Transcript Preparing for Elections - Hennepin County, Minnesota

Preparing for Elections
Polling Place Requirements
 Contact polling locations
 Confirm availability – no later than May 13th
 Review polling place accessibility
 Notify affected voters no later than 25 days before
the next election
 Contact Dory for notification options
May 13th
Precinct Finder Changes
 Non-residential addresses have been removed
 Updated precinct finders will be sent to jurisdictions in July and
August
Address questions on election day?
 Contact our office
Ongoing precinct finder maintenance
 New developments, street changes or house number changes or
corrections should be sent to: [email protected]
Notice of Polling Place Change
 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
No later than July 17th (primary cities) or October 9th (all other elections)
Notice of Candidate Filing
 Lists all offices to appear on ballot
 Filing dates and location
 Publish notice 2 weeks before opening of filing
 May 5 or July 14
 Post notice 10 days before opening of filing
 May 8 or July 17
May 5th or July 14th – publish
May 8th or July 17th – post
Candidate Filing
May 19th - June 2nd, or
July 28th – August 11th
Offices on the Ballot
 Legislative District 46A
 City offices
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Bloomington
Golden Valley
Hopkins
Independence
Minnetonka
St Anthony
St Louis Park
 School District offices
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11
270
271
272
273
276
277
278
280
282
283
284
286
877
Who files where?
 State offices – Secretary of State’s office or county in
which the candidate resides
 City and School offices – city clerk or school district clerk’s
office
Candidate Filing Dates
 Two week filing period
 Early filing – May 19–June 2
 Late filing – July 28–August 11
 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
Preparing for Candidate Filing
 Candidate Filing Packet
 Materials on OSS website
 http://www.sos.state.mn.us/index.aspx?page=636
Candidate Filing Process
 Accept Affidavit of Candidacy
 Accept filing fee (or petition in lieu of filing fee)
 Unless otherwise specified in charter
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1st class cities - $20
2nd and 3rd class cities - $5
4th class cities - $2
School district office - $2
 Assign sequential filing number
 Candidate receives filing packet materials and copy of
affidavit
Affidavit of Candidacy
 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 and schools must use
this affidavit – updated
5/2015, recycle old stock
Affidavit of Candidacy
 Upon accepting affidavit, email ASAP to county
 Email to Kristin Sepeta AND Jim Howitt
 [email protected]
 [email protected]
 Information will be entered into the OSS website
 Each affidavit should be posted within 2 hours of receipt
 Please check to confirm: http://candidates.sos.state.mn.us
Ballot Questions
 Ballot questions also emailed
to county
 Send ballot question wording
in PDF
 Ballot question wording will
also be entered into OSS
website
Election Notices
Notice of Election to Auditor
 Send by mail or electronically
to Hennepin County
 74 days before election
 Primary – June 5
 General – August 21
 Must include:
 Date of election
 Offices to be voted on
 Title and language of each
ballot question
June 5th and August 21st
Notice of Special Elections
 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
School District Notices
 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
 1st class mail between 15-30 days prior to election
Public Notice of Election
 Publish twice
 Two weeks prior to the election; and
 One week prior to the election
 Post twice
 At least 10 days prior to the election
Campaign Finance
Year round
Campaign Finance – Chapter 211A
 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
Clerk Duties for Campaign Finance
 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
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 31st of each year
July 31st - pre-primary
October 23rd – pre-general
December 3rd– post-general
January 31st – annual
Reporting Schedule:
Not on the Ballot
 Annual report
 Due January 31st of each year
January 31st
Additional Reports
 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
No later than November 10th – Certification of Filing
Contribution Limits
 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
Online Accessibility
 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
Failure to File Required Reports
 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
Campaign Practices
Election Day Activities
 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
August 11th and November 3rd
Campaign Complaints
 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
More Information
 Candidate Filing
 See OSS City Clerk Guide, or
 OSS School District Clerk Guide
 Campaign Finance and Campaign Practices
 See OSS Campaign Manual
Ballot Preparation
May 19th - June 10th
July 28th - August 26th
Ballot Programming Calendar
Ballot Preparation Steps
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Office Identification
Candidate Filing (Affidavits of Candidacy)
Ballot ordering
Ballot proofing
Ballot delivery
Office Identification
 What offices and
questions are expected
to be on the ballot
 Let Hennepin County
know if any changes
arise – specifically
ballot questions
Ordering Ballots
 Ballot order forms due
 June 5 and August 14
 Suggested percent for
election day and
absentee ballots
 Expected absentee
ballot increase
 Make any changes in
the light blue areas
 Suggested test ballot is
50 per precinct
 Ballots packaged in
packs of 100
June 5th and August 14th
Ballot Proofing
 Checklist provided
 Proofing period
 June 8-10 and August 24-26
 Clerk must be available, plan ahead
 Additional instructions provided with ballot proofs
 Email corrections or approval of proofs ASAP
 [email protected]
June 8th-10th
August 24th-26th
Candidate Rotation
 Rotation algorithm required
 Rotation drawn randomly by
ERS
 If you prefer to draw rotation,
must be sent by:
June 5 or August 14 by 12pm
 Proof candidate rotation as
part of your ballot proofing
June 5th and August 14th
Ballot Delivery
 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,
 Cities and schools - 4 days posted
notice
 Sample ballots also available on
OSS poll finder website
SVRS:
Statewide Voter Registration
System
Year round
SVRS Functions
 Maintained by county
 Voter records
 Precincts, polling places
 Maintained by county
and city
 Absentee records
 Reports available
 Voter registration
 Absentee ballot
 Administrative reports
SVRS Access
 Test IP address
 https://svrs.sos.state.mn.us
 User names, passwords maintained by
county
 Contact county to set up new users
SVRS Practice Module
 Allows users to ‘practice’ using any SVRS functionality
 https://svrspractice.sos.state.mn.us
 Contact county for set up
Voter Registration
 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
https://mnvotes.sos.state.mn.us/VoterRegistration/VoterRegistrationStep1.aspx
Voter Registration
 Voters can check to
see if they are
registered to vote
 Link from Secretary
of State’s website
https://mnvotes.sos.state.mn.us/VoterStatus.aspx