Subd. 1. Example ballot.

1. (a) No later than May 1 of each year, the secretary of state shall supply each auditor with a copy of an example ballot. The example ballot must illustrate the format required for the ballots used in the primary and general elections that year.
2. (b) The county auditor shall distribute copies of the example ballot to municipal and school district clerks in municipalities and school districts holding elections that year. The official ballot must conform in all respects to the example ballot.

Subd. 2. Sample ballot.

At least 46 days before the state primary the county auditor shall prepare a sample ballot for each precinct for public inspection and transmit an electronic copy of these sample ballots to the secretary of state. The names of the candidates to be voted for in the county shall be placed on the sample ballots, with the names of the candidates for each office arranged in the base rotation as determined by section 206.61, subdivision 5. The county auditor shall post the sample ballots in a conspicuous place in the auditor's office and shall cause them to be published at least one week before the state primary in at least one newspaper of general circulation in the county.