A Minnesota law has thrown a potential wrench into Minneapolis City Council elections — one that could require an extra council election for a two-year term. As a result, city officials are discussing options to avoid that scenario while living within state and city election rules.

Council terms became an issue because of a state rule that was quietly adopted in 2010. Named after its author, former DFL state Rep. Phyllis Kahn of Minneapolis, the Kahn amendment requires Minneapolis and St. Paul to conduct City Council elections in years ending in 2 or 3 after a census is taken — in this case, in 2022 or 2023 — to ensure that voters are properly represented within new boundaries.

But that timetable conflicts with the city's election cycle. Council members, the mayor and other city elected officials are scheduled to run in 2021 for four-year terms. Speeding up the boundary decisions could avoid the need for an additional election. City officials believe they can expedite the redistricting process in time for the 2021 election because another state election law allows large cities to make changes more quickly after the census. Ultimately, that work will be done by the city's Charter Commission.

The best outcome would be for the city's 2021 election to proceed as scheduled, with candidates running for four-year terms. That option would be the least disruptive and most economical, and keep all city elections on the same schedule.

Minneapolis City Clerk Casey Carl told an editorial writer that there is a "conflict" between the Kahn amendment and state and city rules, and that some clarification is needed from the Legislature. In the meantime, the city is moving toward collecting as much unofficial data about population changes as possible, so that boundaries can be redrawn as soon as official census data is available in the spring on 2021.

That's the best scenario. But if census information is released late or held up in court, plan B might be to have elections for one two-year term, then sync up with other city offices for four-year terms later. That would add an election at an estimated cost of about $2.6 million.

It's important to sustain a fundamental tenant of Minneapolis politics: a "unified ballot" with all 25 offices — mayor, council, Board of Estimate and Taxation, and Park and Recreation Board — up for election at the same time.

As Mayor Jacob Frey has noted, expedited redistricting makes the most sense because it would maintain what voters expect for city elections, offer stability in city governing, save taxpayers money for additional elections and provide fair representation for the city's changing population.