HF 1235

02/13/25   REVISOR  VH/EN  25-01845
This Document can be made available
in alternative formats upon request  State of Minnesota
  HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
  NINETY-FOURTH SESSION
  H. F. No.  1235
02/20/2025     Authored by Quam
  The bill was read for the first time and referred to the Committee on Elections Finance and Government Operations
1.1A bill for an act
1.2relating to elections; classifying data in the statewide voter registration system;
1.3amending Minnesota Statutes 2024, sections 13.607, by adding a subdivision;
1.4201.022, by adding a subdivision; 201.091, subdivisions 4, 4a, by adding a
1.5subdivision; repealing Minnesota Statutes 2024, sections 13.607, subdivision 6;
1.6201.091, subdivision 9.
1.7BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
1.8Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 13.607, is amended by adding a subdivision
1.9to read:
1.10Subd. 6a. Registered voter lists. Data on registered voters is governed by section
1.11201.022, subdivision 4.
1.12Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 201.022, is amended by adding a subdivision to
1.13read:
1.14Subd. 4. Data. (a) Except as provided in this subdivision, all data in the statewide voter
1.15registration system is public data on individuals, as defined in section 13.02, subdivision
1.1615.
1.17(b) The following data is private data on individuals, as defined in section 13.02,
1.18subdivision 12: a voter's date of birth, driver's license number, identification card number,
1.19military identification card number, passport number, or any part of a voter's Social Security
1.20number.
1.21(c) Information maintained on the presidential primary political party list required by
1.22section 201.091, subdivision 4a, is private data on individuals as defined under section
Sec. 2.  1
02/13/25   REVISOR  VH/EN  25-01845
2.1  13.02, subdivision 12, except that the secretary of state must provide to the chair of each
2.2  major political party the list of voters who selected that party.
2.3      (d) Upon receipt of a statement signed by the voter that withholding the voter's name
2.4  from the public is required for the safety of the voter or the voter's family, the secretary of
2.5  state and county auditor must withhold from the public the name of the registered voter.
2.6  Data withheld pursuant to this paragraph is private data on individuals, as defined in section
2.7  13.02, subdivision 12.
2.8      (e) Any person requesting public data must state in writing that any information obtained
2.9  from the statewide voter registration system will not be used for purposes unrelated to
2.10 elections, political activities, or law enforcement.
2.11   Sec. 3. Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 201.091, subdivision 4, is amended to read:
2.12     Subd. 4. Public information lists. (a) The county auditor shall make available for
2.13 inspection a public information list which must contain the name, address, year of birth,
2.14 and voting history of each registered voter in the county. Data on applicants submitted
2.15 pursuant to section 201.061, subdivision 1b, are not part of the public information list until
2.16 the voter is registered or has voting history. The list must not include the party choice of
2.17 any voter who voted in a presidential nomination primary data classified as private data on
2.18 individuals pursuant to section 201.022, subdivision 4. The telephone number must be
2.19 included on the list if provided by the voter. The public information list may also include
2.20 information on voting districts. The county auditor may adopt reasonable rules governing
2.21 access to the list.
2.22     (b) No individual inspecting the public information list shall tamper with or alter it in
2.23 any manner. No individual who inspects the public information list or who acquires a list
2.24 of registered voters prepared from the public information list may use any information
2.25 contained in the list for purposes unrelated to elections, political activities, or law
2.26 enforcement. The secretary of state may provide copies of the public information lists and
2.27 other information from the statewide registration system for uses related to elections, political
2.28 activities, or in response to a law enforcement inquiry from a public official concerning a
2.29 failure to comply with any criminal statute or any state or local tax statute.
2.30     (c) Before inspecting the public information list or obtaining a list of voters or other
2.31 information from the list, the individual shall provide identification to the public official
2.32 having custody of the public information list and shall state in writing that any information
2.33 obtained from the list will not be used for purposes unrelated to elections, political activities,
2.34 or law enforcement. Requests to examine or obtain information from the public information
Sec. 3.  2
02/13/25   REVISOR  VH/EN  25-01845
3.1  lists or the statewide registration system must be made and processed in the manner provided
3.2  in the rules of the secretary of state.
3.3      (d) Upon receipt of a statement signed by the voter that withholding the voter's name
3.4  from the public information list is required for the safety of the voter or the voter's family,
3.5  the secretary of state and county auditor must withhold from the public information list the
3.6  name of a registered voter.
3.7      (e) (d) Notwithstanding paragraphs (b) and (c) and regardless of the purpose of the
3.8  publication, a recipient of a public information list must not:
3.9      (1) publish any of the information from the list on the Internet on any list, database, or
3.10 other similar searchable format; or
3.11     (2) sell, loan, provide access to, or otherwise surrender any information obtained from
3.12 the list to any person or entity, except that an individual who obtains the public information
3.13 list on behalf of an organization, entity, or political subdivision may distribute the information
3.14 to the organization's, entity's, or political subdivision's volunteers or employees for purposes
3.15 related to elections, political activities, or law enforcement in the case where the information
3.16 is provided in response to a law enforcement inquiry from a public official concerning a
3.17 failure to comply with any criminal statute or any state or local tax statute. Nothing in this
3.18 section prohibits the preparation, use, or transfer, for purposes related to elections or political
3.19 activities, of a database that includes data obtained from the public information list which
3.20 is aggregated with data obtained from other sources provided that such database is used
3.21 exclusively for purposes related to elections or political activities and no information from
3.22 the list is published on the Internet. The prohibitions of this paragraph do not apply if the
3.23 subject of the information provides express written permission to use the subject's data in
3.24 a manner otherwise prohibited by this paragraph. For purposes of this paragraph, "publish"
3.25 means information is made available to the general public.
3.26   Sec. 4. Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 201.091, subdivision 4a, is amended to read:
3.27     Subd. 4a. Presidential nomination primary political party list. The secretary of state
3.28 must maintain a list of the voters who voted in a presidential nomination primary and the
3.29 political party each voter selected. Information maintained on the list is private data on
3.30 individuals as defined under section 13.02, subdivision 12, except that the secretary of state
3.31 must provide to the chair of each major political party the list of voters who selected that
3.32 party.
Sec. 4.  3
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4.1    Sec. 5. Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 201.091, is amended by adding a subdivision to
4.2  read:
4.3      Subd. 10. Requests for data. Nothing in this section prevents a person from requesting
4.4  public data as described in section 201.022, subdivision 4.
4.5    Sec. 6. REPEALER.
4.6      Minnesota Statutes 2024, sections 13.607, subdivision 6; and 201.091, subdivision 9,
4.7  are repealed.
4.8    Sec. 7. EFFECTIVE DATE.
4.9      This act is effective the day following final enactment and applies to requests for data
4.10 made on or after that date.
Sec. 7.  4
  APPENDIX
  Repealed Minnesota Statutes: 25-01845
  13.607 CAMPAIGN FINANCE, PUBLIC DISCLOSURE, AND ELECTION DATA
CODED ELSEWHERE.
   Subd. 6. Registered voter lists. Access to registered voter lists is governed by section 201.091.
   201.091 REGISTERED VOTER LISTS; REPORTS; REGISTRATION PLACES.
    Subd. 9. Restricted data. A list provided for public inspection or purchase, or in response to
a law enforcement inquiry, must not include a voter's date of birth or any part of a voter's Social
Security number, driver's license number, identification card number, military identification card
number, or passport number.
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