A North Dakota House candidate who handed out campaign literature in a Wilton High School classroom will not be prosecuted for breaking a state law that restricts campaigning in public buildings, a prosecutor says.

Democrat Karen Volk had been invited to speak to Sarah Bowerman's biography class about women in politics, said Ladd Erickson, the McLean County state's attorney.

At the end of her mid-October talk, Volk asked how many students were of voting age, and gave campaign brochures to those who said they were, Erickson said Tuesday.

Volk told Bowerman that she also spoke to a high school class in Harvey, where she lives, according to a statement Bowerman signed for McLean County Sheriff Don Charging.

Volk did not respond to telephone and electronic mail messages requesting comment.

North Dakota law bars political candidates from distributing advertisements asking for support in public buildings within 60 days of a general election.

Violations are a misdemeanor, with a maximum penalty of a year in jail and a $2,000 fine. Victorious candidates can be disqualified from office for breaking the law, which is part of North Dakota's Corrupt Practices Act.

Gary Emineth, the North Dakota GOP state chairman, complained to Erickson after hearing of the incident from a parent of one of the students in Bowerman's class. Emineth said he called Bowerman and spoke to the school's principal, Roger Norris, to ask what had happened.

Erickson said Charging questioned Bowerman and Norris on Oct. 31. There was not enough time to complete the investigation before Election Day on Nov. 4, the prosecutor said.

Erickson said Tuesday he decided not to take the case to court in part because Volk lost the election, and the offense is not likely to have affected the race.

Volk and her running mate, Robert Stringer, of Sykeston, lost to Republican House incumbents Duane DeKrey of Pettibone and Robin Weisz of Hurdsfield. Volk finished third, 259 votes behind Weisz.

"Unless the election came down to within a vote or two, this is not going to affect things," Erickson said.

Emineth said he supported Erickson's decision. His point in pursuing the matter was to emphasize that state law bars campaigning in public buildings 60 days before the general election, Emineth said.

"I'm more worried about making sure that it doesn't become a building block for continued campaigning … in the schools," Emineth said. "It becomes, 'Oh, we got away with this.'"

Jamie Selzler, the state Democratic director, said the incident was "a learning opportunity for our candidates from both parties" to be careful about speaking in a classroom two months before an election. He questioned whether it was wise to discourage political candidates from speaking to high school students.

"If a teacher wants to invite candidates in to talk, I think from a student's perspective, that might be an interesting use of class time, and it would probably be doing a lot for educating students," he said. "It does kind of tie the hands of teachers who want to incorporate real-world politics into what they do."