MINNESOTA, USA — Starting June 15, election workers will have heightened protections in Minnesota, as threats, harassment and intimidation are now illegal in the state.
With this legislation, Minnesota joins a growing number of states that have increased protections for election workers in the aftermath of the 2020 election.
“Since the 2020 election, in Minnesota and across the country, election workers have been targeted for simply doing their jobs,” Secretary of State Steve Simon said. “This new legislation provides our state’s local election administrators and the 30,000 election workers across the state confidence and peace of mind while administering free and fair elections.”
In addition to outlawing harassment, the new law bans interference with election administration, spreading an election official's personal information, obstructing an official from reaching election locations, and accessing the voter registration system without authorization.
Tampering with voting equipment, ballot boxes, Statewide Voter Registration System, registration lists or polling rosters is also illegal under this law.
Violating this law will result in a gross misdemeanor, damage penalties and up to $1,000 for each violation.
The law is part of the "Democracy for All" legislation, which Gov. Tim Walz signed May 5. It also makes it a crime to interfere with someone who is trying to register to vote or cast a ballot.
Across the country, five other states passed laws in 2022 that aimed to protect election officials.
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