Committee advances elections omnibus with technical fixes; two amendments fail in tie votes

The Elections, Finance and Government Operations Committee approved House File 13,778 as amended and recommended it be re-referred to the General Register after adopting a broad DE5 that combined a range of election-administration measures.

County elections administrators and the Office of the Secretary of State told the committee the bill contains a number of technical and administrative changes they support, including standardized absentee ballot application deadlines, removal of the permanent absentee box from voter registration forms, clarified procedures for handling ballot-envelope errors, and formalized chain-of-custody planning for ballots. "Creating a ballot that is accurate and prompt is one of our highest priorities," said Michael Stahlberger, director of property and environmental resources for Blue Earth County, testifying on behalf of the Minnesota Association of County Officers. Nicole Freeman of the Office of the Secretary of State described the bill as balancing access and election security and said the office supports many of the technical changes.

Administrators asked for modifications on timing: county officials asked that a college housing list be supplied earlier than the bill’s proposed 20-day-before deadline so administrators have time to match students to precincts, and they also urged additional flexibility on how jurisdictions staff early-voting sites. The Secretary of State’s office asked that the absentee-mail application receipt deadline be 5 days rather than 7 in one provision and expressed concern about allowing cities to unilaterally opt out of administering absentee balloting when delegated that responsibility by a county.

The committee adopted the DE5 omnibus amendment and several technical amendments (A6, A8 and others). Two floor amendments that would have tightened the law on inducements and clarified lobbying rules were contested and failed on tie votes. Representative Grama’s amendment to explicitly prohibit offering a chance to win a prize as an inducement to register or vote was debated; the amendment went to a roll call and failed 6-6. A separate amendment to clarify who counts as a lobbyist likewise failed on a tie roll call. Committee members then voted the bill as amended to the General Register.

Why it matters: The bill bundles multiple election-administration changes that counties and the Secretary of State say will streamline pre-election procedures and reduce last-minute workload while maintaining ballot integrity.

Committee action: DE5 (omnibus) adopted; several technical amendments adopted; two contested amendments failed on 6-6 ties; final motion to pass HF13,778 as amended to the General Register carried by voice vote.