1st Engrossment - 92nd Legislature (2021 - 2022) Posted on 03/23/2022 12:30pm
A bill for an act
relating to elections; prohibiting intimidation of election officials; prohibiting
interference with the performance of a duty of election administration by an election
official; providing penalties; appropriating money; amending Minnesota Statutes
2020, sections 8.31, subdivision 1; 211B.32, subdivision 1; proposing coding for
new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 211B.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
Minnesota Statutes 2020, section 8.31, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
The attorney general shall investigate violationsnew text begin and assist in the
enforcementnew text end ofnew text begin the following laws as provided in this section:
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new text begin (1)new text end the law of this state respecting unfair, discriminatory, and other unlawful practices
in business, commerce, or trade, and specifically, but not exclusively, the Nonprofit
Corporation Act (sections 317A.001 to 317A.909), the Act Against Unfair Discrimination
and Competition (sections 325D.01 to 325D.07), the Unlawful Trade Practices Act (sections
325D.09 to 325D.16), the Antitrust Act (sections 325D.49 to 325D.66), section 325F.67
and other laws against false or fraudulent advertising, the antidiscrimination acts contained
in section 325D.67, the act against monopolization of food products (section 325D.68), the
act regulating telephone advertising services (section 325E.39), the Prevention of Consumer
Fraud Act (sections 325F.68 to 325F.70), and chapter 53A regulating currency exchanges
deleted text begin and assist in the enforcement of those laws as in this section provided.deleted text end new text begin ; and
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(2) section 211B.076, regulating intimidation and interference related to the performance
of duties by an election official.
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This section is effective July 1, 2022.
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For the purposes of this section, "election official" means a
member of a canvassing board, the county auditor or municipal clerk charged with duties
relating to elections, a member of an absentee ballot board, an election judge, an election
judge trainee, or any other individual assigned by a state entity or municipal government
to perform official duties related to elections.
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(a) A person may not directly or indirectly use or threaten force,
coercion, violence, restraint, damage, harm, or loss, including loss of employment or
economic reprisal, against another with the intent to influence an election official in the
performance of a duty of election administration.
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(b) In a civil action brought to prevent and restrain violations of this subdivision or to
require the payment of civil penalties, the moving party may show that the action or attempted
action would cause a reasonable person to feel intimidated. The moving party does not need
to show that the actor intended to cause the victim to feel intimidated.
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A person
may not intentionally hinder, interfere with, or prevent an election official's performance
of a duty related to election administration.
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(a) A
person may not knowingly and without consent, make publicly available, including but not
limited to through the Internet, personal information about an election official or an election
official's family or household member if:
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(1) the dissemination poses an imminent and serious threat to the official's safety or the
safety of an official's family or household member; and
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(2) the person making the information publicly available knows or reasonably should
know of any imminent and serious threat.
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(b) As used in this subdivision, "personal information" means the home address of the
election official or a member of an election official's family, directions to that home, or
photographs of that home.
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A person may not intentionally and physically obstruct
an election official's access to or egress from a polling place, meeting of a canvassing board,
place where ballots and elections equipment are located or stored, or any other place where
the election official performs a duty related to election administration.
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A person may be held vicariously liable for
any damages resulting from the violation of this section and may be identified in an order
restraining violations of this section if that person:
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(1) intentionally aids, advises, hires, counsels, abets, incites, compels, or coerces a person
to violate any provision of this section or attempts to aid, advise, hire, counsel, abet, incite,
compel, or coerce a person to violate any provision of this section; or
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(2) conspires, combines, agrees, or arranges with another to either commit a violation
of this section or aid, advise, hire, counsel, abet, incite, compel, or coerce a third person to
violate any provision of this section.
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(a) A person who violates this section is
guilty of a gross misdemeanor.
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(b) The attorney general or an election official may bring a civil action to prevent or
restrain a violation of this section if there is a reasonable basis to believe that an individual
or entity is committing or intends to commit a prohibited act.
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(c) The attorney general, or an election official injured by an act prohibited by this
section, may bring a civil action pursuant to section 8.31 to recover damages, together with
costs of investigation and reasonable attorney fees, and receive other equitable relief as
determined by the court. An action brought by an election official under section 8.31,
subdivision 3a, is in the public interest. In addition to all other damages, the court may
impose a civil penalty of up to $1,000 for each violation.
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(d) Civil remedies allowable under this section are cumulative and do not restrict any
other right or remedy otherwise available. An action for a penalty or remedy under this
section must be brought within two years of the date the violation is alleged to have occurred.
The complaint process provided in sections 211B.31 to 211B.36 does not apply to violations
of this section.
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This section is effective July 1, 2022, and applies to crimes
committed on or after that date.
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Minnesota Statutes 2020, section 211B.32, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
(a) Except as provided in deleted text begin paragraphdeleted text end new text begin
paragraphsnew text end (b)new text begin and (c)new text end , a complaint alleging a violation of chapter 211A or 211B must be
filed with the office. The complaint must be finally disposed of by the office before the
alleged violation may be prosecuted by a county attorney.
(b) Complaints arising under those sections and related to those individuals and
associations specified in section 10A.022, subdivision 3, must be filed with the Campaign
Finance and Public Disclosure Board.
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(c) Violations of section 211B.076 may be enforced as provided in section 211B.076.
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$178,000 in fiscal year 2023 is appropriated from the general fund to the attorney general
for enforcement of Minnesota Statutes, section 211B.076.
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