MN SF1912

Authorizes home rule charter cities, statutory cities, school districts, and counties to adopt ranked choice voting for local offices through a ballot question presented to voters, effective after January 1, 2026 or adoption of administrative rules by the Secretary of State

Requires voters to rank at least three candidates in order of preference when three or more candidates are on the ballot, with votes counted in rounds where the lowest-vote candidate is eliminated and their votes redistributed until a candidate reaches the threshold for election

Establishes separate tabulation procedures for single-seat elections (requiring majority threshold) and multiple-seat elections (using proportional threshold and surplus vote transfers)

Mandates jurisdictions adopting ranked choice voting for elections held with statewide elections must enter into agreements with county election administrators, and sets adoption deadlines of 20 weeks before state primary or 90 days before candidacy filing opens

Requires voting systems used for ranked choice voting to be certified by Election Assistance Commission-accredited test labs and capable of capturing ballot data, providing minimum three rankings, and notifying voters of errors such as overvotes and skipped rankings