Elections

Before you can vote, you must register. In Minnesota, you may register 20 days before Election Day for your name to appear on the polling place roster, or on Election Day at your polling place.

Your registration remains current until you move, change your name, or do not vote for four consecutive years.  You may update your registration information by completing another Voter Registration Application.

Registering on Election Day

If you are not registered to vote or need to update your registration information, you may do so at your local polling location on Election Day.  However, you are required to provide proof of residence when registering on Election Day. 

To register at your polling place on Election Day, you must have one of the following with your current name and address in the precinct to verify your residence:

• A valid Minnesota driver’s license, learner’s permit, Minnesota ID card, or receipt for any of these
• A valid student ID card including your photo, if your college has provided a student housing list to election officials
• A Tribal ID card that contains your picture and signature 
• A valid registration in the same precinct under a different name or address 
• A notice of late registration sent to you by your county auditor or city clerk
• A voter registered in the same precinct as you who can confirm your address with a signed oath
• An employee of the residential facility where you live who can confirm your address with a signed oath

Alternatively, you may provide both 1) a photo ID from the list below, and 2) a current bill with your current name and address in the precinct.

You may find that you are unable to get to your polling place location on Election Day but still want to vote in the election.

In Minnesota, citizens are allowed to vote absentee for the following reasons:

• Absent from your precinct
• Illness or disability
• Serving as an election judge in another precinct
• Religious discipline or religious holiday or observance
• Eligible emergency declared by the governor or quarantine declared by the federal or state government

Click the links below for more information:

General Absentee Information
Military and Overseas Voters
Delivery of Absentee Ballots by Others
Permanent and Ongoing Absentee Ballots
Voters Moving From Minnesota to Another State
Confidentiality Notice

General Absentee Information

There are two ways to vote by absentee ballot.

In Person Absentee Voting

You may cast an absentee ballot in person, at your county auditor's office and in many cases your city or township clerk's office, starting 46 days prior to Election Day. This option is available on weekdays during business hours. In addition, the county auditor's office must be open for absentee balloting from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the Saturday before the election and until 5 p.m. on the day before the election. Contact your county auditor for more information--find contact information using the Election Official Directory.

Absentee Voting by Mail

You may have an absentee ballot sent to you by completing an Absentee Ballot Application and send it to your county auditor by mail, fax, or email (print off the application, sign it, scan it, and attach to an email as a .pdf). Your ballot will be sent to you when it is ready - at least 46 days prior to the election if you applied for an absentee ballot in advance. If you apply for an absentee ballot within 46 days of the election, your ballot will arrive within a day or two of your application being received.

Your completed absentee ballot must be received by your county auditor by Election Day, or it will not be counted. There are four ways you can return your absentee ballot:

1. Mail back your ballot in the pre-paid envelope provided by your county auditor.
2. Up until 5 p.m. on the day before the election, you may deliver your ballot in person to your county auditor.
3. You may also have someone else return your completed ballot, sealed in its envelope, to your county auditor until 3 p.m. on Election Day. Persons delivering ballots may not do so for more than three voters.
4. If you are worried about your ballot not arriving on time using First Class mail, you may choose to pay for package delivery service to return your ballot. Ballots must be received by your county auditor on 3 p.m. on Election Day.

To find contact information for your county auditor, use the Election Official Directory.

Military and Overseas Voters

There are special provisions for voters who are serving away from home in the military, for their spouses and dependents, and for citizens who are temporarily or permanently overseas. Find more information at our page on Absentee Voting for Military Personnel and Overseas Citizens.

Delivery of Absentee Ballots by Others

The following voters may authorize an agent to pick up and return an absentee ballot for them:

• Patients in hospitals, residential treatment centers, and nursing homes
• Residents of group homes
• Residents of battered women's shelters
• Residents of assisted living facilities
• Voters who are disabled
• Voters who would have difficulty getting to the polls because of incapacitating health reasons

If you are currently living in a residential facility but not sure if it meets the qualifications listed above, please ask the administrator of your facility.

In order to have an agent deliver your ballot, you must complete the Request for Agent Delivery of Absentee Ballot Form and the Absentee Ballot Application. You must have a preexisting relationship with the your agent. The agent will use the completed forms to pick up a ballot, bring the ballot to you, and return your voted ballot to the county auditor or city clerk. Each agent is only allowed to deliver and return ballots for a maximum of three voters. This activity may only occur the seven days preceding an election. Ballots can be picked up until 2:00 p.m. on Election Day, and voted ballots must be returned by 3:00 p.m. on Election Day.

Agent Delivery Process flowchart

Permanent or Ongoing Absentee Ballots

If you are an eligible voter who reasonably believes that you will be unable to go to your polling place for one of the reasons allowed on an ongoing basis, you may request to receive an application for an absentee ballot before each election by completing the Application to Automatically Receive Absentee Ballot Applications.

Voters Moving From Minnesota to Another State

If you are an eligible voter who moved from Minnesota to another state within 30 days of a presidential election and you are not eligible to vote in your new state, then you should review the Presidential Absentee Ballot Application to find out how to vote in Minnesota in the presidential election.

Confidentiality Notice

Access to the data that you supply on your absentee ballot application and absentee ballot signature envelope is restricted to election officials prior to the close of voting on election day. However the list of who applied for and submitted absentee ballots, as well as the absentee ballot applications and envelopes themselves, are public information after the close of voting on election day, with the exception of the months and days of birth, and the driver’s license, state ID or Social Security Numbers, which are required in order to match the signature envelope to the absentee ballot application, to verify that the absentee ballot is received from the voter who made the application. You may refuse to provide this information, but refusal to provide the information may result in rejection of your ballot under Minnesota Statutes, section 203B.121 and may prevent you from checking on the status of your absentee ballot on-line (coming in September 2010).