HF 811

as introduced - 93rd Legislature (2023 - 2024) Posted on 03/02/2023 07:02pm

A bill for an act
relating to elections; requiring multiple unit residential facilities to permit candidates
and volunteers to access the facility for the purpose of traveling door-to-door to
speak with individual residents; amending Minnesota Statutes 2022, section
211B.20, subdivision 1.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2022, section 211B.20, subdivision 1, is amended to read:

Subdivision 1.

Prohibition.

(a) It is unlawful for a person, either directly or indirectly,
to deny access to an apartment house, dormitory, nursing home, manufactured home park,
other multiple unit facility used as a residence, or an area in which two or more single-family
dwellings are located on private roadways to a candidate who has:

(1) organized a campaign committee under applicable federal or state law;

(2) filed a financial report as required by section 211A.02; or

(3) filed an affidavit of candidacy for elected office.

A candidate granted access under this section must be allowed to be accompanied by
campaign volunteers.

(b) Access to a facility or area is only required if it is located within the district or territory
that will be represented by the office to which the candidate seeks election, and the candidate
and any accompanying campaign volunteers seek access exclusively for the purpose of
campaigning for a candidate or registering voters. The candidate must be seeking election
to office at the next general or special election to be held for that office.

(c) A candidate and any accompanying campaign volunteers granted access under this
section must be permitted to new text begin travel door-to-door to speak with individual residents and to
new text end leave campaign materials for residents at their doors, except that the manager of a nursing
home may direct that the campaign materials be left at a central location within the facility.
The campaign materials must be left in an orderly manner.

(d) If a facility or area contains multiple buildings, a candidate and accompanying
volunteers must be permitted to access more than one building on a single visit, but access
is limited to only one building at a time. If multiple candidates are traveling together, each
candidate and that candidate's accompanying volunteers is limited to one building at a time,
but all of the candidates and accompanying volunteers traveling together must not be
restricted to accessing the same building at the same time.

(e) A violation of this section is a petty misdemeanor.