In Minnesota, we take pride in our longstanding tradition of fair, open and honest elections.  Everyone must take responsibility to see that this tradition continues.

Understand the Laws

It is illegal to knowingly deceive a voter in Minnesota to keep them from voting by providing misinformation about:

• dates or times for voting
• polling place locations
• voting procedures
• voting eligibility (Minnesota Statutes, section 204C.035, subd. 1)

It is illegal to try to intimidate voters because they voted or did not vote, including:

• injuring or threatening to injure people, or
• interfering with their activity  (18 USC 245)

It is illegal for federal, state, or local officials in their official capacity to prevent anyone eligible to vote from voting (18 USC 242).

It is illegal to run for state or local office in a jurisdiction in which you do not reside. Candidates for state and local offices are required to reside in the jurisdiction in which they are running for office. The length of time that they are required to have resided in the jurisdiction varies depending upon the office for which they are running. It is illegal to run for state or local office if you have not resided in the district for the required length of time. (Minnesota Constitution, Article IV, Section 6; Article V, Section 2; Article VI, Section 4; Article VII, Section 6; Minnesota Statutes, section 204B.06)

It is illegal to vote or to register to vote if you are not eligible.

To be eligible to vote in Minnesota you must:

• be at least 18-years-old on Election Day
• be a citizen of the United States
• have resided in Minnesota for 20 days immediately preceding Election Day
• have any felony conviction record discharged, expired, or completed
• not be under court-ordered guardianship where a court has revoked your voting rights
• have not been ruled legally incompetent by a court of law

It is illegal to:

• register to vote, to vote, or try to do either if you know that you are not eligible (Minnesota Statutes, sections 201.054, Subd. 2 and 201.014, Subd. 3)
• misrepresent your identity when registering to vote (Minnesota Statutes, section 201.054, Subd. 2)
• intentionally vote in a precinct in which you do not maintain residence (Minnesota Statutes, section 201.016, Subd. 1b)
• provide false information on your voter registration application (42 USC 1973i (c))
• wear any clothing, buttons or other attire bearing candidate names or partisan references into a polling place. (Minnesota Statutes, section 211B.11) Candidate names and logos are political insignia and are prohibited.

It is also illegal to:

• vote or attempt to vote more than once (Minnesota Statutes, section 204C.14)
• to buy or sell a vote (18 USC 1973i (c) and (Minnesota Statutes, section 211B.13)
• offer money to any person to register or refrain from registering to vote. (18 USC 1973i (c)).

If you believe someone has violated Minnesota election law, you will need to provide information to the proper authorities. Use the State Election Law Complaint Form to help you organize the information that you know. You will need to swear that, to the best of your knowledge, your allegation is true.

Allegations of intentionally deceiving a voter should be reported to your county auditor or municipal clerk. They will provide you with the correct information and may also forward information about the alleged violation to the media and your county attorney. (Minnesota Statutes, section 204C.035 Subd. 2)  Click here for an Election Official Directory.

Violations of other laws should be reported to your county attorney. Note: Documents submitted to the county attorney should be notarized.

For challenges to a voter's eligibility, you will also need to state that you are basing the challenge upon your own personal knowledge. Challenges to a voter's eligibility made before Election Day must be made by a voter registered to vote in the same county as the voter whose eligibility is being challenged. (Minnesota Statutes, section 201.195, Subd. 1)

A county attorney who receives an affidavit alleging improper registration or eligibility to vote must promptly investigate and decide whether there is enough evidence to bring criminal charges against anyone. (Minnesota Statutes, section 201.275) Only a judge or jury can then decide if a person has violated the law.

If you don't know who your county auditor or county attorney is, you can fax the form to the Secretary of State at (651) 296-9073 and it will be forwarded to the appropriate county office.

Thank you for your help in keeping Minnesota elections fair, open and honest!