Voting and Civic Engagement at St. Scholastica

Voter Eligibility

To vote in Minnesota, you must be a U.S. citizen, at least 18 years old on Election Day, and a resident of Minnesota for at least 20 days. If you have a felony conviction, you can vote if you are not currently incarcerated, even if you are on probation or parole.

Paying out-of-state tuition or having a driver’s license from another state does not necessarily mean you can’t vote in Minnesota.

What is my voting residence?

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 go back to visit but no longer consider it your home, you should register to vote where you live at school.

If you moved to Minnesota from another state and currently consider Minnesota your home, you can vote here even if you pay out-of-state tuition or have a driver’s license from another state.

If you do not consider your school address to be your home, you can apply to vote by mail with an absentee ballot.

Minnesota voters can apply online; otherwise, visit your home state’s election website or utilize TurboVote for support voting out of state.

Find Your Polling Place

How do I register to vote?

You must be registered to vote at your current address. It is best to register before Election Day, but it is not required. To register on Election Day, you must show proof of your name and current address.

Vote early with an absentee ballot

You can vote early at your local elections office starting 46 days before Election Day. You can also apply to have an absentee ballot sent to you in the mail.

Election cycles can be complicated with multiple dates and deadlines to keep track of. Here are important official election-related dates to keep in mind for voting in Minnesota in 2024.

Jan. 19

Voters can start casting their ballots early by mail or in person ahead of the state’s presidential primary election.

Feb. 13

Deadline to register to vote in advance of the presidential primary. The Secretary of State’s office recommends Minnesotans who are not registered to vote sign up by this date to save themselves time registering at their polling place. Minnesota doesn’t have party registration for the presidential primary.

Feb. 27

Minnesota’s political parties host precinct caucuses across the state. Caucuses give participants at the local level a chance to pick delegates to participate in endorsing conventions in May.

March 5

Presidential primary election in Minnesota and 15 other states.

June 28

Voters can start casting their ballots early by mail or in person ahead of the state’s August primary election.

July 23

Deadline to register to vote in advance of the August primary.

Aug. 13

Minnesota’s primary Election Day.

Sept. 20

Voters can start casting their ballots early by mail or in person ahead of the state’s general election.

Oct. 15

Deadline to register to vote in advance of Election Day.

Nov. 5

Election Day. In addition to the presidential race, one of Minnesota’s two seats in the U.S. Senate will be on the ballot, as well as all eight congressional seats and 134 seats in the state House. Judicial seats and some local races — from school board to township seats — are also on the ballot.

Each state may have their own deadlines to register. Some states do not offer online registration and others do not allow same day registration. Be sure to review your state’s process at vote.gov to make sure you can cast your vote!

Reference: https://www.sos.state.mn.us/election-administration-campaigns/elections-calendar/

Voter Eligibility

If you choose to register in a state other than Minnesota you must have a registered permanent address in that state. States may also have other eligibility requirements.

Voter Registration out of the State of Minnesota

Individual states often have unique processes and deadlines for their voter registration processes so it is important to be proactive in learning about your state’s specific requirements well in advance.

Visit TurboVote to learn more about your state’s registration process. Many states now offer online registration.

States and municipalities are on many different timelines for which offices are elected in certain years, and some may be holding special elections or feature ballot measures in the upcoming election cycle.