SAINT PAUL – Tonight, the Minnesota House DFL Majority is expected to approve legislation to protect the privacy of voter data for Minnesotans in the state’s upcoming presidential primary election.
“Privacy in the voting booth is a value we all share in our civic engagement, but if the Legislature doesn’t act, information on Minnesotans’ party preferences could end up for sale to the highest bidder,” said Rep. Liz Olson (DFL – Duluth), the House Majority Whip. “HouseDFLers are standing with Minnesota voters who are right to demand privacy protections for the upcoming presidential primary, and we hope Senate Republicans will quickly join us in addressing these concerns before it’s too late.”
The bill,HF 3068, would give voters the ability to opt-out of sharing their party preference in the presidential primary while also restricting the sharing of that data only to a national party representative, and only for the purpose of verifying participation in the primary.
“After 2016’s caucuses, it became clear it was time for Minnesota to switch to a presidential primary election process, but it’s incredibly unfortunate that privacy concerns may make people hesitant to vote on March 3,” said Rep. Jen Schultz (DFL – Duluth). “Instead, our state should encourage maximum participation in our democratic process and I strongly support these changes to take control away from the political parties, and instead give it back to voters.”
Following concerns of accessibility that arose during Minnesota’s 2016 presidential caucuses, the Minnesota Legislature responded that year by reinstating the state’s presidential primary for 2020, its first since 1992. The presidential primary process requires voters to select a party ballot from which to nominate a candidate, and current law allows an individual’s party preference data to be shared with Minnesota’s major political parties. The candidate a voter selected would not be shared.
Though Minnesota’s presidential primary takes place on March 3, there is a 10-week window following the primary before the Minnesota Secretary of State would be required to share voters’ party preference with state party officials.
The bill is supported by Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon. The Senate companion,SF 2986, has yet to receive a hearing.