View Scorecard for Year
Grade TL;DR
Over the past two years, little movement was seen in the pro-voter landscape in Minnesota. The only election-related legislation passed over the last two years encompasses some progress on dropboxes. In 2022, the secretary of state did a great job on fighting back against voter fraud conspiracies in the state surrounding the 2020 election, as well as advocating for continued upgrades to voter registration systems in order to keep the state’s rolls secure and up-to-date. Although we didn’t see as much progress as we would have hoped over the past two years in the Legislature, we are weighing the efforts made by the secretary of state highly in Minnesota’s grade. Therefore, Minnesota received a B on this year’s scorecard.
Looking Back
Where Minnesota Started in 2020
- Automatic Voter Registration: No
- Online Voter Registration: Open to all Eligible
- Same-Day Registration: Yes
- Restoration of Rights: Parole and/or Probation Disenfranchisement
- Vote by Mail: No-Excuse
- Electronic Registration Information Center Member: Yes
- Early Voting Opportunities: In-Person Absentee
- ID Requirements: No Document Required
Relying on the Cost of Voting Index for Minnesota as of 2020, we considered the state a top tier state for pre-existing voting policy and compared its 2021-22 activity against other top tier states.
How Our Tier Compares:
2021: Two Years Ago
Legislative Action
- Although the Minnesota Legislature introduced dozens of election-related bills during the 2021 regular session, none of them became law.
- The Legislature did manage to pass a few pro-voter dropbox-related provisions in a state budget appropriation bill during the second special session.
- S 2 specifically authorizes local election clerks to provide drop boxes for absentee ballots and requires officials to publish the box locations online at least 35 days before absentee voting starts.
2022: This Past Year
Legislative Action
- Again, the Legislature introduced a plethora of election-related bills during the 2022 session and again, none of them became law.
Executive Action
- In the face of repeated disinformation campaigns and baseless conspiracy theories about the 2020 election, Secretary of State Simon has remained a voice of reason and continues to advocate for important pro-voter reforms such as automatic voter registration and the restoration of voting rights for formerly incarcerated individuals.