How well do you know Minnesota's Election Day rules? Take our quiz
Rules for conduct in and around polling places on Election Day impose strict guidelines on what voters are allowed to wear, do, and even say to ensure free and fair elections.
How well do you know your polling place rights?
Take our election rights quiz to find out!
1. Which location is eligible to be a polling place?
A) The event space of a local restaurant
B) A one-room church 2 miles outside of the precinct
C) A second-floor school cafeteria with elevators under construction
D) A private community center’s party room
While polling places are generally large community hubs like churches and schools, state statue doesn’t require them to be. Polling places must be within 1 mile of the precinct it represents, be accessible to the elderly and disabled, and cannot be a location where intoxicating liquors, cannabis products or nonintoxicating malt beverages are served.
The answer: D
2. Who is allowed in polling places?
A) Election judges, sergeants-at-arms, poll challengers and voters
B) Representatives of the Office of the Secretary of State, Office of the County Auditor, and municipal or school district clerk, as well as election judges, sergeants-at-arms, poll challengers, news media representatives and voters
C) Any registered voter
D) Any registered voter who is not a member of a campaign for a candidate or measure on the ballot that day
Minnesota state statute limits entry into polling places to election staff, voters, poll challengers, and officials from specific offices. Even reporters observing polling places must present two forms of identification and be accompanied by the head election judge while inside.
State rules for conduct within polling places are even more strict. No one except election judges is allowed to be within 6 feet of a voting booth, ballot counter, or electronic voting equipment unless they are legally authorized.
The answer: B
3. Who is allowed within 100 feet of polling places?
A) Everyone
B) Everyone except campaign staff for candidates and measures on the ballot that day unless they are in line to vote
C) No one except elections judges working at the polling place and individuals waiting to vote or update voter registration
D) No one except election officials, individuals waiting to vote or update voter registration, and those conducting exit polls
Even the area outside of polling places is restricted on Election Day. While voters must be allowed to come and go from polling places, no one except election officials, individuals waiting to vote or update voter registration, and those conducting exit polls are allowed within 100 feet of polling places.
The answer: D
4. What public meeting would be allowed on Election Day?
A) A regularly scheduled city council meeting at 7 p.m. with prior authorization from the Office of the Secretary of State
B) A high school pep rally starting at 6 p.m.
C) Regularly scheduled night classes at the University of Minnesota
D) A special meeting of the House Elections Finance and Government Operations Committee
State agencies, boards, commissions, departments and committees are not allowed to schedule meetings at any time on Election Day or when voting takes place in a state primary.
Local governments including school boards, city councils, county boards of commissioners and public elementary and secondary schools can schedule meetings except for between 6-8 p.m. School-sponsored events at public elementary and secondary schools are also prohibited between 6-8 p.m. Regularly scheduled classes, even those between 6-8 p.m. are allowed, however.
The answer: C
5. What can’t you wear in polling places?
A) Campaign T-shirts, buttons or literature for specific candidates, parties, or ballot questions that are on the ballot that day
B) Campaign T-shirts, clothing and material specifically referencing, or implied to be referencing, a major political party
C) Any clothing or material that displays allegiance, loyalty or argumentation for a candidate, political party or ideology that is on the ballot that day.
D) Head election judges are allowed to decide what clothing is acceptable at their polling location as long as their decision is supported by the co-head election judge at that polling location
Campaign materials including buttons, T-shirts and literature for specific candidates, parties or ballot questions on the ballot that day are not allowed in polling places. If worn, they must be covered up or removed while inside a polling place and to vote.
The answer: A
6. Do polling places have to display the national flag?
A) No
B) Yes
If you have ever wondered if your community looks more patriotic on Election Day, this might be why. Election judges must display the national flag at polling places on Election Day by law.
The answer: B
7. Are you allowed to vote after the polling place is officially closed?
A) No
B) Any voter in line before the polling place is scheduled to close can vote, even if voting takes place after the site was scheduled to close
C) Any voter in line can vote for one hour after the polling place is supposed to close
D) Polling places must stay open to accommodate all voters in line even if they arrive after the polling place is scheduled to close
Rest assured that if you are in a line at a polling place before it has closed, you will have the opportunity to vote. Polling places must allow all voters in line an opportunity to vote if they were in line before the site’s scheduled closing time.
Potential voters attempting to join a line after the polling place has already closed, however, are not eligible to vote.
Local election officials can have the site remain open one hour after the regularly scheduled closing time to allow more voters the opportunity to vote if a polling place has been combined with another polling place or moved from a previous location.
The answer: B
8. Are poll watchers allowed in Minnesota?
A) No. No partisan officials are allowed in polling places unless they are election staff
B) No, but one poll challenger appointed by each major political party is allowed to remain in a polling place at a time
C) Yes, but only one poll watcher appointed by each major political party is allowed to remain in a polling place at one time
D) Yes, but no more than five poll watchers of any political party are allowed in any one polling place at a time
Poll watchers are not allowed by Minnesota law. Instead, political parties can appoint poll challengers who may challenge an individual based on “personal knowledge that the individual is not an eligible voter.”
Poll challengers are not allowed to handle or inspect registration cards, files, or lists, talk with voters or attempt to influence voting in any manner.
The answer: B
9. Can you vote from a motor vehicle outside of a polling place?
A) No
B) No, unless the voter is legally disabled
C) Yes, but only if the voter has received approval from the Office of the Secretary of State when registering to vote
D) Yes
Minnesota voters are allowed to vote from a motor vehicle if they are unable to enter a polling place. Two election judges from different political parties must assist the voter in registering to vote, updating their registration and completing the voter’s certificate.
The answer: D
10. Are companies forced to allow employees time off to vote?
A) Yes, but only for presidential elections
B) Yes, but only for non-special elections
C) Yes
D) No
Every eligible voter has the right to leave work to go to a polling place and vote without penalty or a deduction in salary or income on Election Day for all regularly scheduled elections. Employers are not allowed to “directly or indirectly refuse, abridge, or interfere with this right or any other election right of an employee,” according to state law.
The answer: C
11. Which of the following is legal for a media representative to do inside a polling place?
A) Speak with voters before they receive a ballot
B) Tally the number of voters that vote or don’t vote in a polling place
C) Observe a polling place after 8 p.m.
D) Interview election judges
According to Minnesota law, media members must present a photo ID along with media credential or a written statement from a local election official attesting to media credentials to the head judge of a polling place in order to enter and observe.
News media representatives are not allowed to come within 6 feet of voters, speak with voters, make a list of persons voting and not voting, and interfere with the voting process in any way.
Members of news media are also allowed to stand within 100 feet outside of a polling place to exit poll.
The answer: D
12. Which of the following is on the Minnesota Voter’s Bill of Rights?
A) If you make a mistake or spoil your ballot before it is submitted, you have the right to receive a replacement ballot and vote.
B) You have the right to be absent from work for the purpose of voting in a state, federal, or regularly scheduled election without reduction to your pay, personal leave, or vacation time on Election Day for the time necessary to appear at your polling place, cast a ballot, and return to work.
C) If you need assistance, you may be accompanied into the voting booth by a person of your choice, except by an agent of your employer or union.
D) All of the above
The Minnesota Voter’s Bill of Rights is a 14-point list of voting rights first adopted in 2004. It guarantees voters’ rights including access to a polling place, standards for voting eligibility, and what voters can bring into a polling place.
The answer: D
For more information on your polling place rights, visit the Secretary of State’s website on voting rights.
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