Minnesota Legislature
HF 635
1st Engrossment - 93rd Legislature (2023 - 2024) Posted on 03/22/2023 10:19am
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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; prohibiting tampering with or unauthorized access to certain types of
election systems and equipment; providing penalties; appropriating money;
amending Minnesota Statutes 2022, sections 204B.26; 206.845, 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:
Section 1.
Minnesota Statutes 2022, section 204B.26, is amended to read:
204B.26 ELECTION JUDGES; VIOLATIONS; PENALTIES.
new text begin A county auditor or municipal clerk may remove any precinct election official at any
time if the official engages in a neglect of duty, malfeasance, misconduct in office, or for
other cause. new text end Any individual who serves as an election judge in violation of any of the
provisions of sections 204B.19 to 204B.25, is guilty of a misdemeanor.
Sec. 2.
Minnesota Statutes 2022, section 206.845, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision 1.
Prohibited connections.
The county auditor and municipal clerk must
secure ballot recording and tabulating systems physically and electronically against
unauthorized access. Except for wired connections within the polling place, ballot recording
and tabulating systems must not be connected to or operated on, directly or indirectly, any
electronic network, including a local area network, a wide-area network, the Internet, or the
World Wide Web. Wireless communications may not be used in any way in a vote recording
or vote tabulating system. Wireless, device-to-device capability is not permitted. No
connection by modem is permitted.
Transfer of information from the ballot recording or tabulating system to another system
for network distribution or broadcast must be made by disk, tape, or other physical means
of communication, other than direct or indirect electronic connection of the vote recording
or vote tabulating system.new text begin A county auditor or municipal clerk may not create or disclose,
or permit any other person to create or disclose, an electronic image of the hard drive of
any vote recording or tabulating system or any other component of an electronic voting
system, except as authorized in writing by the secretary of state or for the purpose of
conducting official duties as expressly authorized by law.
new text end
Sec. 3.
new text begin
[211B.076] INTIMIDATION AND INTERFERENCE RELATED TO THE
PERFORMANCE OF DUTIES BY AN ELECTION OFFICIAL; PENALTIES.
new text end
new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end
new text begin Definition. new text end
new text begin
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.
new text end
new text begin Subd. 2. new text end
new text begin Intimidation. new text end
new text begin
(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.
new text end
new text begin
(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.
new text end
new text begin Subd. 3. new text end
new text begin Interfering with or hindering the administration of an election. new text end
new text begin
A person
may not intentionally hinder, interfere with, or prevent an election official's performance
of a duty related to election administration.
new text end
new text begin Subd. 4. new text end
new text begin Dissemination of personal information about an election official. new text end
new text begin
(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:
new text end
new text begin
(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
new text end
new text begin
(2) the person making the information publicly available knows or reasonably should
know of any imminent and serious threat.
new text end
new text begin
(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.
new text end
new text begin Subd. 5. new text end
new text begin Obstructing access. new text end
new text begin
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.
new text end
new text begin Subd. 6. new text end
new text begin Tampering with voting equipment. new text end
new text begin
(a) A person may not access without
authorization, tamper with, or facilitate unauthorized access to or tampering with an electronic
voting system, electromechanical voting equipment, or an election night reporting system
before, during, or after any election required by law.
new text end
new text begin
(b) A person may not knowingly publish or cause to be published passwords or other
confidential information relating to an electronic voting system. In addition to any other
remedies and penalties provided by this section, the secretary of state, county auditor, or
municipal clerk must immediately revoke any authorized access rights of a person found
to be in violation of this paragraph.
new text end
new text begin Subd. 7. new text end
new text begin Tampering with ballot box. new text end
new text begin
A person may not willfully tamper with or open
a ballot box, including a ballot drop box, except for the purpose of conducting official duties
as expressly authorized by law.
new text end
new text begin Subd. 8. new text end
new text begin
Tampering with statewide voter registration system, registration list, or
polling place roster.
new text end
new text begin
Except for the purpose of conducting official duties as expressly
authorized by law, a person may not mutilate or erase any name, figure, or word on a voter
registration list or polling place roster; remove or destroy a registration list or polling place
roster; or mutilate, erase, or remove any part of a list or roster from the place where it has
been deposited with an intention to destroy it, to procure or prevent the election of any
person, or to prevent any voter from voting.
new text end
new text begin Subd. 9. new text end
new text begin Unauthorized access to statewide voter registration system. new text end
new text begin
A person may
not knowingly access, or attempt to access, the statewide voter registration system except
for the purpose of conducting official duties as expressly authorized by law.
new text end
new text begin Subd. 10. new text end
new text begin Vicarious liability; conspiracy. new text end
new text begin
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:
new text end
new text begin
(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
new text end
new text begin
(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.
new text end
new text begin Subd. 11. new text end
new text begin Criminal penalties; civil remedies. new text end
new text begin
(a) Except as otherwise provided, a person
who violates this section is guilty of a gross misdemeanor.
new text end
new text begin
(b) The attorney general, a county attorney, 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.
new text end
new text begin
(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.
new text end
new text begin
(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.
new text end
new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end
new text begin
This section is effective July 1, 2023, and applies to crimes
committed on or after that date.
new text end
Sec. 4.
Minnesota Statutes 2022, section 211B.32, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision 1.
Administrative remedy; exhaustion.
(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.
new text begin
(c) Violations of section 211B.076 may only be enforced as provided in section 211B.076.
new text end
Sec. 5. new text begin APPROPRIATION.
new text end
new text begin
$200,000 in fiscal year 2024 and $200,000 in fiscal year 2025 are appropriated from the
general fund to the attorney general for enforcement of Minnesota Statutes, section 211B.076.
new text end