Voter Registration
How do I register to vote before election day?
You may register with your city or county auditor any time up to 20 days before an election by filling out a Minnesota Voter Registration Application. Voter registration applications are also made available with your state income tax booklet and driver's license application. After registering, you will receive a card in the mail notifying you of your polling place.
Can I register to vote on election day?
You may register at your polling place on election day. Find the location of your polling place by calling your city clerk or county auditor or by checking the League of Women Voters website www.lwvmn.org. To register to vote on election day bring one of the following:
•A current Minnesota driver's license, learner's permit, Minnesota identification card or receipt for any of these with your current address
•MN tribal ID with photo and current address; if tribal ID does not have your current address a current utility bill is needed
•A student photo ID card, registration or fee statement with the student's current address in the precinct or only the student photo ID if you are on a student housing list on file at the polling place
•A photo ID without current address together with a utility bill that contains your name and current address within the precinct with a payment due date within 30 days of the election. Acceptable photo IDs are: MN driver's license, MN State ID, U.S. passport, military ID or college ID. Acceptable utility bills are: cable TV, electric, gas, phone, sewer, solid waste, telephone, cell phone or water.
•A previous registration in the same precinct but at a different address
•A "notice of late registration" postcard
•Someone who is registered in the precinct where you live to vouch for you at the polling place. A voter who registers by this method may not confirm the residency of another voter on the day of the same election.
Who is eligible to vote?
To be an eligible voter, a person must:
•be 18 years of age or older on Election Day
•be a US Citizen, and
•a Minnesota resident for at least 20 days preceding the election.
Is there anyone who may not register to vote?
Anyone found by a court to be legally incompetent may not vote. Anyone who is under guardianship of another person keeps their right to vote unless the court specifically acts to remove voting rights during a guardianship of the person proceeding. Anyone under sentence for a felony or treason may not vote. Voting rights for Minnesota felons are automatically restored when the entire sentence including probation has been served.
If you need your name to be withheld from the public information list due to safety reasons, you can complete a form to request this. It is available at the Secretary of State website and at the polling places.
Do I have to register for every election?
No. Registration in Minnesota remains in effect as long as you vote at least every four years. If you move the Secretary of State will move your registration to your postal forwarding address. If you change your name, you must register again.
Where do college students register to vote?
As a college student, you have a choice as to where to cast your ballot. You may select only one residence and vote once in any given election.
•If you live at home while attending school, you vote at your hometown polling place
•If you live on campus, you may vote either at your hometown polling place (as long as you still have a permanent residence there), or at the polling place in the neighborhood where your school is located (but not at both places).
•If you live off campus at school, you may vote either at your hometown polling place (as long as you still have a permanent residence there), or at the polling place in your school-year neighborhood (but not at both places).
What should I know about the General Election?
All candidates of major parties and minor parties will be on the ballot. Nonpartisan offices are also on the ballot. This is the election that decides who our elected officials will be. Sometimes there are referendums and Constitutional
amendments to vote on as well.
The General Election is held the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. Polls are open from 7:00 AM to 8:00 PM except in a few small towns. Polling places are usually the same as for the Primary Election. You must always vote in the polling place for the precinct where you live.
Procedures are the same as for the Primary. You may vote by absentee ballot, register on election day, be excused from work election day morning with pay. Unlike the primary, you may divide your votes among various parties if you choose to do so.
How do I vote by absentee ballot?
You can vote by absentee ballot if you are unable to vote in person on election day because you are:
•away from home
•ill or disabled
•an election judge serving in another precinct
•unable to go to the polling place due to a religious holiday or beliefs.
College students who are away from home may vote by absentee ballot at their hometown polling place.
Excerpted from "Road to Election Day; A guide to Minnesota's Political Process," prepared by LWVMN Education Fund, sixth edition, 8/2008
