Preparing for Elections

 Political parties provide lists to county by May 15 th  County will forward to cities  Cities may appoint judges from lists provided or may appoint other people who meet the qualifications Election Judge Lists May 15 th

 Contact polling locations  Confirm availability  Review polling place accessibility  No polling place changes after May 14 th  Provide Hennepin County with resolution  Notify affected voters no later than 25 days before the next election Polling Place Requirements May 14 th

 No later than June 1  Immediately notify Hennepin County of changes  Hennepin County will work with cities to make updates to precinct finder Precinct Boundary Changes June 1 st

 Sent at least 25 days prior to election  Nonforwardable notice  Every affected household with one registered voter (minimum requirement)  Notice available thru SVRS, if preferred Notice of Polling Place Change No later than July 18 th

 Lists all offices to appear on ballot  Filing dates and location  Publish notice 2 weeks before opening of filing  May 6 or July 15  Post notice 10 days before opening of filing  May 9 or July 18 Notice of Candidate Filing May 6 th or July 15 th – publish May 9 th or July 18 th – post

Candidate Filing May 20 th - June 3 rd, or July 29 th – August 12 th

 US Senator  US Representative (3, 5, 6)  Governor, Lt Governor  Secretary of State  Attorney General  State Representatives  County Commissioner (2, 3, 4)  County Attorney  County Sheriff  Three Rivers Park (2, 4) Offices on the Ballot  Judicial offices  City offices  School district offices

 Federal offices – Secretary of State’s office  State and Judicial offices – Secretary of State’s office or county in which the candidate resides  County offices – Hennepin County Government Center  City and School offices – city clerk or school district clerk’s office Who files where?

 Two week filing period  Early filing – May 20–June 3  Late filing – July 29–August 12  Clerks must be open from 1-5pm on last day of filing  Withdrawal period  2 days after close of filing – open until 5pm  No refund of filing fee Candidate Filing Dates

 Candidate Filing Packet  Materials on OSS website  Preparing for Candidate Filing

 Accept Affidavit of Candidacy  Accept filing fee (or petition in lieu of filing fee)  Unless otherwise specified in charter  1 st class cities - $20  2 nd and 3 rd class cities - $5  4 th class cities - $2  School district office - $2  Assign sequential filing number  Candidate receives filing packet materials and copy of affidavit Candidate Filing Process

 Name printed is exactly as it appears on ballot  Name must be candidate’s true name or the name by which they are commonly known  Candidates may not use designations about occupation, principles qualifications, or opinions  Cities must use this affidavit Affidavit of Candidacy

 Upon accepting affidavit, ASAP to county  to Kristin Reid AND Jim Howitt    Information will be entered into the OSS website  Each affidavit should be posted within 2 hours of receipt  Please check to confirm: Affidavit of Candidacy

 Ballot questions also ed to county  Send ballot question wording in PDF  Ballot question wording will also be entered into OSS website Ballot Questions

Election Notices

 Send by mail or electronically to Hennepin County  74 days before election  Primary – June 6  General – August 22  Must include:  Date of election  Offices to be voted on  Title and language of each ballot question Notice of Election to Auditor June 6 th and August 22 nd

 Same requirements  If held on same date as state election – notice provided 74 days prior  If held on date other than state election – notice provided 74 days prior  Please contact county ASAP if you believe a special election might be on the horizon Notice of Special Elections

 Commissioner of Education  Notice of Election – send copy of Notice to Auditor  If referendum cancelled, send notice  Post-referendum canvass report, send copy  Levy Referendum Mailed Notice  To each property taxpayer, list provided by county  Indicate projected tax increase  1 st class mail between days prior to election School District Notices

 Cities – publish twice  Two weeks prior to the election; and  One week prior to the election  Schools – publish once  Two weeks prior to the election  Both – give at least 10 days posted notice Public Notice of Election July 29 th and August 5 th – cities publish July 29 th – schools publish August 1 st – cities and schools post

Campaign Finance Year round

 M.S. 211A governs financial reporting for:  Municipalities and school districts  Committees which must comply  Candidate committees  Political funds  Political committees  Exception: Bloomington, Brooklyn Park, Minneapolis and Minneapolis school district governed by M.S. 383B Campaign Finance – Chapter 211A

 Provide report forms  Receive financial reports  Notify candidate or committee if necessary reports have not been filed  File complaints with Office of Administrative Hearings  Make financial reports available for public inspection  Collect Certification of Filing forms from candidates  Issue Certificates of Election to winning candidates Clerk Duties for Campaign Finance

Reporting Schedule: On the Ballot  Initial report  Due within 14 days committee has raised or spent more than $750  Pre-primary report  Due 10 days before primary or special primary  Pre-general report  Due 10 days before general election or special  Post-general report  Due 30 days after general or special election  Annual report  Due January 31 st of each year August 1 st - pre-primary October 24 th – pre-general December 4 th – post-general January 31 st – annual

Reporting Schedule: Not on the Ballot  Annual report  Due January 31 st of each year January 31 st

 Certification of Filing  Every candidate and every registered committee must complete  Due within 7 days after a general or special election  No Certificate of Election issued to candidate if not submitted  Final report  All debts must be paid  $100 or less remaining cash balance  Ends activity Additional Reports No later than November 11 th – Certification of Filing

 Population of territory represented 100,000 or more  $1000 in election year (was $500)  $250 in non-election year (was $100)  Population of territory represented less than 100,000  $600 in election year (was $300)  $250 in non-election year (was $100) M.S. 211A.12 Contribution Limits

 New legislation in 2014  Reports made available on local government website  No later than 30 days after receipt  Available for 4 years from date posted  Provide Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board with link to website  Does not apply to cities with < 400 registered voters as of January 1 of the election year M.S.211A.02 Online Accessibility

 If an initial report has been filed but the committee fails to file a subsequent report on the due date  Filing officer must immediately notify the candidate or committee of failure to file  If report is not filed within 10 days after notification is mailed, the filing officer must file a complaint with the Office of Administrative Hearings Failure to File Required Reports

Campaign Practices

 All noncommercial signs of any size in any number may be posted  June 27 – November 14  Municipal ordinances may regulate the size and number of noncommercial signs at other times Noncommercial Signs June 27 th - November 14 th

 No campaigning within 100 feet of polling place building or anywhere on public property with a polling place  Including no campaign material, political badges or buttons  Absentee voting locations count as polling place Election Day Activities August 12 th and November 4 th

 Violations of M.S. 211A or M.S. 211B filed with the Office of Administrative Hearings  Limitations, form, proof of complaints – see M.S. 211B.32 Campaign Complaints

 Candidate Filing  See OSS City Clerk Guide, or  OSS School District Clerk Guide  Campaign Finance and Campaign Practices  See OSS Campaign Manual More Information

Ballot Preparation May 20 th - June 12 th July 29 th - August 28 th

Ballot Programming Calendar

 Office Identification  Candidate Filing (Affidavits of Candidacy)  Ballot ordering  Ballot proofing  Ballot delivery Ballot Preparation Steps

 What offices and questions are expected to be on the ballot  Let Hennepin County know if any changes arise – specifically ballot questions Office Identification

 Ballot order forms due  June 6 and August 15  Suggested percent for election day and absentee ballots  Expected absentee ballot increase  Suggested test ballot is 50 per precinct  Fill in order in light blue areas  Ballots packaged in packs of 100 Ordering Ballots June 6 th and August 15 th

 Checklist provided  Proofing period  June and August  Clerk must be available, plan ahead  Additional instructions provided with ballot proofs  corrections or approval of proofs ASAP  Ballot Proofing June 10 th -12 th August 26 th -28 th

 Rotation algorithm required  Rotation drawn randomly by ERS  If you prefer to draw rotation, must be sent by: June 5 or August 14 by 6pm  Proof candidate rotation as part of your ballot proofing Candidate Rotation June 5 th and August 14 th

 New ballot vendor  ES&S  Ballot delivery dates  Sample ballots  County will provide blue sample ballots & PDFs  Cities publish sample ballot with local offices only at least 2 weeks prior to election in official newspaper, 4 days posted notice  Sample ballots also available on OSS poll finder website Ballot Delivery

SVRS: Statewide Voter Registration System Year round

 Maintained by county  Voter records  Precincts, polling places  Maintained by county and city  Absentee records  Reports available  Voter registration  Absentee ballot  Administrative reports SVRS Functions

 Test IP address   User names, passwords maintained by county  Contact county to set up new users SVRS Access

 Allows users to ‘practice’ using any SVRS functionality   Contact county for set up SVRS Practice Module

 New SVRS release May 29  Training sessions offered June 10 th -13 th  Topics  Searching records  Entering applications  Updating ballot status  Reports available  Trouble-shooting SVRS Training

 Applications submitted to county or OSS  Pre-registration cut-off 21 days before each election  Voters submit paper applications, or  Voters submit online applications – new 2013 Voter Registration

 Voters can check to see if they are registered to vote  Link from Secretary of State’s website Voter Registration