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Committee lays over bill to appropriate $200,000 state match for HAVA election grant
Summary
Representative Freyberg introduced House File 1943 to appropriate $200,000 in fiscal 2026 as Minnesota’s 20% state match to unlock $1,000,000 in federal HAVA funds for election-security work, and Secretary of State Steve Simon testified in support.
Representative Freyberg introduced House File 1943 to provide a one-time state appropriation of $200,000 in fiscal year 2026 to meet the 20% match required to receive $1,000,000 in federal Help America Vote Act (HAVA) funds allocated to Minnesota.
Steve Simon, Minnesota Secretary of State, testified that the federal HAVA funds are intended for election administration and security improvements, including cybersecurity infrastructure, the office’s Security Navigator team that supports county election officials, and modernization (rewriting) of the statewide voter registration system (SVRS). Simon said the federal allocation requires a 20% state match; in this instance Congress allocated $1,000,000 and the state must provide $200,000 by April 2026 to secure the grant.
"They'll give you the million but you have 2 years to come up with the $200,000," Secretary of State Steve Simon said, describing the match requirement and reporting obligations tied to these federal funds.
Committee members asked about prior federal allocations and auditing. Nonpartisan staff and Nicole Freeman of the Secretary of State’s office described prior grant distribution practices: federal awards are prorated by population; in earlier rounds the office distributed funds to counties using a formula that included a per-county floor (described in committee as $20,000) and then allocation based on likely eligible voting population; portions of HAVA funding have also been retained by the Secretary of State’s office for statewide programs such as the security navigator effort.
Several legislators asked for documentation of prior audits and allocations; Secretary Simon said the federal agency (the U.S. Election Assistance Commission) audits HAVA expenditures and that the office would provide committee members copies of recent audit reports and distribution details on past allocations. Ms. Freeman described the 2021–2022 distribution phases and the formula used for county grants.
The committee laid House File 1943 over for possible inclusion after testimony and discussion; no final passage occurred at the hearing.
Key figures cited in committee testimony: $1,000,000 federal HAVA award to Minnesota, a required state match of $200,000 (20%), and a match deadline in April 2026. Secretary Simon noted federal oversight and required accounting for all HAVA expenditures.
