1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to elections; providing for the election of 
  1.3             state legislators without party designation; amending 
  1.4             Minnesota Statutes 2000, sections 10A.31, subdivision 
  1.5             5; 204D.08, subdivisions 4 and 6; and 204D.13, 
  1.6             subdivision 1; repealing Minnesota Statutes 2000, 
  1.7             section 10A.315. 
  1.8   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.9      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 10A.31, 
  1.10  subdivision 5, is amended to read: 
  1.11     Subd. 5.  [ALLOCATION.] (a)  [GENERAL ACCOUNT.] In each 
  1.12  calendar year the money in the general account must be allocated 
  1.13  to candidates as follows: 
  1.14     (1) 21 percent for the offices of governor and lieutenant 
  1.15  governor together; 
  1.16     (2) 4.2 percent for the office of attorney general; 
  1.17     (3) 2.4 percent each for the offices of secretary of state 
  1.18  and state auditor; 
  1.19     (4) in each calendar year during the period in which state 
  1.20  senators serve a four-year term, 23-1/3 percent for the office 
  1.21  of state senator, and 46-2/3 percent for the office of state 
  1.22  representative; and 
  1.23     (5) in each calendar year during the period in which state 
  1.24  senators serve a two-year term, 35 percent each for the offices 
  1.25  of state senator and state representative. 
  1.26     (b)  [PARTY ACCOUNT.] In each calendar year the money in 
  2.1   each party account must be allocated as follows: 
  2.2      (1) ~~14~~ ... percent for the offices of governor and 
  2.3   lieutenant governor together; 
  2.4      (2) ~~2.8~~ ... percent for the office of attorney general; 
  2.5      (3) ~~1.6~~ ... percent each for the offices of secretary of 
  2.6   state and state auditor; and 
  2.7      (4) ~~in each calendar year during the period in which state~~ 
  2.8   ~~senators serve a four-year term, 23-1/3 percent for the office~~ 
  2.9   ~~of state senator, and 46-2/3 percent for the office of state~~ 
  2.10  ~~representative;~~ 
  2.11     ~~(5) in each calendar year during the period in which state~~ 
  2.12  ~~senators serve a two-year term, 35 percent each for the offices~~ 
  2.13  ~~of state senator and state representative; and~~ 
  2.14     ~~(6)~~ ten percent for the state committee of a political 
  2.15  party. 
  2.16     Money allocated to each state committee under clause ~~(6)~~ (4)
  2.17  must be deposited in a separate account and must be spent for 
  2.18  only those items enumerated in section 10A.275.  Money allocated 
  2.19  to a state committee under clause ~~(6)~~ (4) must be paid to the 
  2.20  committee by the board as it is received in the account on a 
  2.21  monthly basis, with payment on the 15th day of the calendar 
  2.22  month following the month in which the returns were processed by 
  2.23  the department of revenue, provided that these distributions 
  2.24  would be equal to 90 percent of the amount of money indicated in 
  2.25  the department of revenue's weekly unedited reports of income 
  2.26  tax returns and property tax refund returns processed in the 
  2.27  month, as notified by the department of revenue to the board.  
  2.28  The amounts paid to each state committee are subject to biennial 
  2.29  adjustment and settlement at the time of each certification 
  2.30  required of the commissioner of revenue under subdivisions 7 and 
  2.31  10.  If the total amount of payments received by a state 
  2.32  committee for the period reflected on a certification by the 
  2.33  department of revenue is different from the amount that should 
  2.34  have been received during the period according to the 
  2.35  certification, each subsequent monthly payment must be increased 
  2.36  or decreased to the fullest extent possible until the amount of 
  3.1   the overpayment is recovered or the underpayment is distributed. 
  3.2      Money from a party account not distributed to candidates 
  3.3   for other offices in an election year shall be returned to the 
  3.4   party account for reallocation to candidates as provided in 
  3.5   clauses (1) to (4) in the following year.  Money from the 
  3.6   general account refused by any candidate shall be distributed to 
  3.7   all other qualifying candidates in proportion to their shares as 
  3.8   provided in this subdivision.  
  3.9      Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 204D.08, 
  3.10  subdivision 4, is amended to read: 
  3.11     Subd. 4.  [STATE PARTISAN PRIMARY BALLOT; PARTY COLUMNS.] 
  3.12  The state partisan primary ballot shall be headed by the words 
  3.13  "State Partisan Primary Ballot."  The ballot shall be printed on 
  3.14  white paper.  There must be at least three vertical columns on 
  3.15  the ballot and each major political party shall have a separate 
  3.16  column headed by the words ".......... Party," giving the party 
  3.17  name.  Above the party names, the following statement shall be 
  3.18  printed.  
  3.19     "Minnesota Election Law permits you to vote for the 
  3.20  candidates of only one political party in a state partisan 
  3.21  primary election." 
  3.22     If there are only two major political parties to be listed 
  3.23  on the ballot, one party must occupy the left-hand column, the 
  3.24  other party must occupy the right-hand column, and the center 
  3.25  column must contain the following statement:  
  3.26     "Do not vote for candidates of more than one party."  
  3.27     The names of the candidates seeking the nomination of each 
  3.28  major political party shall be listed in that party's column.  
  3.29  If only one individual files an affidavit of candidacy seeking 
  3.30  the nomination of a major political party for an office, the 
  3.31  name of that individual shall be placed on the state partisan 
  3.32  primary ballot at the appropriate location in that party's 
  3.33  column.  
  3.34     In each column, the candidates for senator in Congress 
  3.35  shall be listed first, candidates for representative in Congress 
  3.36  second, ~~candidates for state senator third, candidates for state~~ 
  4.1   ~~representative fourth~~ and then candidates for state office in 
  4.2   the order specified by the secretary of state.  
  4.3      The party columns shall be substantially the same in width, 
  4.4   type, and appearance.  The columns shall be separated by a 
  4.5   12-point solid line. 
  4.6      Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 204D.08, 
  4.7   subdivision 6, is amended to read: 
  4.8      Subd. 6.  [STATE AND COUNTY NONPARTISAN PRIMARY BALLOT.] 
  4.9   The state and county nonpartisan primary ballot shall be headed 
  4.10  "State and County Nonpartisan Primary Ballot."  It shall be 
  4.11  printed on canary paper.  The names of candidates for nomination 
  4.12  to the state senate, the state house of representatives, the 
  4.13  supreme court, court of appeals, district court, and all county 
  4.14  offices shall be placed on this ballot.  
  4.15     No candidate whose name is placed on the state and county 
  4.16  nonpartisan primary ballot shall be designated or identified as 
  4.17  the candidate of any political party or in any other manner 
  4.18  except as expressly provided by law.  
  4.19     Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 204D.13, 
  4.20  subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  4.21     Subdivision 1.  [ORDER OF OFFICES.] The candidates for 
  4.22  partisan offices shall be placed on the white ballot in the 
  4.23  following order:  senator in Congress shall be first~~;~~ and 
  4.24  representative in Congress, second~~; state senator, third; and~~ 
  4.25  ~~state representative, fourth~~.  The candidates for state offices 
  4.26  shall follow in the order specified by the secretary of state.  
  4.27  Candidates for governor and lieutenant governor shall appear so 
  4.28  that a single vote may be cast for both offices.  
  4.29     Sec. 5.  [REPEALER.] 
  4.30     Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 10A.315, is repealed. 
  4.31     Sec. 6.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  4.32     Sections 1 to 5 are effective for state legislators elected 
  4.33  in 2000 and thereafter.