HF595

Purpose

This bill changes how data about election judges’ political party affiliation is treated. It requires that the major political party affiliation of election judges (or a notice of no affiliation) be treated as public data and stored in a publicly accessible list. It also repeals a prior rule that allowed sharing of this information only among election judges within the same precinct for balance checks.

Main Provisions

• Section 1: Adds to existing data practices rules that the party affiliation of election judges is classified as public data, following the rules in another section (204B.21 subdivision 4).
• Section 2: Adds a new requirement to 204B.21 establishing a process where each appointing authority must keep a list of all election judges with their major party affiliation or a statement of no affiliation. This list is public data on individuals.
• Section 3: Repeals a previous provision (204B.21 subdivision 3) that allowed sharing of an election judge’s party affiliation with other election judges in the same precinct for party balance checks, with a restriction that the information not be disclosed or used for other purposes.

Significant Changes to Existing Law

• Public data classification: Election judge major party affiliation becomes public data.
• New public list: Each appointing authority must maintain a public list of election judges and their major party affiliations (or non-affiliation).
• Removal of limited sharing: The prior exception allowing judges to share affiliation information for balance verification is repealed; under the new scheme, the data is publicly available rather than restricted for internal use.

Practical Implications

• Increased transparency: The party affiliations of election judges will be accessible to the public.
• Privacy considerations: Judges’ political affiliations will no longer be restricted to insiders, which may raise privacy concerns for some individuals.
• Administrative change: Agencies must create and maintain a public list of election judges with party affiliation.

Relevant Terms - election judge - party affiliation - major political party affiliation - public data on individuals - appointing authority - list of election judges - balance requirements - data practices (Minnesota Data Practices Act) - Minnesota Statutes 2024 section 13.607 - Minnesota Statutes 2024 section 204B.21