YOUR Postsecondary Questions

Your Questions.  Our Answers (and Resources).

At any time, please reach out with questions and requests for resources and information to:

Michael Wall, Youth Voter Outreach Specialist      Michael.Wall@state.mn.us      651-201-6892

We don't have any on-campus housing but if I am understanding the requirements correctly, I am to submit a housing list for all our students who reside within the city our campus is in. Is this correct? Many of our students' permanent addresses are elsewhere but they have a temporary address that is local, am I to include temporary addresses on that list?

This is an important question.  Here are a few scenarios, but the short answer is if you have an address for them in your city/town, they should be on the list:

1. Student A comes from another area of the state, has a mailing and billing address in your system (let’s say Mom and Dad A’s house) in that other area, and while they live in your city now, they never reported it to the school. They won’t be on your list.  (You aren't responsible to track down the differences between the permanent/billing address they give you and where they are living while they go to school.)  If they did tell the school they are living in in the same city, they should be on your list.
2. Student B commutes from an address in your city, which you have had from the beginning as their address.  On the list!
3. Student C Is from San Diego, and when they moved to Minnesota to go to school at your institution, they gave their local address for office use, mailing, etc.  On the list!

MN Statute: Section 135A.17, Subd. 2

MN Statute: Section 201.061, Subd. 3(d)

Contact your county with questions on list format and other details.

Is there a new law that says the county must put an early voting site on campus? When does it start?  Who pays for it?

The 2024 Omnibus Election Bill (exciting bedtime reading!) established two things that connect to your question:

1) Starting January 1, 2025, at the request of a postsecondary institution providing on-campus housing to at least 100 students, the county or city who handles early voting must create an additional temporary polling place for the state general election (or the odd-year city general election) for at least one day at a location they agree upon.  There are specific requirements, but that is the general gist.

2) Starting July 1 of 2024, those counties and cities who set up these temporary sites can get reimbursed for some of the costs (which they cover, not the school).  

That means that fall of 2024, they don't have to set up a temporary site when asked to, but if they do, they get money back!  So...you may want to ask them. :)

Section 13: amended the 2023 Supplement, section 203B.081, subdivision 4)

Section 14: [203B.0815] TEMPORARY LOCATIONS REIMBURSEMENTS; POSTSECONDARY INSTITUTIONS.

Contact your county with questions on requesting a temporary early voting site on campus.