Voting In Minnesota

To be eligible to vote in Minnesota you must be:

• At least 18 years old on Election Day
• A citizen of the United States
• A resident of Minnesota for 20 days immediately preceding Election Day
• Not under court-ordered guardianship in which the court order revokes your right to vote or not been found by a court to be legally incompetent to vote
• Not convicted of a felony, your felony sentence has expired (been completed,) or you have been discharged from your sentence

To register to vote you need to provide your Minnesota driver’s license number or Minnesota ID number. If you do not have a Minnesota driver’s license or Minnesota ID, you will need to provide the last 4 digits of your Social Security number. If you have none of these, write “NONE” in box #10b of your voter registration application. This is required by law. To register at the polling place on Election Day, you must have authorized proof of residence. This includes:

• A valid Minnesota driver's license, learner's permit or receipt of either with your current address located in the polling place precinct
• A valid Minnesota ID or receipt with current address located in the polling place precinct
• A witness or voucher by another voter of the same precinct. A voter may vouch for a limit of 15 voters. This includes an oath of a pre-registered voter in the same precinct or of a voter who registers in the same precinct on Election Day with an authorized identification document. A voter who is vouched for cannot vouch for another voter.
• Registration in the same precinct indicating a previous address
• If you are a student, you can show your address in the precinct by using an ID
• Tribal ID issued by the tribal government of a tribe recognized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior containing your name, address in the precinct, signature and picture

• Minnesota driver's license with current name (licenses from out-of-state are not acceptable.)
• Minnesota state ID. (An ID from another state is not acceptable.)
• U.S. Military ID
• U. S. passport
• Minnesota Tribal ID

• Electric bill
• Gas bill
• Water bill
• Sewer bill
• Solid waste bill
• Cable television bill
• Telephone bill

You only need ID to vote if you have not registered before arriving at the polling precinct. You may register to vote at your polling place on Election Day. ID needed to register to vote at the polling precinct must consist of a combination of one approved photo ID and one approved bill. Photo ID examples include:

• Minnesota driver's license with current name (licenses from out-of-state are not acceptable.)
• Minnesota state ID. (An ID from another state is not acceptable.)
• U.S. Military ID
• U. S. passport
• Minnesota Tribal ID

• Electric bill
• Gas bill
• Water bill
• Sewer bill
• Solid waste bill
• Cable television bill
• Telephone bill
• Rent statement dated within 30 days of election day that itemizes utilities
• Current student bill statement
• A current student fee statement

You can register to vote at your polling place on Election Day. If you want you name to appear in the books at your polling place on Election Day, you must register by Tuesday, October 14, 2009. You registration will be valid either way.

To verify your voter registration status, please contact your county elections office.

Completed mail ballots must be received by your county auditor no later than the day before Election Day, November 3, 2008 by 5:00pm. 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
• You are unable to go to the polling place due to a religious holiday or beliefs.

With absentee voting, you can vote either in person before Election Day at a location designated by your county elections official or by mail. You must submit a written application to your county auditor. Call your county auditor for details. To vote by mail, submit the absentee ballot application form to your county auditor. The ballot will then be mailed directly to you.

Overseas citizens and U.S. military personnel can register to vote and request an absentee ballot at the Overseas Vote Foundation.

In person absentee voting is allowed but an excuse is required. An eligible voter may vote by absentee ballot during the 30 days before the election in the office of the county auditor and at any other polling place designated by the county auditor. To vote in person, apply and/or vote during normal office hours or from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm the Saturday before the election or from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm the Monday before the election. To vote by mail, submit the absentee ballot application form to your county auditor. The ballot will then be mailed directly to you.

Future election dates are to be determined. Please check with your local board of elections office for information on local elections.

In order to be a poll worker in Minnesota:

• You must be registered to vote in Minnesota
• You must be at least 18 years of age
• Political affiliation required
• You will be entitled to compensation
• You must be a resident of the state 20 days prior to the election
• You must complete required training
• Students 16 years or older who are registered in High school may work with written permission from a parent or guardian

To sign up, contact your local board of elections.

Most polling places are open from 7:00 am to 8:00 pm. Please contact your county auditor or township clerk for details.

Employees are allowed to take time off to vote during the mornings of election days. This time off should be treated as paid leave.

You can find your polling place by utilizing VOTE411's poll locator tool. Some states and local jurisdictions provide their own poll locators. You can confirm your voting location by selecting from the following local resources: Minnesota State Polling Place Locator Tool

If you have further questions on your polling place location, please contact your county clerk.

While there is no provisional voting in Minnesota, Election Day registration is available.

The voting systems used in Minnesota are optical scan, paper ballots and the hybrid system.

Optical Scan: With this system, you will receive a card or sheet of paper, which you take over to a private table or booth. The card has the names of the various candidates and ballot measures printed on it. With a pen or pencil you fill in a little box or circle or the space between two arrows. When you are finished filling out all the cards, you may bring the cards over to a ballot box, where poll workers will show you how to put the cards in the box. Or in some places, you may feed the completed cards or papers into a computer device that checks your card or paper right there at the polling place to make sure you have voted the way you want to and counts the votes.

Paper Ballots: Paper ballots are one of the oldest ways of voting in America. They are still used in a few places on Election Day. When you come to the polling place, you will get a paper ballot from the poll worker. You take it to the voting booth, and use a pen or pencil to mark a box next to your candidate and issue choices. You then drop the marked ballot into a sealed ballot box.

Direct Recording Electronic (DRE): This is the newest kind of system in use in the U.S. All the information about who and what you are voting for is on an electronic screen like a TV or computer screen.

There are many variations of DREs because lots of companies are inventing new ones, and many cities, counties and states are trying them out. Usually, after you have signed in, the poll workers will give you a card that you slide into a device to start your voting session.

Some of these devices will show all of the candidates and ballot choices on one big screen. Often, with these big screen devices you push a button next to the name of the candidate you want to vote for (or yes or no on a ballot measure). On other DREs, the screen is set up to show “pages.” On each screen or page, there will probably be one thing to vote on. For example, on one screen or page, you might vote for president. Then you might move to the next page to vote for senator. Often these small-screen devices have a “touch screen,” where you touch the screen next to the name of the person you want to vote for. Other devices have a key pad. And some have a keyboard, so you can write in the name of someone you want to vote for.

You let the system know you are finished voting by pushing a button, touching the screen or entering something on a keypad.

Information on local, state and federal candidates and ballot measures is available here.

If you need help with voting, you can ask the election judges at the polling place for assistance in reading or marking the ballot. You may also bring someone to help you. All polling places should be fully accessible with clearly marked accessible doors and parking spaces. If you cannot easily leave your car, you can ask for the ballot to be brought out to you. If you are unable to go to the polling place due to an illness or disability, you can vote by absentee ballot. If you have limited vision, you may ask for voter registration and absentee ballot instructions in an alternative format. If you are hearing impaired, every county and most cities will have a TDD device for questions. Materials can be provided in braille, on audio tape, on CD or in large print. To order any brochures or to order a voter registration application and instructions on how to fill it out, contact the secretary of state's elections division at 651-215-1440 or toll free, at 1-877-600-8683. TTY: 1-800-627-3529.

For information on federal campaign contributions, please visit Open Secrets.

For information on state campaign contributions, please visit your state's resource.