This bill proposes significant changes to Minnesota's election scheduling and procedures, particularly by aligning the state primary date with the presidential primary nomination date. It amends various sections of the Minnesota Statutes, including sections 204B.14, 204D.03, and 205A.03, establishing that the state primary will now occur on the first Tuesday of March in even-numbered years and coincide with the presidential nomination primary in presidential election years. The bill also introduces provisions for separate ballots for the presidential nomination primary and the state primary, allowing voters to participate in one or both elections.

Additionally, the bill includes amendments to existing election procedures, such as adjusting deadlines for establishing combined polling places and requiring political parties to submit lists of eligible election judges. It modifies the timeline for notifying voters about boundary changes and shifts relevant deadlines for municipal and school district primaries to October in the year prior to the general election. The bill also mandates that the presidential nomination primary ballot be listed first on the state primary ballot and includes a repeal of sections related to the notice of the presidential nomination primary and reimbursement of local election expenses. The effective date of the act is set for December 1, 2025, applying to primary elections held on or after that date.

Statutes affected:
Introduction: 204B.14, 204B.21, 204C.10, 204D.03, 204D.05, 204D.08, 204D.09, 204D.28, 205.065, 205A.03, 205A.11, 206.61, 206.82, 207A.12, 207A.13