Hello justincase,
I figured that I would go ahead and answer this question since it is
International Talk Like a Pirate Day. So Ahoy! and Shiver me timbers!
this be my answer, matey.
Minnesota is an interesting political state, as you probably already
know. In my estimation, you are in a good state for a new political
party. The Independence Party of Minnesota only began during the 1992
election to support Ross Perot, and has even elected a governor since
then. Minnesota has "major" and "minor" party designations and does
not treat minor parties as badly as some states do.
There is no political party registration in the state as in other
states, so you won't have to register voters as part of your party or
know how many voters wish to register themselves as members of your
party.
You will have to register with the Campaign Finance Board as soon as
you raise $100 or spend $100 on a campaign. If you wish to qualify as
a "minor party," (complete definition below) you will have to register
with the Minnesota Secretary of State's office.
As pafalafa-ga states, your major issues will be when you run a
candidate for office and raise money for that campaign. Political
parties are governed in Minnesota under the Minnesota Statute Chapter
10A, the Ethics in Government Act.
You will have to then use the following form to register your party:
(Registration is free.)
http://www.cfboard.state.mn.us/forms/PAC/Party_Registration.pdf
"A political party unit is required to register with the Campaign
Finance and Public Disclosure Board office within 14 days after the
committee raises or spends in excess of $100 to influence state
elections or amend the registration within 10 days after any change
in previously filed Registration and Statement of Organization information.
? This statement may be filed electronically at cf.board@state.mn.us
or by fax at 651/296-1722 or 800/357-4114.
? All information on this report is public information and will be
published on the Board?s website.
? Address questions to Board staff at 651/296-5615 or 800/657-3889"
You will need to list someone as a chair and someone as a treasurer in
order to register. You can register yourself as both and change it
later if you wish.
You will need to have a bank account opened in the party's name before
you file these papers:
http://www.cfboard.state.mn.us/FAQ.htm
"Q: What do I need to do to register with your office? What is the process?
A: All Candidate Committees, Political Committees, Political Funds,
and Party Units need to have a bank account opened, BEFORE they
register with our office. Once you have done that, a Registration and
Statement of Organization form may be filled out and filed with us."
You will also need to have your candidates open separate bank accounts
before each new campaign.
"Q: If I want to run for another office, do I need to form a new
committee or may I use the same committee already registered?
A: You need to register a separate committee and open a separate bank account."
This law was just passed by the Minnesota House of Representatives last year:
http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/hrd/bs/84/hf2116.html
"First registration. Requires a political committee, political fund,
principal campaign committee, or political party unit to register with
the board within 48 hours after receiving or spending more than $100.
Current law requires registration within 14 days of this."
http://www.cfboard.state.mn.us/FAQ.htm
"Q: Where can I get a copy of the Minnesota Statutes Chapter 10A,
Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board Rules, and/or other
election laws?
A: You may obtain a copy of Chapter 10A and the Board's Rules from our
website under the Statutes and Rules bookmark. Our website contains
links to other departments and agencies such as the Minnesota
Secretary of State, Minnesota Department of Revenue, and the Federal
Elections Commission. The Minnesota Book Store sells spiral bound
copies of the law and rules for approximately $12.00 (plus shipping
and handling if you are unable to pick one up in person)."
You will have to file reports with the Campaign Finance Office three
times during election years:
"Q: When and how do I file reports?
A: Candidate Committees, Political Committees, Political Funds, and
Political Party Units file with our office three times (pre-primary,
pre-general, year-end) during election years and once (year-end)
during non-election years.
All reports may be filed with our office by mail or fax. Candidate
Committees, Political Committees, Political Funds, and Political Party
Units who use our software also have the option to file with our
office electronically."
You can also request a copy of someone else's report for reference if you wish:
"Q: How can I get a copy of someone's/entity's report?
A: If you would like to view a report filed with our office, you may
do so in person, free of charge. If you would like to make a copy of
that report, it is 10 cents a side or if you need us to copy and send
the report to you, it is 50 cents a side and must be pre-paid. If a
committee, individual, or other entity has terminated with our office,
you may want to call ahead to be sure we have the file. Depending on
the termination date, at times we need to call to have files pulled
from Records Retention, or we may need to direct you to the History
Center."
The Campaign Finance Board's office is located at Suite 190,
Centennial Office Building, 658 Cedar Street, St. Paul, Minnesota.
Additionally, for some reason Hennepin County has different rules than
the rest of the state, if you happen to live there:
http://www.cfboard.state.mn.us/handbook/hb_political_party_unit.pdf#search=%22site%3Astate.mn.us%20political%20party%20register%22
"Political party units registered in Hennepin County need not register
with the Board and may contribute to state legislative and constitutional
office candidates, political committees, political funds, and political party
units registered with the Board."
There are strict reporting requirements as far as donations and contributions go.
"The treasurer must keep full and accurate records of all receipts and
expenditures. A system for recording receipts and expenditures should
be maintained to assist in meeting reporting requirements... For each
receipt in excess of $20, the treasurer must keep a record of:
Full name and address of the contributor
Amount of the contribution
Date the contribution was received by the party unit
Employer of the contributor ? if the aggregate contributions from the
individual exceed $100 in a year
The contributor?s registration number provided by the Board? if the
contributor is a lobbyist, principal campaign committee (candidate
committee), political committee, political fund, or political party
unit."
You must also keep these same types of records for each expenditure
made by the party.
The treasurer must file reports even if the party had no activity
since the filing of the last report.
http://www.cfboard.state.mn.us/issues/glossary.pdf#search=%22site%3Astate.mn.us%20political%20party%20register%22
"Political committees and political funds are considered inactive if
they have not made an expenditure or disbursement for 2 years.
Inactive committees and funds must terminate their registration with
the Board within 60 days after notification from Board staff."
"A candidate, political committee, political fund, or party unit may
terminate their registration when there are no outstanding debts, all
assets have been liquidated, and the cash balance is $100 or less.
A termination report must be filed."
When it comes to running your candidates, you'll have to meet certain
other requirements, and so it's best to get those out of the way at
the beginning so as not to cause problems later.
In order to file a petition as a candidate in Minnesota:
http://www.sos.state.mn.us/home/index.asp?page=234
-- For state office or US senator, you need signatures of one percent
of the amount of voters in the state who voted in the last election,
or 2000, whichever is less
-- for Congress, you need five percent of the number of voters in the
district in the last general election, or 1000, whichever is less
--for county office, you need 10 percent of individuals voting in the
last general election, or 500, whichever is less
This is relatively simple compared to the complicated requirements
other states subject third parties to.
How would you become a major political party?
http://www.revisor.leg.state.mn.us/bin/getpub.php?pubtype=STAT_CHAP_SEC&year=current§ion=200.02+&image.x=18&image.y=8
"Subd. 7. Major political party. (a) "Major political
party" means a political party that maintains a party
organization in the state, political division or precinct in
question and that has presented at least one candidate for
election to the office of:
(1) governor and lieutenant governor, secretary of state,
state auditor, or attorney general at the last preceding state
general election for those offices; or
(2) presidential elector or U.S. senator at the last
preceding state general election for presidential electors; and
whose candidate received votes in each county in that
election and received votes from not less than five percent of
the total number of individuals who voted in that election.
(b) "Major political party" also means a political party
that maintains a party organization in the state, political
subdivision, or precinct in question and that has presented at
least 45 candidates for election to the office of state
representative, 23 candidates for election to the office of
state senator, four candidates for election to the office of
representative in Congress, and one candidate for election to
each of the following offices: governor and lieutenant
governor, attorney general, secretary of state, and state
auditor, at the last preceding state general election for those
offices.
(c) "Major political party" also means a political party
that maintains a party organization in the state, political
subdivision, or precinct in question and whose members present
to the secretary of state at any time before the close of filing
for the state partisan primary ballot a petition for a place on
the state partisan primary ballot, which petition contains
signatures of a number of the party members equal to at least
five percent of the total number of individuals who voted in the
preceding state general election.
(d) A political party whose candidate receives a sufficient
number of votes at a state general election described in
paragraph (a) or a political party that presents candidates at
an election as required by paragraph (b) becomes a major
political party as of January 1 following that election and
retains its major party status for at least two state general
elections even if the party fails to present a candidate who
receives the number and percentage of votes required under
paragraph (a) or fails to present candidates as required by
paragraph (b) at subsequent state general elections.
(e) A major political party whose candidates fail to
receive the number and percentage of votes required under
paragraph (a) and that fails to present candidates as required
by paragraph (b) at each of two consecutive state general
elections described by paragraph (a) or (b), respectively, loses
major party status as of December 31 following the later of the
two consecutive state general elections."
Minor Political Party:
"Subd. 23. Minor political party. (a) "Minor
political party" means a political party that has adopted a
state constitution, designated a state party chair, held a state
convention in the last two years, filed with the secretary of
state no later than December 31 following the most recent state
general election a certification that the party has met the
foregoing requirements, and met the requirements of paragraph
(b) or (e), as applicable.
(b) To be considered a minor party in all elections
statewide, the political party must have presented at least one
candidate for election to the office of:
(1) governor and lieutenant governor, secretary of state,
state auditor, or attorney general, at the last preceding state
general election for those offices; or
(2) presidential elector or U.S. senator at the preceding
state general election for presidential electors; and
who received votes in each county that in the aggregate
equal at least one percent of the total number of individuals
who voted in the election, or its members must have presented to
the secretary of state at any time before the close of filing
for the state partisan primary ballot a nominating petition in a
form prescribed by the secretary of state containing the
signatures of party members in a number equal to at least one
percent of the total number of individuals who voted in the
preceding state general election.
(c) A political party whose candidate receives a sufficient
number of votes at a state general election described in
paragraph (b) becomes a minor political party as of January 1
following that election and retains its minor party status for
at least two state general elections even if the party fails to
present a candidate who receives the number and percentage of
votes required under paragraph (b) at subsequent state general
elections.
(d) A minor political party whose candidates fail to
receive the number and percentage of votes required under
paragraph (b) at each of two consecutive state general elections
described by paragraph (b) loses minor party status as of
December 31 following the later of the two consecutive state
general elections.
(e) A minor party that qualifies to be a major party loses
its status as a minor party at the time it becomes a major
party. Votes received by the candidates of a major party must
be counted in determining whether the party received sufficient
votes to qualify as a minor party, notwithstanding that the
party does not receive sufficient votes to retain its major
party status. To be considered a minor party in an election in
a legislative district, the political party must have presented
at least one candidate for a legislative office in that district
who received votes from at least ten percent of the total number
of individuals who voted for that office, or its members must
have presented to the secretary of state a nominating petition
in a form prescribed by the secretary of state containing the
signatures of party members in a number equal to at least ten
percent of the total number of individuals who voted in the
preceding state general election for that legislative office."
The definitions and instructions for how to register withe the
Secretary of State's office, if you so wish, can be seen here:
http://www.sos.state.mn.us/docs/filing_for_office_2006.pdf
The Green Party is currently the only party officially classified as a
"minor party" in Minnesota.
Additional sources:
http://www.city-data.com/states/Minnesota-Political-parties.html
Beginning of the Libertarian Party in Minnesota
http://www.lpmn.org/history.php
Search terms:
minnesota political party register
site:state.mn.us political party register
minnesota petition create new political party
secretary minnesota political party 10 members
minnesota secretary of state
site:sos.state.mn.us file minor political party
I wish you the best of luck with your new party. If you need any
additional help or clarifications, let me know and I'll be glad to
help.
--keystroke-ga |
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