SF 649

Introduction - 94th Legislature (2025 - 2026)

Posted on 01/28/2025 10:02 a.m.

A bill for an act
relating to elections; classifying data in the statewide voter registration system;
amending Minnesota Statutes 2024, sections 13.607, by adding a subdivision;
201.022, by adding a subdivision; 201.091, subdivisions 4, 4a, by adding a
subdivision; repealing Minnesota Statutes 2024, sections 13.607, subdivision 6;
201.091, subdivision 9.

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

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 13.607, is amended by adding a subdivision
to read:

new text begin Subd. 6a. new text end

new text begin Registered voter lists. new text end

new text begin Data on registered voters is governed by section
201.022, subdivision 4.
new text end

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 201.022, is amended by adding a subdivision to
read:

new text begin Subd. 4. new text end

new text begin Data. new text end

new text begin (a) Except as provided in this subdivision, all data in the statewide voter
registration system is public data on individuals, as defined in section 13.02, subdivision
15.
new text end

new text begin (b) The following data is private data on individuals, as defined in section 13.02,
subdivision 12: a voter's date of birth, driver's license number, identification card number,
military identification card number, passport number, or any part of a voter's Social Security
number.
new text end

new text begin (c) Information maintained on the presidential primary political party list required by
section 201.091, subdivision 4a, is private data on individuals as defined under section
13.02, subdivision 12, except that the secretary of state must provide to the chair of each
major political party the list of voters who selected that party.
new text end

new text begin (d) Upon receipt of a statement signed by the voter that withholding the voter's name
from the public is required for the safety of the voter or the voter's family, the secretary of
state and county auditor must withhold from the public the name of the registered voter.
Data withheld pursuant to this paragraph is private data on individuals, as defined in section
13.02, subdivision 12.
new text end

new text begin (e) Any person requesting public data must state in writing that any information obtained
from the statewide voter registration system will not be used for purposes unrelated to
elections, political activities, or law enforcement.
new text end

Sec. 3.

Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 201.091, subdivision 4, is amended to read:

Subd. 4.

Public information lists.

(a) The county auditor shall make available for
inspection a public information list which must contain the name, address, year of birth,
and voting history of each registered voter in the county. Data on applicants submitted
pursuant to section 201.061, subdivision 1b, are not part of the public information list until
the voter is registered or has voting history. The list must not include deleted text begin the party choice of
any voter who voted in a presidential nomination primary deleted text end new text begin data classified as private data on
individuals pursuant to section 201.022, subdivision 4 new text end . The telephone number must be
included on the list if provided by the voter. The public information list may also include
information on voting districts. The county auditor may adopt reasonable rules governing
access to the list.

(b) No individual inspecting the public information list shall tamper with or alter it in
any manner. No individual who inspects the public information list or who acquires a list
of registered voters prepared from the public information list may use any information
contained in the list for purposes unrelated to elections, political activities, or law
enforcement. The secretary of state may provide copies of the public information lists deleted text begin and
other information from the statewide registration system deleted text end for uses related to elections, political
activities, or in response to a law enforcement inquiry from a public official concerning a
failure to comply with any criminal statute or any state or local tax statute.

(c) Before inspecting the public information list or obtaining a list of voters or other
information from the list, the individual shall provide identification to the public official
having custody of the public information list and shall state in writing that any information
obtained from the list will not be used for purposes unrelated to elections, political activities,
or law enforcement. Requests to examine or obtain information from the public information
lists or the statewide registration system must be made and processed in the manner provided
in the rules of the secretary of state.

deleted text begin (d) Upon receipt of a statement signed by the voter that withholding the voter's name
from the public information list is required for the safety of the voter or the voter's family,
the secretary of state and county auditor must withhold from the public information list the
name of a registered voter.
deleted text end

deleted text begin (e) deleted text end new text begin (d) new text end Notwithstanding paragraphs (b) and (c) and regardless of the purpose of the
publication, a recipient of a public information list must not:

(1) publish any of the information from the list on the Internet on any list, database, or
other similar searchable format; or

(2) sell, loan, provide access to, or otherwise surrender any information obtained from
the list to any person or entity, except that an individual who obtains the public information
list on behalf of an organization, entity, or political subdivision may distribute the information
to the organization's, entity's, or political subdivision's volunteers or employees for purposes
related to elections, political activities, or law enforcement in the case where the information
is provided in response to a law enforcement inquiry from a public official concerning a
failure to comply with any criminal statute or any state or local tax statute. Nothing in this
section prohibits the preparation, use, or transfer, for purposes related to elections or political
activities, of a database that includes data obtained from the public information list which
is aggregated with data obtained from other sources provided that such database is used
exclusively for purposes related to elections or political activities and no information from
the list is published on the Internet. The prohibitions of this paragraph do not apply if the
subject of the information provides express written permission to use the subject's data in
a manner otherwise prohibited by this paragraph. For purposes of this paragraph, "publish"
means information is made available to the general public.

Sec. 4.

Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 201.091, subdivision 4a, is amended to read:

Subd. 4a.

Presidential new text begin nomination new text end primary political party list.

The secretary of state
must maintain a list of the voters who voted in a presidential nomination primary and the
political party each voter selected. deleted text begin Information maintained on the list is private data on
individuals as defined under section 13.02, subdivision 12, except that the secretary of state
must provide to the chair of each major political party the list of voters who selected that
party.
deleted text end

Sec. 5.

Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 201.091, is amended by adding a subdivision to
read:

new text begin Subd. 10. new text end

new text begin Requests for data. new text end

new text begin Nothing in this section prevents a person from requesting
public data as described in section 201.022, subdivision 4.
new text end

Sec. 6. new text begin REPEALER.
new text end

new text begin Minnesota Statutes 2024, sections 13.607, subdivision 6; and 201.091, subdivision 9, new text end new text begin
are repealed.
new text end

Sec. 7. new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE.
new text end

new text begin This act is effective the day following final enactment and applies to requests for data
made on or after that date.
new text end

APPENDIX

Repealed Minnesota Statutes: 25-01031

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.