Purpose

• This bill aims to lower the minimum age required to run for local elected offices. Specifically, it would set the minimum age to 18 for county, municipal, school district, and special district offices, while keeping the minimum age at 21 for any other (non-local) offices.

Main Provisions

• Amends Minnesota Statutes 2025 Supplement section 204B.06 subdivision 1 (the Form of affidavit of candidacy) to reflect age requirements:
  • For local offices (county, municipal, school district, and special district): candidate must be 18 years of age or more on assuming office.
  • For any other office: candidate must be 21 years of age or more on assuming office.
• Affidavit content requirements:
  • Must state the office sought.
  • Must state that the candidate is an eligible voter.
  • Must state that the candidate has no other affidavit on file as a candidate for the same primary or next ensuing general election, unless allowed by other subdivisions.
  • Must state the candidate will reside in the district from which they seek election for 30 days before the general election.
  • Must indicate the candidate’s age as specified above.
  • Must indicate the candidate’s true name or the name by which they are commonly known in the community, along with phonetic spelling or pronunciation, and include a certification that the official responsible for programming election materials uses the applicable technology’s default pronunciation for the candidate’s name.
• Partisan office provision:
  • If the candidate is running for a partisan office, the affidavit must also state the candidate’s political party or political principle in three words or less.

Changes to Law and Expected Effects

• Significant change: Local offices would allow candidates as young as 18 to run, aligning eligibility with the common voting age for many elections.
• Non-local (statewide) offices would remain subject to the higher age threshold of 21.
• Administrative impact:
  • The affidavit of candidacy form would include explicit provisions about name, pronunciation, and ballot designation, along with a 30-day residency confirmation.
  • The requirement to provide party or three-word political principle for partisan races may influence how candidates present themselves on the ballot.
• Practical implications:
  • Potentially increases youth participation in local elections.
  • May necessitate updated guidance and training for election officials handling candidate filings and name pronunciation data.

Administrative and Implementation Notes

• The changes are implemented within the form and eligibility language for affidavits of candidacy, affecting filings for local offices and how information is captured for election materials.
• The bill specifies the method to treat a candidate’s name for ballot design and guidance on pronunciation defaults used by election material programming.

Relevant Terms - minimum age, local election candidates, local offices, 18 years, 21 years, affidavit of candidacy, Minnesota Statutes 2025 Supplement section 204B.06 subdivision 1, office sought, eligible voter, general election, primary, residence, 30 days, county, municipal, school district, special district, partisan office, political party, political principle, three words or less, ballot designation, true name, name commonly known, phonetic spelling, pronunciation, default pronunciation, election materials, programming, official responsible.