Photo: Ernie Journeys on Unsplash.com

By Laura Durenberger-Grunow - Boreal Community Media - February 4, 2026

Representative Pete Stauber has introduced the Minnesota Voter Integrity Act of 2026 (H.R. 11), a bill that aims to halt federal election funding to the State of Minnesota until specific voter data is shared with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). The legislation, co-sponsored by House Majority Whip Tom Emmer and Representatives Michelle Fischbach and Brad Finstad, targets funding provided under the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) of 2002, signed by then-President George W. Bush. According to the MN Voter Integrity Act, Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon would be required to submit records to the U.S. Attorney General regarding "same-day voter registrations, votes cast by those registrants, and any other data deemed relevant to federal compliance."

The legislation follows DOJ data requests for voter information, made as early as September 2025, which led to a lawsuit against the MN Secretary of State for refusing to submit the information. Additionally, Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division sent a formal letter to Secretary Simon's office early in January 2026. In the letter, Dhillon requested detailed records related to same-day registrations and "vouching" practices (where a registered voter confirms the address of another registrant) to "ensure compliance with federal law." Specifically, the DOJ has expressed concerns over Minnesota’s lack of provisional ballots for these voters. Unlike some states, Minnesota counts ballots from same-day registrants immediately; the DOJ's letter argues this makes the records "relevant to federal compliance" because the votes cannot be "retrieved" if the registration is later found to be invalid.

Representative Stauber stated in a press release on February 2nd that the bill is a response to the Minnesota Secretary of State’s refusal to cooperate with a Department of Justice (DOJ) review, led by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, of the state’s registration and voting practices. Stauber argued that Minnesotans deserve to know their election process is fair and that, if state leaders want federal election assistance funding, they "need to take election security seriously." 

Minnesota Secretary of State Simon has opposed the federal requests. In a statement released on January 25, 2026, Simon characterized the demands as an attempt to obtain private data on millions of citizens, which he argues would violate both state and federal law. Additionally, he said, "The answer to Attorney General Bondi’s request is no," and described the letter as an "outrageous attempt to coerce Minnesota into giving the federal government private data." Simon noted that while his office offered to disclose voter data that is already public, the DOJ declined, insisting on private information such as Social Security and driver’s license numbers. 

On February 2nd, Simon released a statement in response to the legislation, saying, "HAVA funding is an important part of keeping our elections secure and should never be used as a political bargaining chip." 

Additionally, he stated that his office has "repeatedly" requested information on how the data would be used, stored, and shared, but has received no direct response. As a result, the Secretary's office has not turned over the data, which he states is "consistent with the law." 

"Minnesota is one of thirty-two states that have rebuffed the DOJ demand. As a result, the dispute is now in federal court," he said." 

The DOJ has issued requests to at least 44 states and the District of Columbia (D.C.) for voter data and has filed lawsuits in 24 of them (plus D.C.).