Before a voting machine is approved for use, it must first meet certain criteria and be certified by the Secretary of State’s office. All voting equipment must also be tested and certified by test labs accredited by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission. This means that our machines are rigorously tested before even being purchased for use.

After running “test decks” on the machines and certifying that the tabulations were correct, the public then has a chance to see the machines work for themselves at what’s called a Public Accuracy Test. Each county must conduct a minimum number of public tests of the tabulating machines, and the final results will all be published online.

Want to see the certification of our vote tabulators? Subscribe to the [insert county] newsletter, pay attention to the newspaper at least 14 days prior to the election, and contact the county elections office if necessary. Election officials follow Minnesota law and will give at least 48 hours' public notice of the time and place of the test. 

Law stipulates that at least two election judges of different political parties must be a witness to this public test at which the county election official will explain the methods and test procedures used to determine the accuracy of the computer programs. In most election jurisdictions, a minimum of three precincts must be tested - One precinct from each congressional district, legislative district, county commissioner district, ward, and school district on the ballot. An errorless count must be made on all precincts.

Election results are only official once they have been reviewed and certified by a canvassing board. Federal and statewide offices and legislative districts that cross county lines must be certified by both the state and county canvassing board. Every county’s canvassing board consists of the county auditor; the court administrator of the district court in that county; the mayor or chair of the town board of the most populous municipality in the county; and two members of the county board. They meet first to certify the votes cast within the county for races that go beyond the county boundaries and certify the election results for offices that are voted upon exclusively within that county (county offices and legislative districts that are entirely contained within the county). Their main purpose is to certify that the numbers received from the election judges at the precincts and county election officials are a match. Each municipality and school district has its own canvassing board to certify results in those races.

The state canvassing board meets seven days following a state primary election and on the third Tuesday following a state general election. Its five members are the Secretary of State as chair who appoints two members of the State Supreme Court and two judges from a district court. They are responsible for canvassing and certifying the results of all statewide elections, including state and federal offices, state constitutional amendment ballot questions, and state legislative and judicial offices that overlap more than one county. In conducting the canvass, the state canvassing board compiles and reviews the results as indicated by each of the 87 county canvassing reports. If necessary, upon the request of an apparent losing candidate, the state canvassing board oversees a recount of the results for that office.

After being certified by the canvassing boards, the election results are official, pending any legal challenges. If the numbers don’t match for any reason, the canvassing board must figure out where the discrepancy came from before they can certify the results. County canvassing boards are also involved in the process of randomly selecting precincts for audit after every statewide general election which will occur after the information is canvassed in what’s called the Post Election Review.

A random selection of precincts are drawn by the canvassing board after every statewide general election for the Post Election Review (PER). For the PER, party-balanced election judges hand-count the ballots from the selected precincts to make sure they match up with the tabulating machine data, working in bipartisan pairs at all times.

All post election reviews are public. The time and date of each county’s public meeting to audit the election results are shared on the Minnesota State Secretary of State’s website.

In addition to the PER process, candidates can request a recount of their race. If it is within a certain threshold, it is publicly funded. If not, candidates can request a discretionary recount. The recount process is also open to the public, and is again conducted by election officials in pairs at all times.

After the 2020 election, county officials across the state have seen an uptick in requests for cast vote records. So let’s discuss how they can be used and the safeguards put in place to ensure election security while protecting the privacy of Minnesota voters.

Each cast vote record corresponds to one ballot that was tabulated. Like the ballot, it shows what combination of selections the voter made, for example that they voted for one particular candidate in one race, left a second race blank, and voted for another particular candidate in a third race. Also like the ballot, it is not tied to a specific voter. From the collection of cast vote records, it is possible to answer such questions as how many voters “split their tickets,” voting for candidates from multiple parties. The 2023 Minnesota Legislature provided clarity on what CVR information cannot be made public such as the order in which votes were cast, the method with which a voter cast a ballot and images of ballots cast. 

While not required by law, all election officials in Minnesota may now decide to generate cast vote records as a byproduct of tabulation, providing increased transparency without disclosing how voters voted. In a small precinct where a small number of absentee ballots were cast or someone’s handwriting could be identified, the 2023 law ensures that election officials do not have to endanger the privacy of voters by releasing certain information. As for the ballots themselves, they are required to be kept in a secure location by the counties for 22 months. Ballots are not available for public review but will be used to audit the election results through the Post Election Review and are also available for any recounts, contests filed in court, or post-election monitoring and evaluation of election procedures.

A person will only be registered to vote through MN Driver and Vehicle Services if they provide proof of citizenship at the time of obtaining or renewing their Driver’s License. While undocumented immigrants won’t have to prove their citizenship to get a driver’s license, NOT doing so will mean they cannot also register to vote when getting their license. Anyone registering to vote is required to affirm, under penalty of law, that they meet a list of requirements to be eligible to vote in Minnesota, including U.S. citizenship. Undocumented immigrants therefore face both perjury AND deportation if they falsify their identity during the voting process.

Minnesota election officials get regular reports of deceased residents from the MN Department of Health and Social Security Administration, and use these to change voters’ status to “deceased.”

All ballots are tracked by bar codes to ensure they are attached to an active registered voter. Therefore, ballots with barcodes attached to any deceased voters are not counted if not yet accepted. The ballot will be spoiled by the election office and the absentee ballot application marked as inactive.

If the ballot is marked as "accepted" but not separated yet from the signature/secrecy envelope, it must be presented to the ballot board for rejection. In the case that someone votes early and subsequently dies in the 18 days prior to Election Day (when counting begins), that person's vote will be counted if the ballot has been separated from the signature/secrecy envelope.

Voting machines, including ballot recording and tabulating machines, are not connected to the internet during voting, and so cannot be remotely hacked. They also cannot be physically hacked as the memory chips are locked into the machine, and only the head election judge or county clerk have the key for them, and/or can deputize another person to hold the key. Finally, the election results from the tabulating system are printed before the results are electronically transmitted to county elections.

Along with the hardware being secure, and the software unable to be hacked, each memory chip from each tabulator is encrypted with the machine number on it. This means that when the information is pulled from the machines, it is impossible to duplicate the result from any of the machines – the data from one machine is only able to be pulled once. It would also indicate if data from any machine in the precinct is missing.

The only time during the process when the data is connected to any electronic network or the internet in any way is when it is being sent to the county elections or OSS website. In order to keep the data secure, a special encrypted connection is used.

A Mail-in Only Precinct may occur in any town, a city with fewer than 400 registered voters, or any municipality with a precinct that has less than 100 registered voters. Establishing mail-in only precincts is a decision that must be made by the local government. In these precincts, ballots are automatically mailed to registered voters. Unlike an absentee ballot, a mail ballot is sent only to the voter’s residence (not to any other mailing address) and is sent by non-forwardable mail. A voter who has not registered in advance or who wants to receive their ballot at a temporary location needs to apply for an absentee ballot, just as in any other precinct

The absentee ballots that voters in mail-in only districts contain the same safeguards as other absentee ballots (unique barcodes, signature envelope information, etc.)

Minnesota voters are able to track their ballots on the MN Secretary of State’s site. Once completed and returned to the county elections office, every absentee ballot application gets entered into the Statewide Voter Registration System (SVRS). Each individual's ballot is tracked by SVRS once it is received. This prevents the voter from being able to vote by absentee as well as in-person.

Each absentee voter receives the ballot that is applicable to where they live and the races that they should be voting for. All absentee ballots are given an individualized and unique barcode tied to a voter.

Contrary to rumors about drop boxes, they are tightly governed by Minnesota law, and must meet minimum security and integrity standards, including collection at least once per business day and protection from tampering. Furthermore, drop boxes are maintained by the county auditor or municipal clerk, not the USPS, and the only envelopes considered are those with unique barcodes tied to a registered voter throughout the process.

In Minnesota, you can pre-register to vote at age 16 or 17. However, you will still not be eligible to vote until you are 18. When you pre-register, you will automatically be registered to vote when you turn 18. Your county will send you a postcard to tell you that you have been registered, and to check that mail comes to your address.

All public schools must make available paper and electronic voter registration applications each May and September to all students that are eligible 16 and over. Pre-registering guarantees ahead of time that you will be able to vote once you are 18. There are many ways to get involved before turning 18, such as being an election judge trainee.

Election Judge Trainees are paid Election Judges (people who help run elections in Minnesota in their neighborhoods) who are 16 or 17 years old.  They get excused from school, help voters who come to cast their vote (by checking them in, handing them their ballot, etc). Election judge positions can be paid and help make elections happen in our state.  If you speak more than one language, that can be helpful too. Go to mnvotes.gov to learn more.

If you are not already registered to vote, you can do so online at mnvotes.gov.

You should register to vote from the address you currently consider home. For many students, this is likely a school address or a parent’s house. If you still go back to visit but no longer consider it your home, then you should register to vote where you live at school.

Because of a new law in Minnesota colleges and universities must provide voter registration forms to all students each spring and fall. Schools may also provide voter information to students by establishing a campus vote coordinator and a website with information on elections and voting.

There are multiple ways for college students to register on Election Day:

Show a valid ID with current name and address. This can be a Minnesota driver’s license, learner’s permit or ID.

Provide a photo ID and separate document with name and current address. The photo ID can be a driver's license, passport or school ID. The second document can be a heating or electric bill, a rental or lease agreement, or a current student fee statement. This can be shown on a mobile device.

A registered voter from your precinct can go with you to the polling place to sign an oath confirming your address. This is known as 'vouching.' A registered voter can vouch for up to eight voters. You cannot vouch for others if someone vouched for you. Similarly, If you live in a residential facility, a staff person can go with you to the polling place to confirm your address. A staff person can vouch for all eligible voters living in the facility.

Colleges and universities that enroll students accepting state financial aid must send election officials a student housing list. If you are on the list, show your college photo ID to complete your registration.

If you are registered in the precinct but changed names or moved within the same precinct, you only need to tell the election judge your previous name or address.

If you registered to vote within 20 days of the election, you may get a Notice of Late Registration in the mail. Bring it with you and use it as your proof of residence to register.

Yes! If you are not currently incarcerated for a felony conviction, you are eligible to vote and able to register to vote.

Previously, individuals convicted of a felony had to wait until they were off probation or parole and had paid their fines or restitution to register and vote. The law restoring voting rights took effect on June 1, 2023, enfranchising at least 55,000 Minnesotans who have been released from incarceration.

For all state elections, voting instructions will now be available in all polling places on Election Day in the three most commonly spoken non-English languages in the state. Currently, those languages are: Spanish, Hmong, Somali.

In precincts that have at least 3% of voters speaking a different language, voter instructions and sample ballots will be available. And for those that reach 20% of voters speaking a language other than English, voters can request translation services.

The Office of the Secretary of State worked with the State Demographer to identify language minority districts where three percent or more of the population in a corresponding census tract speak English "less than very well" according to the most recent census data.

For all precincts in language minority districts, voting instructions and sample ballots will be translated into the most commonly spoken non-English language for all precincts in that census tract. These materials will be posted and available for voters as a reference when casting a ballot.

The Minnesota SOS website has a language minority district spreadsheet that includes the designated tracts, language(s) for each tract, whether the tract meets the 3% or 20% threshold, and precincts in that tract.