11 to 207A.18, "major political party" or "party" means a major political party as
defined in section 200.02, subdivision 7.
new text end

Sec. 2.

new text begin [207A.12] CANDIDATES ON BALLOT.
new text end

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Required listing. new text end

new text begin (a) Any individual who files an affidavit of
candidacy as prescribed by this subdivision, along with a filing fee of $500, must be listed
as a candidate on the presidential primary ballot.
new text end

new text begin (b) A candidate who seeks the nomination of a major political party for president of
the United States shall state on the affidavit of candidacy that the candidate is a natural
born citizen of the United States and will have been 14 years a resident within the United
States and attained the age of 35 years on the next January 20.
new text end

new text begin (c) The candidates must be listed on the presidential primary ballot in the order that
the affidavits of candidacy for the candidates were filed with the secretary of state.
new text end

new text begin (d) In addition, the presidential primary ballot must contain a place for a voter
to indicate a preference for having delegates to the party's national convention remain
uncommitted, and a blank line printed below the other choices on the ballot so that a voter
may write in the name of a person who is not listed on the ballot.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Time for filing. new text end

new text begin The period for filing an affidavit of candidacy for the
presidential primary must begin 16 weeks before the primary and end 14 weeks before the
primary.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 3. new text end

new text begin Announcement. new text end

new text begin The determination of which candidates must be listed
on the presidential primary ballot must be made by the secretary of state not later than
eight weeks before the presidential primary. The secretary of state shall certify to the
county auditor of each county the names of all candidates in the presidential primary
at least seven weeks before the primary.
new text end

Sec. 3.

new text begin [207A.13] PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY; HOW CONDUCTED.
new text end

new text begin Except as otherwise provided in sections 207A.11 to 207A.18, the presidential
primary must be conducted and the results canvassed and returned in the manner provided
by law for the state primary.
new text end

Sec. 4.

new text begin [207A.14] AUDITOR FURNISHED INFORMATION BY SECRETARY
OF STATE; BALLOT PREPARATION.
new text end

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Notice of filing period. new text end

new text begin Twenty weeks before a presidential primary
is to be held, the secretary of state shall provide notice to the county auditor of each
county of the date of the presidential primary. Within ten days after notification by the
secretary of state, each county auditor shall provide notice of the date of the presidential
primary to each municipal clerk in the county.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Notice of primary. new text end

new text begin At least two weeks before the date of the presidential
primary, each municipal clerk shall post a public notice stating the date of the presidential
primary, the location of each polling place in the municipality, and the hours during which
the polling places in the municipality will be open. The county auditor shall post a similar
notice in the auditor's office with information for any polling places in unorganized
territory in the county. The governing body of a municipality or county may publish the
notice in addition to posting it. Failure to give notice does not invalidate the election.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 3. new text end

new text begin Ballot preparation. new text end

new text begin At least ten weeks before the presidential primary, the
secretary of state shall supply each county auditor with examples of ballots, absentee ballot
envelopes, ballot return envelopes, election return envelopes, and summary statements for
use in the presidential primary. Ballots must follow the form required for state primary
elections, as described in sections 204D.04 to 204D.08.
new text end

Sec. 5.

new text begin [207A.15] SELECTION OF DELEGATES; NATIONAL CONVENTION
BALLOTING.
new text end

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Apportionment of delegates. new text end

new text begin The delegates to the national
convention of each major political party whose candidates appear on the presidential
primary ballot must be chosen through the caucus and convention procedures as described
in chapter 202A. Caucus and convention participants may, but are not required to, consider
the presidential primary results when selecting delegates to attend the party's national
convention. The secretary of each party's state convention or congressional district
convention shall promptly notify the secretary of state of the names of the delegates to the
national convention chosen as supporters of each presidential candidate.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Delegate votes. new text end

new text begin At the national convention, delegates chosen because of
their support for a presidential candidate must vote for that candidate on the first ballot,
unless they have been released from that obligation by the candidate. This subdivision
does not apply to delegates to the extent that it is inconsistent with the rules of the national
party or state party.
new text end

Sec. 6.

new text begin [207A.16] USE OF VOTING MACHINES.
new text end

new text begin The county auditor of each county shall provide all ballots, ballot labels, ballot cards,
and other necessary printed forms and supplies needed for electronic voting systems. The
total cost of printing and providing the forms must be paid by the state.
new text end

Sec. 7.

new text begin [207A.17] RULEMAKING AUTHORITY.
new text end

new text begin The secretary of state shall adopt rules to determine the manner of paying or
reimbursing the costs to the counties of conducting the presidential primary.
new text end

Sec. 8.

new text begin [207A.18] REIMBURSEMENT OF ELECTION EXPENSES.
new text end

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Duties of secretary of state. new text end

new text begin The secretary of state shall reimburse
the counties and municipalities for expenses incurred in the administration of the
presidential primary from money appropriated by the legislature for this purpose, as
provided in this section. Up to $7,500 of the appropriation for reimbursement of election
expenses may be retained by the secretary of state to administer the reimbursement
program.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Reimbursable expenses. new text end

new text begin The following expenses are eligible for
reimbursement: salaries of election judges; postage for absentee ballots; preparation of
polling places, in an amount not to exceed $25 per polling place; preparation of electronic
voting systems, in an amount not to exceed $50 per precinct; compensation of county
canvassing board members; publication of the sample ballot; and compensation for
temporary staff or overtime payments.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 3. new text end

new text begin Certification of costs. new text end

new text begin The county auditor shall certify to the secretary
of state the costs incurred by the county for the presidential primary. The municipal
clerk shall certify to the secretary of state the costs incurred by the municipality for the
presidential primary. If the total amount certified by all units for temporary staff and
overtime payments exceeds $480,000, the secretary of state shall reduce those amounts
so that they do not exceed $480,000. The secretary of state shall provide each county
and municipality with the appropriate forms for this certification. The secretary of
state may require that the county auditor or municipal clerk provide documentation of
actual expenditures made for the presidential primary. The certification of costs must be
submitted to the secretary of state no later than 60 days after the presidential primary.
No reimbursement of expenses must be made unless the certification of costs has been
submitted as provided in this subdivision.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 4. new text end

new text begin Apportionment of reimbursements. new text end

new text begin If the total amount of requests for
reimbursement of expenses exceeds the total amount appropriated to the secretary of state
for this purpose, the secretary of state shall proportionately reduce the reimbursements so
that they do not exceed the amount appropriated.
new text end

Sec. 9. new text begin APPROPRIATION.
new text end

new text begin $....... is appropriated from the general fund to the secretary of state to pay the
costs of conducting the presidential primary, to be available for the fiscal year ending
June 30, 2008.
new text end