Easier voter registration, automatic absentee ballots, foreign-influenced spending among changes in new law

Minnesota traditionally leads the nation in voter turnout. Protecting the freedom to cast a ballot and increasing voting accessibility are among the goals of a new law.

Among its provisions, the law will allow future voters to sign up before age 18, make campaigns fairer, provide more language access, and protect voters from intimidation.

Rep. Emma Greenman (DFL-Mpls) and Sen. Liz Boldon (DFL-Rochester) sponsor the “Democracy for the People Act.”

HF3*/SF3/CH34

Strengthen freedom to vote

Effective June 1, 2023, a 16- or 17-year-old will be permitted to submit a voter registration application.

Effective a month later, a process will begin to be established whereby certain applications to the state — applying for a driver’s license or state identification card, MinnesotaCare, or for benefits or services from a participating state agency — will double as a voter registration. The application must include documentation or verification of the applicant’s United States citizenship. However, the person will not appear on a polling place roster or be permitted to legally cast a ballot until their eligibility has been verified. The timing for full rollout of this program to the public will not occur until appropriate technology systems have been tested and, in certain cases, are also dependent on federal approval.

Data on applicants who pre-register to vote cannot be publicly disclosed until the voter is fully registered or has a voting history.

A Minnesotan who wants to vote at every election will no longer need to go to the polls or request an absentee ballot because the law provides for someone to enroll for permanent absentee voter status. Current law permits eligible voters to be automatically mailed an absentee ballot application before each election.

Effective June 1, 2024, an eligible voter will be able to apply to the county auditor or municipal clerk to automatically receive an absentee ballot before each election. This will not apply to jurisdictions that conduct elections by mail. The Office of the Secretary of State will maintain a list of permanent absentee voters that is publicly available.

The law strikes language setting a timeline for delivery of absentee ballot applications and establishes timelines for delivery of absentee ballots.

A 2023 law that restores the right to vote once an individual convicted of a felony is released from incarceration has its effective date moved up one month to June 1, 2023. This provision took effect May 6, 2023. (Art. 1, Secs. 3-9, 11-15, 18)

Other languages

Effective July 1, 2023, and applying to elections conducted on or after Jan. 1, 2024, procedures are established to provide voting instructions and sample ballots in languages other than English.

Per the law, “At a minimum, voting instructions and sample ballots must be prepared and made available in polling places in the three most commonly spoken non-English languages in the state as determined by the state demographer for the previous calendar year.” Interpreters will be required at polling locations if certain criteria are met. (Art. 2, Sec. 1)

Intimidation protection

Applying to violations occurring on or after June 15, 2023, the law provides for a gross misdemeanor criminal penalty for directly or indirectly using or threatening “force, coercion, violence, restraint, damage, harm, or loss, including loss of employment or economic reprisal” against someone with the intent to:

• compel that person to register or not register to vote, vote or abstain from voting, or voting for or against a candidate or ballot question; or

• impede that person’s efforts to encourage someone else or assist in registering to vote, travelling to a polling place, casting a ballot or otherwise participating in the election process.

A civil remedy and criminal penalty to enforce such provisions is established. (Art. 2, Secs. 2-3)

Silencing secret spending

There has been an explosive growth in the number of political advertisements both for and against candidates during election seasons. However, not all groups behind such advertisements need to register with the state’s Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board, such as if they supply an ad that simply says, for example, “Call Gov. Tim Walz and tell him to support/oppose” an issue.

In prior statute, "expressly advocating" requires communication to clearly identify a candidate and use words or phrases of express advocacy.

Effective Aug. 1, 2023, the law expands that definition to include types of political communication that do not use words or phrases such as “vote” or “vote against,” so “when taken as a whole and with limited reference to external events, such as the proximity to the election, could only be interpreted by a reasonable person as containing advocacy of the election or defeat of one or more clearly identified candidates.”

Effective Jan. 1, 2024, foreign-influenced corporations will be prohibited from making certain types of expenditures or contributions, including:

• to promote or defeat a candidate for nomination, election, or appointment to a public office;

• to promote or defeat a ballot question or qualify a ballot question for placement on the ballot;

• making contributions to a candidate or a candidate’s principal campaign committee;

• making contributions to a political committee, political fund, or party unit; and

• taking any action to publicly endorse or oppose a candidate or ballot question.

A corporation that makes an authorized contribution or expenditure permitted by law must submit certification to the Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board that it was not foreign influenced when the contribution or expenditure was made. (Art. 3, Secs. 1-6)

Money, money, money

The state government finance law contains $1.06 million of General Fund spending in 2024-25 for implementation, including $861,000 to the Office of the Secretary of State — largely a onetime expense related to programming costs for implementing automatic voter registration and updating online tools — and $200,000 to the Office of the Attorney General for enforcement of intimidation and interference with the voting process.

From the vehicle services operating account, a onetime $45,000 appropriation will go to the Public Safety Department in fiscal year 2024 for updated formats and language associated with paper application forms and online pre-applications because of automatic voter provisions.

HF0003* / SF0003 / CH34