1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to judges; creating judicial election districts;amending Minnesota 
1.3 	Statutes 2014, section 2.722, subdivision 1.
1.4 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.5 	Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 2.722, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
1.6 		Subdivision 1.Description of judicial districts and election districts. (a) 
1.7 	Effective July 1, 1959, the state is divided into ten judicial districts composed of the 
1.8 	following named counties, respectively, in each of which districts judges shall be chosen 
1.9 	as hereinafter specified:
1.10 	1. Goodhue, Dakota, Carver, Le Sueur, McLeod, Scott, and Sibley; 36 judges; and 
1.11 	four permanent chambers shall be maintained in Red Wing, Hastings, Shakopee, and 
1.12 	Glencoe and one other shall be maintained at the place designated by the chief judge 
1.13 	of the district;
1.14 	2. Ramsey; 26 judges;
1.15 	3. Wabasha, Winona, Houston, Rice, Olmsted, Dodge, Steele, Waseca, Freeborn, 
1.16 	Mower, and Fillmore; 23 judges; and permanent chambers shall be maintained in 
1.17 	Faribault, Albert Lea, Austin, Rochester, and Winona;
1.18 	4. Hennepin; 60 judges;
1.19 	5. Blue Earth, Watonwan, Lyon, Redwood, Brown, Nicollet, Lincoln, Cottonwood, 
1.20 	Murray, Nobles, Pipestone, Rock, Faribault, Martin, and Jackson; 16 judges; and permanent 
1.21 	chambers shall be maintained in Marshall, Windom, Fairmont, New Ulm, and Mankato;
1.22 	6. Carlton, St. Louis, Lake, and Cook; 15 judges;
2.1 	7. Benton, Douglas, Mille Lacs, Morrison, Otter Tail, Stearns, Todd, Clay, Becker, 
2.2 	and Wadena; 28 judges; and permanent chambers shall be maintained in Moorhead, 
2.3 	Fergus Falls, Little Falls, and St. Cloud;
2.4 	8. Chippewa, Kandiyohi, Lac qui Parle, Meeker, Renville, Swift, Yellow Medicine, 
2.5 	Big Stone, Grant, Pope, Stevens, Traverse, and Wilkin; 11 judges; and permanent 
2.6 	chambers shall be maintained in Morris, Montevideo, and Willmar;
2.7 	9. Norman, Polk, Marshall, Kittson, Red Lake, Roseau, Mahnomen, Pennington, 
2.8 	Aitkin, Itasca, Crow Wing, Hubbard, Beltrami, Lake of the Woods, Clearwater, Cass and 
2.9 	Koochiching; 23 judges; and permanent chambers shall be maintained in Crookston, Thief 
2.10 	River Falls, Bemidji, Brainerd, Grand Rapids, and International Falls; and
2.11 	10. Anoka, Isanti, Wright, Sherburne, Kanabec, Pine, Chisago, and Washington; 
2.12 	45 judges; and permanent chambers shall be maintained in Anoka, Stillwater, and other 
2.13 	places designated by the chief judge of the district.
2.14 	(b) In all districts except the Second and Fourth Judicial Districts, a candidate for 
2.15 	district court judge shall be elected by voters residing in the county in which the judge is 
2.16 	chambered. If no judge is chambered in a county, the Commission on Judicial Selection 
2.17 	shall assign a judgeship to a contiguous group of counties for an election at least 30 days 
2.18 	prior to a general election.
2.19 	In the Second and Fourth Judicial Districts, a candidate for district court judge shall 
2.20 	be elected by voters residing in the judge's judicial election precinct. By October 1, 2015, 
2.21 	and thereafter, 30 days prior to a general election following the addition of a judgeship, the 
2.22 	Commission on Judicial Selection shall establish boundaries of judicial election precincts 
2.23 	and assign a judgeship to each precinct in the Second and Fourth Judicial districts. The 
2.24 	boundaries of judicial election precincts must follow visible, clearly recognizable physical 
2.25 	features, be composed of compact, contiguous territory, and be substantially equal in 
2.26 	population based on the results of the most recent decennial census.

2.27 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective July 1, 2015.