# Emma Greenman > [!dossier] Election lawyer; chief House author of the 2023 **Democracy for the People Act** (HF3) and author of the 2024 **Minnesota Voting Rights Act**; founder and co-chair of the Inclusive Democracy Caucus. Spoke at the **June 22, 2025 Defending Democracy Summit** alongside Ellison, Simon, and Sasse. **Prior vault coverage: one passing mention.** **Up:** [[Actors and Architects/MAIN|Actors and Architects]] --- ## 1. BIOGRAPHY | Item | Fact | |---|---| | Born | April 24, 1979 | | High school | Minneapolis South High School (also attended Barton Open) | | Undergraduate | **B.A. Political Science, George Washington University** | | Graduate | **M.P.A., Harvard University** (she describes it as Harvard Kennedy School) | | **Law school** | **J.D., University of California, Berkeley School of Law** | | First elected | **2020**, sworn in Jan. 5, 2021; succeeded 17-term incumbent Jean Wagenius | | District | **63B**, south Minneapolis, Hennepin County | **Personal background as she tells it** (self-description, not independently verified): father an early-childhood educator; mother a social worker who "lived with mental illness and navigated poverty"; she "struggled to learn to read until special education services … stepped in." Began in politics on **Sen. Paul Wellstone's campaign in 2002** (self-reported). **Election margins:** 2020 general 72.9% (18,980) · 2022 general **98.7%** (20,339) · 2024 general 85.3% (22,790) over Republican Diane Napper. Ballotpedia notes it "did not identify endorsements for Greenman" in 2024. --- ## 2. COMMITTEE HISTORY | Legislature | Assignments | |---|---| | **92nd (2021–22)** | **Assistant Majority Leader**, House DFL caucus · Labor/Industry/Veterans & Military Affairs · **Redistricting** · **State Government Finance and Elections** · Taxes–Property Tax Division · Workforce & Business Development | | **93rd (2023–24)** | **Elections Finance and Policy — Vice Chair** · Education Finance · Labor & Industry · Veterans & Military Affairs | | **94th (2025–26)** | Elections Finance and Government Operations (**rank-and-file member**) · Fraud Prevention and State Agency Oversight Policy · Public Safety Finance and Policy · **Co-Vice Chair, Workforce, Labor, and Economic Development Finance and Policy** | > [!note] **CONFIRMED NEGATIVE: Greenman has never chaired the Elections committee.** She was **Vice Chair** in 2023–24. In the tied 2025–26 House, Elections Finance and Government Operations is **co-chaired by Rep. Duane Quam (R) and Rep. Mike Freiberg (DFL)**; Greenman sits as an ordinary member. --- ## 3. LEGISLATIVE RECORD ### 3.1 The Democracy for the People Act (HF3/SF3, 2023) — she is chief House author Senate lead: **Sen. Liz Boldon.** Introduced January 2023 with priority bill numbers HF3/SF3. **House passage 70–57 on April 13, 2023.** Provisions as reported: - **Automatic voter registration** at DVS and other state-agency touchpoints — Greenman said "as many as **400,000 Minnesotans** could be enrolled" - **Pre-registration for 16- and 17-year-olds** - **Permanent absentee-ballot list** - Expanded political-ad and campaign-finance disclosure - **Ban on political spending by "foreign-influenced" corporations** — Minnesota became the **first state** to bar corporations with ≥5% aggregate foreign ownership, or ≥1% from a single foreign owner, from state election spending or super-PAC donations - Gross misdemeanor for spreading false voting information; voter-intimidation protections; multilingual election resources Greenman: *"We're going to be a North Star for states around the country, for people asking 'What does American democracy look like?'"* and *"Voters have a right to know who is spending money in our elections."* **Floor opposition, labeled as characterization:** Rep. Harry Niska (R) said a better title would be "Democrats Rule the People Act" and argued the express-advocacy changes would "chill potential speech" while targeting foreign-tied corporations but exempting unions; Rep. Anne Neu Brindley (R) called it "the worst elections bill I can imagine." > [!warning] **Attribution correction.** Voting-rights restoration for people on supervised release was a **separate 2023 vehicle** (the Restore the Vote bill), not a Greenman-authored provision of HF3 as enacted. The coalition framing folds the two together. The vault should not. ### 3.2 The Minnesota Voting Rights Act (2024) — she is the author Carried inside **HF4772**, the 2024 omnibus elections policy bill whose chief author was **Rep. Mike Freiberg**, Elections Committee chair. The House DFL caucus release identifies "Rep. Emma Greenman … Vice Chair of the Elections Committee and **MVRA author**": > "In the era when the Federal Courts have become increasingly hostile to voting rights protections, it is imperative to do our job and ensure that Minnesota voters have the robust protections intended when the Voting Rights Act was passed." **HF4772 passed the House 69–62; signed by Gov. Walz May 17, 2024.** Senate companion SF3994. **NAACP Legal Defense Fund** describes five components: voter-suppression prohibition · vote-dilution prohibition · efficient proof standards · notice-and-safe-harbor pre-litigation process · a **"democracy canon"** directing state judges to "interpret election laws in a pro-voter way whenever reasonably possible." LDF frames the MVRA as a response to the Eighth Circuit's restriction of private Section 2 enforcement. ### 3.3 Minnesota Civic Fund (SF1911, 2025) — she is NOT the author > [!warning] **Correction.** The Senate author of SF1911 is **Sen. Liz Boldon.** ISAIAH's testimony cites the pair as "SF1911/HF1750." **The House chief author of HF1750 could not be confirmed** — the Revisor bill-text endpoints were blocked. Greenman does not appear as chief author of any elections/campaign-finance bill in the 94th Legislature except HF0037 and HF3419. SF1911 mechanics, from the official summary: each participant receives **$100 in credits, assignable in $25 increments** · assignable within 30 days after the state general election · voters enrolled automatically from **SOS lists**, opt-in for other MN citizens/permanent residents · credits **irrevocable, no cash value** · candidates may redeem up to **50% of the candidate spending limit** · **political parties up to $750,000/year** · global redemption cap 8% of issued credits for 2025–26, potentially rising to 16% · candidates must accept **voluntary spending limits** · the existing **Political Contribution Refund is phased out by April 15, 2028.** **This is the cleanest documented nexus between the legislature and the coalition** — three separate filings on one bill in one committee across two days: [[Agency Allotments/Agencies/We Choose Us|We Choose Us]] (Sasse), [[Agency Allotments/Agencies/ISAIAH|ISAIAH]] (Negstad), and Clean Elections Minnesota. ### 3.4 2025–2026 **Elections / money in politics:** - **HF0037** — "Free, fair, and equal elections provided; and constitutional amendment proposed" (2025) - **HF3419** — corporate campaign-donation ban; would prohibit corporations, nonprofits, LLCs and foreign entities doing business in Minnesota from donating to candidates, political committees, or ballot measures. **Failed 10–10 on a party-line vote in House Commerce Finance and Policy, March 12, 2026.** Greenman: *"We, the states, have the power to decide and we need to use that. It's clear voters don't want corporations flooding our elections with their cash."* - HF3326 — resolution memorializing Congress to "support and defend the U.S. Constitution" **Other chief-authored bills:** HF4437/SF4511 (prediction-markets ban — the Kalshi/Polymarket bill, added to the 2026 public-safety package) · HF3433/HF3434/HF4081/HF4170/HF5140 (assault-weapons and magazine bans) · HF4743 (toxic ammunition) · HF4731 (lead-bullet health reporting) · HF4131/HF2452/HF3794 (surveillance-based / AI dynamic pricing bans) · HF0034 (Fair Competition Act, monopsony) · HF2567 (stay-or-pay) · HF2145/HF2146 (worker misclassification) · HF3093 · HF3190 · HF1182 · HF1649 · and others. *Partial inventory — the full 133-document Revisor list was not retrievable.* ### 3.5 The disclosure asymmetry — recorded without comment In 2025 Greenman **opposed HF1447** (Rep. Duane Quam, R), which would require disclosure of ≥$200 contributions from out-of-district donors, calling it "a huge burden on political candidates and their treasurers," and offered an amendment narrowing it to out-of-**state** donors: "a state line is a much easier administrable line." **This is a documented instance of the state's leading disclosure advocate opposing a disclosure expansion.** It is logged as a fact. The vault does not characterize it. Related, from her own filings: per Transparency USA, total contributions **$56,979** · total expenditures **$107,427** · cash on hand $19,054 · largest payee **DFL House Caucus, $40,720** (≈38% of spending) · **$19,966.84 aggregated unitemized** (≈35% of receipts). **Reporting period unconfirmed** — the Transparency USA page did not surface a cycle label, and direct CFB verification was not achievable remotely. **Recommend a manual CFB pull.** --- ## 4. RELATIONSHIP WITH THE COALITION Documented, structural, and repeated — but mediated through legislation and coalition testimony rather than through money. 1. **Inclusive Democracy Caucus.** Greenman **founded and co-chairs** it with Sen. Liz Boldon and Rep. Cedrick Frazier; announced **January 6, 2023**, the second anniversary of the Capitol attack. The 19th's coverage of the launch quotes **Christina Harvey (Stand Up America)** and **[[Actors and Architects/Actors/Lilly Sasse|Lilly Sasse]], campaign director of We Choose Us**, as the outside validators. Greenman: *"It was really important that we recognize this not as a memorial of what happened, but as a day where we are recommitting."* 2. **We Choose Us as the organized constituency for her bills.** Sludge reports the **We Choose Us coalition of 37 organizations championed HF3**, with Sasse saying "Minnesotans are now at the center of elections, not foreign corporations and wealthy special interests." We Choose Us's own site claims the 2023 session produced "the biggest set of pro-democracy reforms in Minnesota in almost 50 years," listing exactly the HF3 provisions. 3. **Coordinated testimony** — SF1911, March 2025 (§3.3); also SF3942 (2024), SF3994 (2024, the MVRA), SF0009/HF9 (Jan. 2025). 4. **[[Agency Allotments/Agencies/Minnesota Public Health Association|MPHA]]'s president testified for HF3.** Ellen Saliares, MPH, President of the Minnesota Public Health Association, submitted written testimony to Rep. Mohamud Noor and the House Human Services Finance Committee supporting the Democracy for the People Act — "Fair and inclusive voting structures support health equity." > [!important] **CONFIRMED NEGATIVE — endorsements and money.** **No** documented ISAIAH, Faith in Minnesota, We Choose Us, or TakeAction Minnesota **endorsement** of Greenman, and **no contribution from any of them** in her disclosed campaign finance. The relationship is legislative and rhetorical, not financial. This is the kind of negative that matters: the coalition supplies the constituency for her bills; it does not appear to fund her. --- ## 5. THE JUNE 22, 2025 SUMMIT Greenman spoke at the **[[Actions At Issue Arguments/Federal Actions/Defending Democracy Summit (June 22 2025)|Defending Democracy Summit]]** at a south Minneapolis church, hosted by We Choose Us, alongside AG Keith Ellison, SOS Steve Simon, and Lilly Sasse — one week after the assassination of Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman. Greenman, quoted: *"What we're talking about is taking control of our communities, taking control of our families."* Source: [Minnesota Reformer, June 22, 2025, Mary Hennigan](https://minnesotareformer.com/2025/06/22/a-week-after-political-assassination-democracy-group-tries-to-chart-a-way-forward/). > [!note] Two independent research passes on this build concluded from her own House news feed and the We Choose Us events page that **no such event occurred**. Both were wrong. The Reformer article is the primary record. It is logged here as a caution about arguing from absence. --- ## 6. CROSS-REFERENCES - **Authored:** Democracy for the People Act (HF3, 2023) · Minnesota Voting Rights Act (HF4772, 2024) - **Founded:** Inclusive Democracy Caucus (with Sen. Liz Boldon, Rep. Cedrick Frazier) - **Coalition:** [[Agency Allotments/Agencies/We Choose Us|We Choose Us]] · [[Agency Allotments/Agencies/ISAIAH|ISAIAH]] — legislative alignment, **no financial link found** - **Spoke alongside:** [[Actors and Architects/Actors/Keith Ellison|Keith Ellison]] · [[Actors and Architects/Actors/Steve Simon|Steve Simon]] · [[Actors and Architects/Actors/Lilly Sasse|Lilly Sasse]] — June 22, 2025 - **At issue:** [[Actions At Issue Arguments/Federal Actions/Lindell–Rosen Referral Letter (July 2026)|Lindell–Rosen Referral Letter]] - **When:** [[2020]] · [[2021]] · [[2023]] · [[2024]] · [[2025]] · [[2026]] --- ## SOURCES [MN House member profile](https://www.house.mn.gov/members/profile/15552) · [LRL legislator record](https://www.lrl.mn.gov/legdb/fulldetail?id=15552) · [Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Emma_Greenman) · [campaign bio](https://www.emmagreenman.org/emma) · [House DFL — MVRA author](https://www.house.mn.gov/Caucus/View/DFL/39253) · [Session Daily — HF3 passage](https://www.house.mn.gov/sessiondaily/Story/17921) · [Session Daily — HF3419](https://www.house.mn.gov/sessiondaily/Story/18984) · [Session Daily — HF1447 opposition](https://www.house.mn.gov/SessionDaily/Story/18543) · [Minnesota Reformer — HF3](https://minnesotareformer.com/2023/04/13/house-poised-to-pass-major-elections-bill-over-republican-objections/) · [Sludge — HF3](https://readsludge.com/2023/04/27/minnesota-lawmakers-pass-sweeping-bill-to-increase-voting-access/) · [NAACP LDF — MVRA](https://www.naacpldf.org/case-issue/minnesota-voting-rights-act-mnvra/) · [SF1911 committee summary](https://www.lrl.mn.gov/archive/minutes/senate/2025/elections/20250311/Elections_20250311_SF1911-Summary.pdf) · [The 19th — Inclusive Democracy Caucus](https://19thnews.org/2023/02/women-minnesota-democracy-caucus/) · [MPHA testimony on HF3](https://www.house.mn.gov/comm/docs/fFeCshnaGU_YvkoDOd2t2w.pdf) · [Minnesota Reformer, June 22 2025 — the summit](https://minnesotareformer.com/2025/06/22/a-week-after-political-assassination-democracy-group-tries-to-chart-a-way-forward/) · [Transparency USA — Emma Greenman](https://www.transparencyusa.org/mn/candidate/emma-greenman-pcc) *Built 2026-08-01 · Tier 3 build · [[Actors and Architects/MAIN|↑ Actors and Architects]]* #Actors_and_Architects