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This page lists voting questions and issues alphabetically. Most of the links
take you to online voting information from one of these sources:
If you are trying to find out where you vote or who is on your ballot,
start with Where to vote.
Alphabetical lookup: skip alpha index
A
B
C
E
F
G
H
I
J
L
M
P
R
S
T
U
V
W
- Absentee ballots
- You can vote on an absentee ballot before Election Day. Previously, you had to declare a
reason: that you were disabled or might be too ill to vote, were serving as an election judge
elsewhere, could not vote because of a religious discipline or observance, or expected to be
absent from the precinct. A new state law allows absentee ballots to be obtained without
giving a reason, but the change has not yet appeared on all government web sites.
Minnesota absentee ballots must be returned before Election Day; they are delivered to the
polling places and counted there. (If you want to change an absentee vote, you can go to the polls
early and vote; your absentee ballot will be rejected if you have done so.)
-
State information on absentee
ballots [MNSoS], including particular instructions for different types
of absentee voters:
- military,
- overseas,
- registered, and
- non-registered.
- Ramsey County has online Absentee
ballot applications [RCty] (including military and overseas applications).
There's a different form for each city.
- Early voting: You may vote in person by absentee ballot prior to Election Day,
at the office that receives the applications. The application form includes instructions.
The addresses for early voting are:
- Falcon Heights voters: City of Falcon Heights, 2077 Larpenteur Ave W, Falcon Heights.
- Saint Paul voters: Ramsey County Elections, 722 RCGC West, 50 West Kellogg Blvd., Saint Paul
- Assistance
- The Voter's Bill of Rights includes the right to request special assistance
from election judges, and the right to be accompanied into the voting booth by an assistant of your
choice (except a candidate or an agent of your employer or union).
- Ballots
- See one of these:
- Candidates
- Close to an election, the state precinct finder has a list of the candidates for each office,
and the Ramsey county precinct finder has a sample ballot.
See Where to vote.
- Challengers
- Minnesota election law allows party "Challengers" in polling places.
Because there is no other provision for poll watchers, the DFL recruits Challengers as frontline
observers to help protect voting rights.
- Challenges
- A prospective voter's eligibility may be "challenged" by
Challengers, Election Judges, or
other voters who happen to be at the polls. The officials who print the voting lists may also
enter challenges, usually to indicate the voter has registered but has yet to provide
acceptable proof of residency.
A challenge must be based on personal knowledge of a valid reason for ineligibility. A new
state law requires that all challenges be written and signed, and a challenger who makes a
false statement might risk being found guilty of perjury.
A challenged voter cannot leave the polling place without forfeiting the chance to
vote. If a person at the polls announces a desire to challenge your eligibility, and you can
clear the matter up by going and getting some identification, you need to get the election
judges to agree to let you do that (on the grounds that the challenge is not official until
it's in writing). If you leave without such an arrangement, you cannot return and vote.
In general, the way to clear up a challenge is to take an oath and then answer questions
from the judge to establish your eligibility. (Again, a false statement – by either a
challenger or a voter – would carry the penalty for perjury.) If you have documents
that might refute a possible challenge, it's best to have them with you when you go to the
polls.
- Children
- The Voter's Bill of Rights includes the right to bring minor children into
the polling place and into the voting booth with you.
- Closing time (at the polls)
- See Election Day schedule.
- Convicted felons
- In Minnesota, voting rights are restored when convicted felons complete their sentences
(including time on parole or probation). The Voter's Bill of Rights guarantees
this.
Poll rosters are likely to reflect convictions but not the completion of a sentence. The voter
may be required to execute a declaration that the sentence has been completed.
- Corporate Activities
- Corporations may contribute to or conduct projects to encourage caucus attendance, voter
registration and voting. There are
restrictions and requirements
on corporate activities [MNSoS].
- Early voting
- See Absentee ballots
- Election Day registration
- Minnesota provisions for
Election Day registration [MNSoS] allow voters to register at the
polls on Election Day if they can meet requirements for identifying themselves and
establishing residence in the precinct.
It's better to register in advance, if you can do so at least three
weeks before the election.
- Election Day schedule
- Polls open at 7:00 AM and close at 8:00 PM. The
Voter's Bill of Rights includes the right to vote if you are in line
within that time; those lined up at closing time must be allowed to register (if necessary)
and vote.
- Election judges
- A state brochure
(PDF file, 126 KB) on election judges [MNSoS] includes:
- becoming an election judge,
- college student election judges, and
- teen election judge trainees.
- County information on election
judges [RCty] includes application forms.
- Eligibility
- This is the
state
list of requirements to be eligible to vote. [MNSoS]
- FAQ
- See Frequently asked questions.
- Federal Election Commission (FEC)
- The Federal Election Commission (FEC) is the federal government overseer of elections.
- Frequently asked questions (FAQ)
- The state site has
answers
to frequently-asked questions about voting in Minnesota. [MNSoS]
- Government checks
- The federal HAVA law specifies that government checks (such as Social Security or
unemployment checks) with an address can be used to establish a voter's place of residence.
They would be used to supplement ID with an out-of-date address, in the same fashion as a
utility bill.
However, Minnesota law does not list government checks as a means of establishing residence,
and election judges may not have been trained to accept them. If possible, voters should bring
something else. See Utility bills and Identification.
- Help America Vote Act (HAVA)
- HAVA is a recent federal law, aimed at states which made registration and voting much more
difficult than in Minnesota. Enforcement has caused problems here because some of the language
seemed to suggest that Minnesota should add restrictions. These interpretations have been
contested in court.
The Secretary of State has published
information about the state
plan to implement HAVA [MNSoS], including a link to the plan filed
with the federal government.
HAVA complaint forms should be available at each polling place, for use if you feel you
have been unfairly impeded or discouraged from voting. The Voter's Bill of Rights
guarantees the right to file a complaint, and federal law mandates the forms.
- Hmong language
- Voting information in Hmong
[RCty] includes:
- How to Register
- Voting Eligibility, and
- Voting Instruction.
All of these documents are PDF files.
- The state has voter registration forms available in Hmong. See
Registration forms.
- Identification
- State information on
acceptable identification for registering to vote [MNSoS]
- County
information on acceptable identification for registering to vote [RCty]
- If you are already registered, you should not be required to show identification in order
to vote, unless you registered by mail and you are voting for the first time. However, we
recommend you carry your ID with you, just in case. If there is any error in your listing on
the voting roster, it will help the election judges make sure you are voting in the right
precinct.
The judges are usually just trying to avoid errors. If you feel you have been asked
for identification in order to discourage you from voting, you should comply with the request
(if possible) and finish voting, then request a HAVA complaint form.
- Intimidation
- Voter intimidation is illegal but reportedly widespread.
The Voter's Bill of Rights makes it illegal for anyone in the polling place
to try to influence a vote.
- Judges
- For judges of elections, see Election judges.
- For information on candidates for Minnesota judicial seats, a
Judicial Voter Guide [LoVW] was
available in 2004. (Ramsey County is state judicial District 2, and the guide for each
district includes the candidates for positions elected statewide.)
- Laws
- Minnesota state statutes can be
found via the Legislature's search site. (They are maintained by the Office of the
Revisor of Statutes.)
- Chapters
200-212 deal with elections.
- Large print
- The state has large-print voter registration forms available in English. See
Registration forms.
- League of Women Voters
- Minnesota site for the League of Women Voters
- National site for the League of Women Voters
- Minnesota Secretary of State
- State elections website
- Mistakes on ballots
- See Replacement ballot.
- Polling places
- See Where to vote.
- Precincts
- See Where to vote.
- Ramsey County
- Ramsey County elections website
- Register to vote
- You can obtain registration forms online at the sites listed below, but the
completed forms have to be returned by mail or hand-delivered. If you return the form by
mail, you can be required to show identification the first time you vote.
If your form isn't received at least three weeks before the election, you
will need to register at the polls on Election Day in order
to vote.
- State voter information and
registration forms [MNSoS]
- Ramsey County
voter information and registration forms [RCty]
- Registration drives
- See Voter registration drives.
- Registration forms
- The Minnesota online forms for
voter registration [MNSoS] include forms in English, Hmong, Spanish,
Somali, Russian, and Vietnamese languages, and a Large Print version of the English form. All
are available as downloadable PDF files, and all but the Large Print English form are also
available as "rich text" files.
- A Ramsey
County voter registration form (PDF format, 84 KB) [RCty]
is available for download. This form is the same as the state's English one, but has added
material for filing in Ramsey County, and it might not be accepted elsewhere.
- Replacement ballot
- If you make a mistake (mark the wrong vote) or spoil your ballot before it is submitted,
the Voter's Bill of Rights guarantees you the right to receive a
replacement ballot and vote.
Optical-scan voting machines detect some mistakes (i.e., races with too many votes marked)
before tallying the ballot, allowing the voter one last chance to get a replacement ballot.
- Russian language
- The state has voter registration forms available in Russian. See
Registration forms.
- Sample ballots
- Close to an election, you can find an online sample ballot using the Ramsey county precinct
finder; the state precinct finder has a list of the candidates for each office.
See Where to vote.
Parties often distribute sample ballots listing only their candidates as a guide to voters.
- The Voter's Bill of Rights includes the right to take a sample ballot into
the voting booth with you. You can use a list you write yourself.
- Spanish language
- The state has voter registration forms available in Spanish. See
Registration forms.
- Somali language
- The state has voter registration forms available in Somali. See
Registration forms.
- Times (poll schedule)
- See Election Day schedule.
- Time off work
- The Voter's Bill of Rights includes the right to be absent from
work during the morning of Election Day in order to vote.
- Tribal ID
- Tribal identification may be used as an alternative to Minnesota IDs.
As with state IDs, a voter whose tribal ID does not show a current address can establish
residence in the precinct using a current utility bill.
See Utility bills and Identification.
- Utility bills (to establish residence)
- If your ID has an old address, you can establish residence in the precinct using a current
utility bill for electric, gas, water, solid waste, sewer, telephone, or cable TV. The bill
must have your name and address and a due date within 30 days of the election.
You must have a form of picture ID along with the utility bill. This can be a
Minnesota ID (driver's license, state ID, or learner's permit) with an old address, a US
passport, a military ID, a tribal ID, or a student ID with photo.
See Identification for links to county and state lists of valid ID.
- Vietnamese
- The state has voter registration forms available in Vietnamese. See
Registration forms.
- Voter registration drives
- The Secretary of State's office posts a
notice
(PDF file, about 150 KB) for people conducting voter registration drives.
This item declares that Voter Registration Applications must be at the office of the
Secretary of State or the appropriate County Auditor within 10 days after dated by
the voter.
- There are rules for corporate involvement in voter registration
drives.
- Voter's Bill of Rights
- Minnesota state law includes a Voter's Bill
of Rights [LoVW]. (This copy has been reverified against the 2005 revision of the
Minnesota state statutes, chapter 204C,
section 08.)
- Voting information
- General voting information
for Minnesota [MNSoS]
- Where to vote
- Find your precinct online at either of these sites:
Caution: If you enter only part of the address, these finders
return a list of precincts, with the range of addresses in each. Watch out
for ranges that only include odd or even numbers. Boundary streets have opposite
sides in different precincts, so even numbers (ending in 0, 2, 4, 6, or 8) are assigned to one
polling place and odd numbers (ending in 1, 3, 5, 7, or 9) to a different one. You
can vote only at the precinct assigned to your address.
The two precinct finders return slightly different information. The state gives the date of
the next election in the precinct. Both list district numbers for elected representatives (in
the city council, county commission, state legislature, U.S. Congress), but the county one gives
their names and telephone numbers, too.
When possible (close to elections), the county site has a sample ballot, and the state site has
a list of candidates for each office.
- Who is on the ballot
- Close to an election, the state and county precinct finders include information about the
races and candidates. See Where to vote.
- Work schedule conflicts
- See Time off work.
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