Committee approves $3.9 million election finance bill

Future state elections could boast tighter cybersecurity and more dependability, giving Minnesotans better public confidence in the election system.

In a quick, all-in-one meeting Wednesday, the House Elections Finance and Government Operations Committee approved its finance bill that would allocate $3.86 million in election-related spending for the 2026-27 biennium.

Sponsored by Rep. Mike Freiberg (DFL-Golden Valley), HF1943 was approved as amended and sent to the House Ways and Means Committee.

(House Photography file photo)

“We don’t have a big budget target, and I think that’s reflected in the voluminous nature of our entire committee budget, which can fit onto one piece of paper, double-sided,” Freiberg said.

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Most of the new funding — $1.81 million in fiscal year 2026 and $1.84 million in fiscal year 2027 — would go to the Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board, whose duties include administering registration and reporting for candidates, political party units, political committees and independent expenditure committees and funds.

A one-time $200,000 appropriation in fiscal year 2026 would go to the Secretary of State’s Office for the Help America Vote Act account, a federal program that helps address improvements to voting systems, election security and voter access. Minnesota received $1 million in federal funds in 2024, and this funding is the required 20% state match.

In March 10 testimony, Secretary of State Steve Simon said the HAVA funds will be used “to support the cybersecurity infrastructure of the office and the system it maintains, to continue funding our election security navigator team … and to advance the re-writing of the statewide voter registration system.”

Freiberg noted that several policy provisions were agreed upon during the finance bill negotiations and may be added when the bill is heard in the House Ways and Means Committee after the Easter/Passover Break.