Reiter v. Kiffmeyer

Summary

The Minnesota Supreme Court held that Minn. Stat. § 204B.11, subd. 2, does not require signatures on a petition submitted in lieu of a filing fee to be collected during the statutory 14-day filing period. The court rejected the petitioner’s equal protection argument, granted the motion to dismiss, and denied the petition seeking removal of Gil Gutknecht’s name from the primary-election ballot.

Holdings

1. Minn. Stat. § 204B.11, subd. 2, is plain and unambiguous and does not require signatures on a petition in lieu of the filing fee to be affixed during the 14-day filing period.
2. The Equal Protection Clause does not require imposing the signature-timing limitation applicable to nominating petitions on petitions filed in lieu of filing fees because the two petitions serve different purposes and the filing-fee alternative is equally available to all candidates.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Minn. Stat. § 204B.11, subd. 2, requires signatures on a petition filed in lieu of a filing fee to be affixed during the 14-day filing period.
2. Whether the Equal Protection Clause requires the petition-in-lieu-of-filing-fee statute to impose the same signature-timing limitation applicable to nominating petitions.

Disposition

dismissed