Know your rights to vote safely and
without intimidation or misinformation

• Before voting, you must register to vote. You may register to vote in advance, when casting an absentee ballot, or at the polling place on Election Day.

  To vote, a voter must first register to vote. Voters have multiple ways to register, including on Election Day. First, voters may register in advance until 20 days before Election Day, by either registering online or submitting a completed paper form to the Secretary of State or the appropriate county election office. Minn. Stat. § 201.061, subd. 1. Second, voters may request a registration application when applying for an absentee ballot. Minn. Stat. § 203B.04, subd. 4. They may then return the application with their absentee ballot. Third, under Minnesota’s new automatic voter-registration law, voters may register to vote when applying for or renewing their Minnesota driver’s license, instruction permit, or state identification card. Minn. Stat. § 201.161. Fourth, voters may register on Election Day at their polling place when they go to vote. Minn. Stat. § 201.061, subd. 3.

  Regardless of the method used to register, voters must attest to their eligibility to vote and provide other documentation of eligibility. If you have previously registered to vote but have since moved, you will need to update your registration with your new address.

  Not sure whether you are registered to vote? You can check your status here.

• No one may intimidate or threaten you in the voting process.

  Under federal law, it is illegal to “knowingly and willfully intimidate[ ], threaten[ ], or coerce[ ], or attempt[ ] to intimidate, threaten, or coerce, any person for registering to vote, or voting, or attempting to register or vote.” 52 U.S.C. § 20511(1)(A)

  “A person may not directly or indirectly use or threaten force, coercion, violence, restraint, damage, harm, or loss, including loss of employment or economic reprisal against: any person with the intent to compel that person to register or abstain from registering to vote, vote or abstain from voting, or vote for or against a candidate or ballot question; or any person with the intent to impede that person's efforts to encourage another to cast a ballot or assist another in registering to vote, traveling to a polling place, casting a ballot, or participating in any other aspect of the election process. Minn. Stat. § 211B.075, subd. 1(a) (1)-(2)

  “Abduction, duress, or fraud may not be used to obstruct or prevent the free exercise of the right to vote of a voter at a primary or election, or compel a voter to vote at a primary or election.” Minn. Stat. § 211B.07

• No one may interfere with your right to vote, register to vote, or help someone else vote or register to vote.

  Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone “whether or not acting under color of law” to “by force or threat of force willfully injure[ ], intimidate[ ] or interfere[ ] with, or attempt[ ] to injure, intimidate or interfere with any person…voting or qualifying to vote.” 18 U.S.C. § 245(b)(1)(A)

  “An individual shall be allowed to go to and from the polling place for the purpose of voting without unlawful interference.” Minn. Stat. § 204C.06, subd. 1

  “No person may intentionally hinder, interfere with, or prevent another person from voting, registering to vote, or aiding another person in casting a ballot or registering to vote.” Minn. Stat. § 211B.075, subd. 3

• If you have been convicted of a felony and are not incarcerated, you have the right to vote.

  “An individual who is ineligible to vote because of a felony conviction has the civil right to vote restored during any period when the individual is not incarcerated for the offense. If the individual is later incarcerated for the offense, the individual's civil right to vote is lost only during that period of incarceration … [A]n individual on work release … is not deemed to be incarcerated” for purposes of voting. Minn. Stat. §201.014, subd. 2a.

• No one may force you to vote for or against someone.

  Under federal law, it is illegal to “intimidate[ ], threaten[ ], coerce[ ], or attempt[ ] to intimidate, threaten, or coerce, any other person for the purpose of interfering with the right of such other person to vote or to vote as he may choose, or of causing such other person to vote for, or not to vote for, any candidate” for federal office. 18 U.S.C. § 594

  “A person may not directly or indirectly use or threaten force, coercion, violence, restraint, damage, harm, loss, including loss of employment or economic reprisal, undue influence, or temporal or spiritual injury against an individual to compel the individual to vote for or against a candidate or ballot question.” Minn. Stat. § 211B.07

• No one may deceive you about your right to vote.

  “No person may, within 60 days of an election, cause information to be transmitted by any means that the person: intends to impede or prevent another person from exercising the right to vote; and knows to be materially false. [This] includes but is not limited to information regarding the time, place, or manner of holding an election; the qualifications for or restrictions on voter eligibility at an election; and threats to physical safety associated with casting a ballot.” Minn. Stat. § 211B.075, subd. 2(a) (1)-(2), (b)

• It is illegal to disseminate an election-related deep fake close to an election.

  “A person who disseminates a deep fake or enters into a contract or other agreement to disseminate a deep fake is guilty of a crime … if the person knows or acts with reckless disregard about whether the item being disseminated is a deep fake and dissemination: is made without the consent of the depicted individual; and is made with the intent to injure a candidate or influence the result of an election; and takes place either: within 90 days before a political party nominating convention; or after the start of the absentee voting period prior to a presidential nomination primary, or a regular or special state or local primary or general election.” 2024 Minn. Laws, ch. 112, art. 2, § 76

• Only voters, election officials, and exit pollers, and limited other individuals are allowed are allowed within 100 feet of polling places. So-called “poll watchers” are not allowed within 100 feet of polling places.

  “No one except an election official or an individual who is waiting to register or to vote or an individual who is conducting exit polling shall stand within 100 feet of the building in which a polling place is located.” Minn. Stat. § 204C.06, subd. 1. Exit pollers are subject to strict restrictions and may not “unlawfully interfere with a person going to or from the polling place or allow any person to view another person’s response to the [exit] poll.” 2024 Minn. Laws ch. 112, art. 2, § 25.

  You are also protected from harassment or intimidation by Minnesota state laws against disorderly conduct (Minn. Stat. § 609.72, subd. 1) and threats of violence (Minn. Stat. § 609.713, subd. 1), among others.

• Other than designated officials, people are allowed in polling places only if they are voting or assisting other voters:

  “...an individual may remain inside the polling place during voting hours only while voting or registering to vote, providing proof of residence for an individual who is registering to vote, or assisting a disabled voter or a voter who is unable to read English.” Minn. Stat. § 204C.06, subd. 2(a)

• Whether you’re inside or outside a polling place, no one may harass or intimidate you when you’re trying to vote

  There are clear laws about illegal conduct within 100 feet of polling places, but even beyond that boundary, the same Minnesota state laws against disorderly conduct (Minn. Stat. § 609.72, subd. 1) and threats of violence (Minn. Stat. § 609.713, subd. 1), among others, protect you from harassment or intimidation.

• No one may interfere with you while you cast your ballot.

  “During voting hours no one except individuals receiving, marking, or depositing ballots shall approach within six feet of a voting booth, ballot counter, or electronic voting equipment, unless lawfully authorized to do so by an election judge or the individual is an election judge monitoring the operation of the ballot counter or electronic voting equipment.” Minn. Stat. § 204C.06, subd. 2(a)

• If you need help voting, you may receive help.

  “A voter who claims a need for assistance because of inability to read English or physical inability to mark a ballot may obtain the aid of two election judges who are members of different major political parties. The election judges shall mark the ballots as directed by the voter and in as secret a manner as circumstances permit. A voter in need of assistance may alternatively obtain the assistance of any individual the voter chooses. Only the following persons may not provide assistance to a voter: the voter's employer, an agent of the voter's employer, or an officer or agent of the voter's union.” Minn. Stat. § 204C.15, subd. 1

  “An individual who is unable to enter a polling place where paper ballots or an electronic voting system are used may register and vote without leaving a motor vehicle. Two election judges who are members of different major political parties shall assist the voter to register and to complete a voter's certificate and shall provide the necessary ballots. The voter may request additional assistance in marking ballots…” Minn. Stat. § 204C.15, subd. 2

  “In all polling places two election judges shall assist a disabled voter to enter the polling place and go through the registration and voting lines. The voter may also request the assistance of election judges or any other individual in marking ballots.” Minn. Stat. § 204C.15, subd. 3

  "Any voter who requires assistance to vote by reason of blindness, disability, or inability to read or write may be given assistance by a person of the voter's choice, other than the voter's employer or agent of that employer or officer or agent of the voter's union." 52 U.S.C. § 10508

• Properly designated challengers are allowed in polling places; however, they are subject to restrictions and may not harass or intimidate you or attempt to influence voting in any manner. Challengers can make challenges only in specific, narrow circumstances.

  “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 place for each precinct. Only one challenger from each major political party for each precinct shall be allowed to remain in the polling place at one time.” Minn. Stat. § 204C.07, subd. 1

  “At an election to fill nonpartisan offices, each nonpartisan candidate may appoint by written certificate voters to act as challengers of voters at the polling place for each precinct. Only one challenger for each candidate shall be allowed to remain in the polling place for each precinct at one time.” Minn. Stat. § 204C.07, subd. 2

  “At an election where a question is to be voted upon in an election jurisdiction, the appropriate mayor of a city, school board of a school district, or board of supervisors of a town, upon receiving a written petition signed by at least 25 eligible voters, shall appoint by written certificate one voter for each precinct in the municipality, or school district if applicable, to act as a challenger of voters in the polling place for that precinct. The petition must be delivered to the clerk of the municipality or school conducting the election.” Minn. Stat. § 204C.07, subd.3

  “A challenger must be a resident of this state. Appointed challengers seeking admission to a polling place to serve in that capacity must prove their status as a resident of this state.”  Minn. Stat. § 204C.07, subd. 3a

  “An election judge may not be appointed as a challenger.” Minn. Stat. § 204C.07, subd. 4

  “No challenger shall handle or inspect registration cards, files, or lists. Challengers shall not prepare in any manner any list of individuals who have or have not voted. They shall not attempt to influence voting in any manner. They shall not converse with a voter except to determine, in the presence of an election judge, whether the voter is eligible to vote in the precinct.” Minn. Stat. § 204C.07, subd. 4

  “Challengers and the political parties that appointed them must not compile lists of voters to challenge on the basis of mail sent by a political party that was returned as undeliverable or if receipt by the intended recipient was not acknowledged in the case of registered mail.” Minn. Stat. § 204C.07, subd. 5.

  Authorized challengers may challenge only specific individuals “based on personal knowledge that the individual is not an eligible voter.” Minn. Stat. § 204C.12, subd. 1.

• It is illegal to intimidate or threaten, interfere with, or disseminate personal information about an election official.

  “A person may not directly or indirectly use or threaten force, coercion, violence, restraint, damage, harm, or loss, including loss of employment or economic reprisal, against another with the intent to influence an election official in the performance of a duty of election administration.” Minn. Stat. § 211B.072, subd. 2(a)

  “A person may not intentionally hinder, interfere with, or prevent an election official's performance of a duty related to election administration.” Minn. Stat. § 211B.072, subd. 3

  “A person may not knowingly and without consent make publicly available, including but not limited to through the Internet, personal information about an election official or an election official's family or household member if: the dissemination poses an imminent and serious threat to the official's safety or the safety of an official's family or household member; and the person making the information publicly available knows or reasonably should know of any imminent and serious threat.” Minn. Stat. § 211B.076, subd. 4(a)(1)-(2)

  “’[P]ersonal information’ means a home telephone number, personal cell number, personal email address, name of the official's minor child, photographs of the official's minor child, home address directions to a home, or photographs of a home.” 2024 Minn. Laws, ch. 112, art. 2, §  62

• Law enforcement may not interfere with your right to vote.

  “An election judge may request a sergeant-at-arms or a peace officer to arrest or remove from the polling place any individual who, despite a warning to desist, engages in disorderly conduct. A sergeant-at-arms or a peace officer shall not otherwise interfere in any manner with voters.” Minn. Stat. § 204C.06, subd. 5

  “Except when summoned by an election judge to restore the peace or when voting or registering to vote, no peace officer shall enter or remain in a polling place or stand within 50 feet of the entrance of a polling place.” Minn. Stat. § 204C.06, subd. 6

• Private armed forces are illegal in Minnesota and may not interfere with your right to vote.

  “It shall not be lawful for any body of persons, other than the National Guard, troops of the United States and, with the consent of the governor, sons and daughters of veterans and cadets of educational institutions where military science is taught, to associate themselves together as a military company with arms.” Minn. Stat. § 624.61

  Under Minnesota state law, it is illegal to “assemble[ ] with one or more persons for the purpose of training with, practicing with, or being instructed in the use of any firearm, or explosive or incendiary device capable of causing injury or death, with the intent that it be unlawfully employed for use in, or in furtherance of, a civil disorder.” Minn. Stat. § 609.669, subd. 1(2)

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