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Conference committee approves election changes, adopts ballot drop‑off provision and special‑election timing; anti‑bribery expansion fails
Summary
The committee adopted multiple election and campaign finance provisions on May 19, including ballot drop-off (A9) by roll call, a cannabis‑polling‑place amendment (A101), a special‑elections timing amendment (A113), and campaign finance technical fixes; an expanded anti‑bribery provision (article 8, sections 44–45) failed to pass.
ST. PAUL — The conference committee on May 19 adopted several election and campaign finance provisions while rejecting an amendment that would have expanded the state’s anti‑bribery language to cover inducements for voting and petition signature drives.
Nonpartisan staff walked members through the election and campaign finance spreadsheet and proposed sections. The committee adopted several amendments by voice vote, including A101 (provision addressing polling places located at establishments that sell or serve cannabis), A113 (special‑election filing period), and A8 (technical fixes and date changes for the Campaign Finance Board). The committee removed two lines from the spreadsheet (line 6 and line 12) that related to absentee ballot application data; staff and the chair confirmed those items were stricken from the chart.
The committee conducted a roll‑call vote on amendment A9, the ballot drop‑off provision. The clerk recorded the roll call: for the House the ayes were 3 and the nays were 1; for the Senate the ayes were 4 and the nays were 1. The committee recorded that with majorities in both bodies the A9 amendment was adopted.
Committee members debated article 8 sections 44 and 45, an anti‑bribery expansion that would have made it unlawful to induce or promise payments to persuade persons to register, vote or sign petitions (with limited exceptions for small, de minimis activities such as providing water at a registration drive). Senator Westland, who introduced and described the provision, said the measure responded to payments and inducements used in other states and urged members to support it. Senator Maquade and other members spoke in favor of enacting a prohibition. The clerk recorded a roll call on the anti‑bribery motion: for the House the ayes were 2 and the nays were 2; for the Senate the ayes were 4 and the nays were 1. The chair announced that the motion did not prevail and the anti‑bribery expansion was not adopted.
The committee also approved the election spreadsheet adoption. Staff noted funding details included a $200,000 first‑year transfer into the HAVA account and a $760,000 one‑time appropriation to the Campaign Finance Board for litigation expenses. Staff also described a repeal of the voting equipment grant account and a transfer of its balance into the voting operations, technology and election resources account.
After completing the elections article, the committee directed nonpartisan staff to prepare the conference committee report and empowered staff to make technical and conforming changes to the approved language.
All votes and roll‑call tallies reported here are taken from the committee transcript and clerk’s counts recorded during the meeting.
