Title Minnesota Statutes, Minnesota Statutes

204B.15 UNORGANIZED TERRITORY; ELECTION PRECINCTS. A county board may establish new election precincts to serve the residents of unorganized territories. The board shall designate a polling place for the new precinct that is convenient for the individuals residing in it. History:…

204B.16 POLLING PLACES; DESIGNATION. § Subdivision 1.Authority; location. (a) By December 31 of each year, the governing body of each municipality and of each county with precincts in unorganized territory must designate by ordinance or resolution any changes to a polling place l…

204B.175 CHANGE OF POLLING PLACE IN AN EMERGENCY. § Subdivision 1.Application. When an emergency occurs after the deadline to designate a polling place for the purpose of absentee or early voting pursuant to section 203B.081, or after the deadline to designate a polling place pur…

204B.18 POLLING PLACES; EQUIPMENT. § Subdivision 1.Booths; voting stations. (a) Each polling place must contain a number of voting booths or voting stations in proportion to the number of individuals eligible to vote in the precinct. The booth or station shall permit the voter to…

204B.181 ELECTION EMERGENCY PLANS. § Subdivision 1.State elections emergency plans. (a) The secretary of state, in consultation with the Minnesota director of the Department of Public Safety, Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, must develop a state elections e…

204B.182 CHAIN OF CUSTODY PLANS. (a) The county auditor must develop a county elections chain of custody plan to be used in all state, county, municipal, school district, and special district elections held in that county. If any of the political subdivisions cross county lines, …

204B.19 ELECTION JUDGES; QUALIFICATIONS. § Subdivision 1.Individuals qualified to be election judges. Except as provided in subdivision 6, any individual who is eligible to vote in this state is qualified to be appointed as an election judge. § Subd. 2.Individuals not qualified t…

204B.195 TIME OFF FROM WORK TO SERVE AS ELECTION JUDGE. An individual who is selected to serve as an election judge pursuant to section 204B.21, subdivision 2 may, after giving an employer at least 20 days' written notice, be absent from a place of work for the purpose of serving…

204B.20 ELECTION BOARD; HEAD ELECTION JUDGE; DUTIES. The election judges appointed to serve in an election precinct shall constitute the election board for that precinct. The appointing authority shall designate one of the election judges in each precinct to serve as the head ele…

204B.21 APPOINTMENT OF ELECTION JUDGES. § Subdivision 1.Appointment lists; duties of political parties and secretary of state. On May 1 in a year in which there is an election for a partisan political office, each major political party shall prepare a list of eligible voters to a…

204B.22 ELECTION JUDGES; NUMBER REQUIRED. § Subdivision 1.Minimum number required. (a) A minimum of four election judges shall be appointed for each precinct in the state general election, provided that a minimum of three election judges shall be appointed for each precinct with …

204B.23 VACANCIES AMONG ELECTION JUDGES. A vacancy on an election board occurs when any election judge who is a member of that board: (a) fails to arrive at the polling place within 30 minutes after the time when the polling place is scheduled to open; (b) becomes unable to perfo…

204B.24 ELECTION JUDGES; OATH. Each election judge shall sign the following oath before assuming the duties of the office: "I .......... solemnly swear (or affirm) that: (1) I will perform the duties of election judge according to law and the best of my ability and will diligentl…

204B.25 TRAINING FOR ELECTION JUDGES. § Subdivision 1.Duties of county auditor. Each county auditor shall provide training for all election judges who are appointed to serve at any election to be held in the county. The county auditor shall also provide a procedure for emergency …

204B.26 ELECTION JUDGES; VIOLATIONS; PENALTIES. A county auditor or municipal clerk may remove any precinct election official at any time if the official engages in a neglect of duty, malfeasance, misconduct in office, or for other cause. Any individual who serves as an election …

204B.27 DUTIES OF SECRETARY OF STATE. § Subdivision 1.Blank forms. At least 14 days before every state election the secretary of state shall transmit to each county auditor examples of any blank forms to be used as the secretary of state deems necessary for the conduct of the ele…

204B.275 ELECTION REPORTING SYSTEM. § Subdivision 1.Definition. "Election reporting system" means the computerized central statewide database for offices, candidates, ballot questions, and unofficial results developed and maintained by the secretary of state. The system facilitat…

204B.28 CLERKS; ELECTION SUPPLIES; DUTIES. § Subdivision 1.Meeting with election officials. At least 12 weeks before each regularly scheduled town general election conducted in March, and at least 18 weeks before all other general elections, each county auditor shall conduct a me…

204B.29 ELECTION JUDGES; ELECTION SUPPLIES; DUTIES. § Subdivision 1.Securing election materials. Before 9:00 p.m. on the day preceding an election, at least one election judge from each precinct in each municipality, or school district if applicable, shall secure voter registrati…

204B.295 VOTING INSTRUCTIONS AND SAMPLE BALLOTS IN LANGUAGES OTHER THAN ENGLISH; MULTILINGUAL ELECTION JUDGES. § Subdivision 1.Duty. The secretary of state or county auditor must use the Office of Enterprise Translation established in section 16B.373 or must contract with a trans…

204B.30 UNOFFICIAL BALLOTS. When no official or substitute ballots are ready at the time when voting is scheduled to begin or if the supply is exhausted before the voting ends, the election judges shall contact the municipal clerk and, at the clerk's direction, shall prepare unof…

204B.31 COMPENSATION FOR ELECTION SERVICES. § Subdivision 1.Compensation. The compensation for services performed under the Minnesota Election Law shall be as follows: (1) to presidential electors from funds appropriated to the secretary of state for this purpose, $35 for each da…

204B.32 ELECTION EXPENSES; PAYMENT. § Subdivision 1.Payment. (a) The secretary of state shall pay the compensation for presidential electors and all necessary expenses incurred by the secretary of state in connection with elections. (b) The counties shall pay the compensation pre…

204B.33 NOTICE OF FILING. (a) At least 16 weeks before the state primary, the secretary of state shall notify each county auditor of the offices to be voted for in that county at the next state general election for which candidates file with the secretary of state. The notice sha…

204B.34 NOTICE OF ELECTION. § Subdivision 1.State elections. At least 15 days before any state primary or state general election the municipal clerk shall post in the clerk's office a notice stating the offices for which candidates must be nominated or elected, the location of ea…

204B.35 PREPARATION OF BALLOTS. § Subdivision 1.Application. All ballots for every election shall be prepared in accordance with sections 204B.35 to 204B.44 and chapter 204D, except for voting machine ballots or as otherwise provided by law. § Subd. 2.Manner of preparation. Ballo…

204B.36 BALLOTS; FORM. § Subdivision 1.Type. All ballots shall be printed with black ink on paper of sufficient thickness to prevent the printing from being discernible from the back. All ballots shall be printed in easily readable type with suitable lines dividing candidates, of…

204B.37 BACK OF BALLOT. On the back of all ballots shall be printed the words "Official Ballot", the date of the election and lines for the initials of at least two election judges. The words shall be printed so that they will be visible when the ballot is properly folded for dep…

204B.38 NAMES ON BALLOTS; IDENTICAL DESCRIPTIVE WORDS. When the similarity of both the first and last names of two or more candidates for the same office at the same election may cause confusion to voters, up to three additional words may be printed on the ballot after each surna…

204B.39 SUBSTITUTE BALLOTS. If a sufficient number of official ballots are not delivered or if the official ballots are stolen or destroyed and a sufficient number of official ballots cannot be procured, the official in charge of preparing the official ballots shall prepare subst…

204B.40 BALLOTS; ELECTION RECORDS AND OTHER MATERIALS; DISPOSITION; INSPECTION OF BALLOTS. The county auditors, municipal clerks, and school district clerks shall retain all election materials returned to them after any election for at least 22 months from the date of that electi…

204B.43 UNLAWFUL PRINTING OR DISTRIBUTION OF BALLOTS; PENALTY. Every person authorized or employed to print official ballots who knowingly gives or delivers those ballots to, or knowingly permits them to be taken by, any person other than the official under whose direction they a…

204B.44 ERRORS AND OMISSIONS; REMEDY. (a) Any individual may file a petition in the manner provided in this section for the correction of any of the following errors, omissions, or wrongful acts which have occurred or are about to occur: (1) an error or omission in the placement …

204B.45 MAIL BALLOTING. § Subdivision 1.Authorization. A town of any size or a city having fewer than 400 registered voters on June 1 of an election year may provide balloting by mail at any municipal, county, or state election with no polling place other than the office of the a…

204B.46 MAIL ELECTIONS; QUESTIONS. A county, municipality, or school district submitting questions to the voters at a special election may conduct an election by mail with no polling place other than the office of the auditor or clerk. No offices may be voted on at a mail electio…

204B.47 ALTERNATIVE ELECTION PROCEDURES; DUTIES OF SECRETARY OF STATE. When a provision of the Minnesota Election Law cannot be implemented as a result of an order of a state or federal court, the secretary of state shall adopt alternative election procedures to permit the admini…

204B.49 "I VOTED" STICKERS. The secretary of state, county auditor, municipal clerk, school district clerk, or an election judge may provide a sticker containing the words "I VOTED," and nothing more, to an individual who: (1) has successfully deposited a ballot into a ballot box…

204C.01 DEFINITIONS. The definitions in chapter 200 apply to this chapter. History: 1981 c 29 art 5 s 1

204C.02 CHAPTER APPLICATION; INDIVIDUALS UNABLE TO WRITE. This chapter applies to all elections held in this state except as otherwise provided by law. An individual who is unable to write the individual's name must sign election-related documents in the manner provided by sectio…

204C.03 PUBLIC MEETINGS PROHIBITED ON ELECTION DAY. § Subdivision 1.School districts; counties; municipalities; special taxing districts. No special taxing district governing body, school board, county board of commissioners, city council, or town board of supervisors shall condu…

204C.035 DECEPTIVE PRACTICES IN ELECTIONS. § Subdivision 1.Criminal penalty. No person shall knowingly deceive another person regarding the time, place, or manner of conducting an election or the qualifications for or restrictions on voter eligibility for an election, with the in…

204C.04 EMPLOYEES; TIME OFF TO VOTE. § Subdivision 1.Right to be absent. Every employee who is eligible to vote in an election has the right to be absent from work for the time necessary to appear at the employee's polling place, cast a ballot, and return to work on the day of th…

204C.05 STATE ELECTIONS; HOURS FOR VOTING. § Subdivision 1.Opening and closing times. Except as otherwise provided in this section, at the state primary and the state general election the hours for voting in every precinct in the state shall begin at 7:00 a.m. and shall extend co…

204C.06 CONDUCT IN AND NEAR POLLING PLACES. § Subdivision 1.Persons allowed near polling place. An individual must be allowed to go to and from the polling place for the purpose of voting without unlawful interference. Except an election official or an individual who is waiting t…

204C.07 CHALLENGERS. § Subdivision 1.Partisan elections. At an election to fill partisan offices, the chair of an authorized committee of each major political party may appoint by written certificate voters from that political party to act as challengers of voters at the polling …

204C.08 OPENING OF POLLING PLACES. § Subdivision 1. [Renumbered subd 1c] § Subd. 1a. [Renumbered subd 1d] § Subd. 1b.Arrival; ballots. The election judges shall meet at the polling place at least one hour before the time for opening the polls. Before the polls open, the election …