When we have a democracy that puts people first, we get the big wins we deserve.
While states around the country are moving backwards on democracy, Minnesota is showing that there’s another way: forward, towards the multiracial democracy we deserve.
Throughout the 2023 #mnleg, people from across the state showed up at the Capitol to protect and expand our democracy. Our legislators listened, and we passed the biggest slate of pro-democracy reforms Minnesota has seen in almost 50 years.
Check out Minnesota’s big wins for democracy in the 2023 #mnleg below.
Voter Rights & Voting Access
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Effective Date: Office of the Secretary of State aiming for early 2024 at Minnesota DMVs
An individual who is eligible to vote and provides proof of citizenship when applying for a new or renewed driver’s license or ID card will be registered to vote. A notice will be sent out to the individual that provides an opportunity to decline the registration. Additional agencies may be added in coming years to provide the same service to individuals applying for MinnesotaCare, medical assistance or who interact with other state agencies.
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Effective Date: June 1, 2023
An individual who is under the age of 18, but who is at least 16 and meets all other requirements for eligibility to vote, may submit a voter registration application.
When they turn 18, they are an active registered voter. If they haven’t moved, all they have to do is show up at the polls to vote.
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Effective Date: June 1, 2023
If you are no longer incarcerated, you are now eligible to register to vote, vote in any election and run for office.
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Effective Date: June 1, 2024
Starting next June, eligible voters will be able to request to be added to a list to automatically be sent an absentee ballot during the early vote period ahead of each election.
The county auditor, municipal clerk, school district clerk, or other full-time clerk shall mail absentee ballots to voters on the permanent absentee ballot list 46 days before each regularly scheduled primary and general election and each special primary and special election.
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Effective Date: True early voting to be determined by the Office of the Secretary of State; extended early voting effective June 1, 2023
Early absentee voting will be available for additional days and hours leading up to elections. In even year November elections, you will be able to vote on both the Tuesday and the weekend before election day.
In the next few years, true early voting will be offered for the 18 days leading up to federal and state elections for a quicker and more streamlined voting experience.
Both extended early voting and eventually, true early voting make it so people who struggle to get to the polls due to work or other commitments have more options available to them.
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Effective Date: July 1, 2023
Every employee eligible to vote has the right to paid time off from work for the time necessary to appear at their polling place, cast a ballot, and return to work on election day and for all 46 days of absentee voting and can’t be forced to use vacation time.
An employer who violates this law is guilty of a misdemeanor. Complaints should be filed with the county attorney.
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Effective Date: July 1, 2023
Students at post-secondary institutions can now register to vote using just their student ID if they live on campus or off-campus, in the same city as their institution and whose institution has their address on file. This applies to all institutions that accept state financial aid. If you are not sure whether or not your school has your current address on file, you can bring proof of your address to register.
Learn more or register online here.
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Effective Date: July 1, 2023
Assisted living facilities are now eligible for health care voting, so that cities may now have election judges go directly to assisted living facilities and facilitate in-person absentee voting. It is up to each city and assisted living facility to determine whether or not it will be offered.
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Effective Date: Increase funding in fiscal years 2024 and 2025.
$500,000 will be appropriated to the Secretary of State to make grants to counties and municipalities to improve access to polling places for individuals with disabilities.
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Effective Date: January 1, 2024
Starting next year, all polling locations across the state will have voting instructions available in the three most commonly spoken non-English languages in the state. Sample ballots in additional languages will be available in precincts where more than 3% of individuals speak English “less than very well” according to recent census data. Precincts where 20% of the population speaks English “less than very well” will also be eligible for an interpreter.
If a precinct does not meet the 20% threshold, voters can request translation services, voter instructions or sample ballots in additional languages by contacting the Office of Minnesota’s Secretary of State. The Office of the Secretary of State will provide a list of which precincts will be automatically awarded these resources on the effective date.
Elections Administration
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Effective Date: June 15, 2023
A person is guilty of a gross misdemeanor if they: a) intimidate an election official, b) interfere with or hinder the administration of an election, c) disseminate personal information about an election official, d) obstruct an election official’s access to or egress from a polling place, or e) tamper with voting equipment, a ballot box, the registration system, registration list, or polling place roster.
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Effective Date: Fiscal Year 2023
Removed barriers that only existed in Minnesota which prevented the Office of the Secretary of State from accessing crucial federal funds provided specifically to protect and expand our free and fair elections.
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Effective Date: July 1, 2023
It has been an expectation that the State Canvassing Board certifies the results of an election by declaring the candidates who received the highest number of votes the winners. This long-standing tradition is now law, so that even if someone doesn’t favor the outcome of the election, the highest vote getter must be declared the winner.
Money in Politics
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Effective Date: July 1, 2023
Minnesota has adopted federal standards for “Express Advocacy.” Any communication that, when taken as a whole, could only be interpreted by a reasonable person as containing advocacy of the election or defeat of one or more clearly identified candidates will now be considered “express advocacy.” These communications are required to be reported to the Campaign Finance Board.
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Effective Date: January 1, 2024
A foreign-influenced corporation must not make an expenditure to promote or defeat the candidacy of an individual, a ballot question, a candidate for nomination or appointment to a public office, or a political committee, fund, or party unit.