Election Day is a week away, and most voters are ready for it to be over. They’re also starting to wonder, after all the contests are decided, how can newly elected leaders move forward, when there is still so much division? The 2025 legislative majority in Minnesota — whether DFL, Republican or a mix of both — has a unique opportunity to lead and demonstrate that bipartisanship is possible.

We sit on the board of Majority in the Middle, a grassroots organization that advocates for less acrimony in politics. And as former legislators, we know that Minnesotans want the Legislature to work together. Yet arguments persist among party leaders and some voters that a one-party sweep of the agenda is the only way to get things done. Others believe split government is a recipe for gridlock.

A truly collaborative session is more about process than ideology. With a few procedural changes, agreement can be achieved — without anyone compromising deeply held values.

When all parties come to the table and participate in good faith, leadership can uncover the issues all caucuses can agree to and pull those things out as stand-alone bills. Issues that generate disagreement can still populate the omnibus bills that tend to pass on party-line votes. This way, the entire majority agenda can be accomplished while also passing more bills that have unanimous or overwhelmingly bipartisan support.

Individual members are already working across the aisle, so there should be plenty of issues to choose from. One of the ways Majority in the Middle encourages bipartisan work is by tracking bills and amplifying the results. Our 2024 State of Bipartisanship report showed that during the 2023-24 biennium, all but two of the 134 House members had sponsored or co-sponsored bills with members of both parties, and all 67 members of the Senate had sponsored and co-sponsored bills with members of both parties. Bills with bipartisan support exist, and with a shift in process, leadership can build on all that common ground.

Every legislative session is short by design. There’s a lot to accomplish, and restructuring bills this way might take a little extra effort. But, along with abiding by Minnesota’s single subject rule, this restructuring can demonstrate to the public that common ground exists, and their call for more bipartisanship is being heard.

This approach does mean losing what is often seen as an advantage: Running consensus bills stand-alone means fewer opportunities to force members of the other party to cast “bad” votes. All too often the argument against taking that higher ground approach is, “they did it to us.” It’s hard to overlook actions that were done in prior sessions, but leadership is about doing the right thing, not getting even. And with the chaotic way the 2024 session ended, a little extra collegiality might go a long way in improved relationships moving forward.

There are additional structural steps the Legislature can take to facilitate and encourage more cooperation in lawmaking. In addition to running consensus bills stand-alone, three recommendations surfaced during the production of the State of Bipartisanship report:

1) Because legislative time is limited, caucus leaders and committee chairs should ensure sufficient committee time for discussion and amendments from all of the members. Committees are where the real work is done, and where experts and citizens can weigh in — unlike floor debates that include only legislators and serve primarily as a stage for political theater.

2) Set reasonable limits on floor debates. Limiting floor debate provides the opportunity for more bills to be considered, and limiting time per bill would help overcome objections to having fewer omnibus bills. Omnibus bills serve a valid purpose, but leadership should have a more judicious use of that tactic.

3) Majority and minority members should be represented on committees in proportion to their percentage representation in the full body. When the majority holds an outsized number of committee seats, it fuels the sense that the process is “rigged.” This doesn’t require a rule change, only closer adherence to current rules.

In an unusually divided era, it will take unusual leadership to bridge the gap. Strong leadership that encourages bipartisanship can certainly improve the reputation of the Legislature. But the real winners will be constituents who would see that their interests can still be represented, no matter which party is in the majority.

Leadership is more than a title. Actions matter. Minnesota can show the rest of the country how it can be done — no matter which party is in control.

Susan Kent spent 10 years representing Woodbury in the Minnesota Senate. She was an active member of the Purple Caucus, and in 2020 she was elected as Senate Minority Leader, becoming the first woman to lead the Senate DFL caucus. Sandy Layman represented Itasca and Cass Counties in the Minnesota House from 2017 to 2020. She was an active member of the Civility Caucus and served on the Advisory Committee for the Office of Collaboration and Dispute Resolution.