Data Request: MNSOS receipts for sale of statewide voter registration system intellectual property

Today I learned, while reviewing this bill’s text (or look at HF4240 on legiscan), I noticed Minnesota Statutes §5.31 is being prepared for repeal.

5.31 STATEWIDE VOTER REGISTRATION SYSTEM.

The secretary of state may sell intellectual property rights associated with the statewide voter registration system to other states or to units of local government in other states. Receipts from the sale must be deposited in the state treasury and credited to the Help America Vote Act account.

History: 2005 c 156 art 2 s 1

Why This Matters

The Secretary of State, Steve Simon, has rebuffed the DOJ’s request for voter rolls citing privacy concerns and now finds himself in a lawsuit over non-compliance related to HAVA. Intellectual property could relate to the software or framework itself, versus the data within that, so I’m only following my instinct to look into this… maybe we’ll find that certain software functionality is effectively shared between states as they come up with new features like keeping dead voters on rolls (Zark Files).

Here’s my data request to the MNSOS data compliance officer:

Hi Lauren,

Please share a summary of the receipts from the sale of intellectual property rights associated with the statewide voter registration system as indicated by statute from year 2005 to present day.

Notes:

5.31 STATEWIDE VOTER REGISTRATION SYSTEM.

The secretary of state may sell intellectual property rights associated with the statewide voter registration system to other states or to units of local government in other states. Receipts from the sale must be deposited in the state treasury and credited to the Help America Vote Act account.

I am requesting payment be waived as I am only interested in electronic readout of the receipts by email (text) or email with PDF attachment.

Thanks,

Erik van Mechelen