NEWS RELEASE
Rep. Tina Liebling
Minnesota House of Representatives
District 24B – 651-296-0573 – rep.tina.liebling@house.mn.gov
5th Floor, Centennial Office Building, St. Paul, MN 55155
April 13, 2026
Minnesota House Approves Bill to Improve Rochester School Board Election System
SAINT PAUL, Minn. - Today, the Minnesota House passed legislation to dissolve the current system used for Rochester School Board Elections, known as the “alley” system, and replace it with a general at-large system, where candidates simply run for School Board and the top-voted candidates are elected to available seats. Rep. Tina Liebling (DFL – Rochester) originally introduced the bill, with Rep. Andy Smith (DFL – Rochester) and Rep. Kim Hicks (DFL – Rochester) among the co-authors. The bill was passed as part of an Elections Committee policy package, carried by Rep. Mike Freiberg (DFL – Golden Valley.)
“The current system is needlessly confusing for both voters and candidates,” said Rep. Liebling. “When voting is overly complicated, fewer people vote. Getting rid of the alley system will eliminate gamesmanship from elections and ensure the School Board make-up reflects who will best serve our students, not who happened to select the right arbitrary seat number to run in.”
All seats on the Rochester School Board are already at-large seats. The alley system requires candidates to choose a specific seat on the board to run in and face off against other candidates who have chosen to run for the same seat. The general at-large system will simplify school board elections by electing members based on who receives the most votes across the entire field of candidates.
“It’s unfair that a candidate in one alley could lose with more votes than a winning candidate in another alley,” said Rep. Smith. “It encourages people to ‘choose an opponent’ to run against rather than choose our kids to run for.”
Earlier this year, the Rochester School Board unanimously approved a resolution to request the change from the legislature. By dissolving the alley system, the School Board will have the option to move to a district-based system through ballot initiative.
“In a time when the federal government is determined to make voting harder and more confusing, I’m glad to do something to simplify a complicated system for our community,” said Rep. Hicks.
Sen. Liz Boldon (DFL – Rochester) is carrying the companion bill in the Senate.
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