Vote

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Vote

Great public schools begin at the ballot box

Elections for state and federal offices take place every even numbered year. The election season is a critical time for elected officials and candidates to travel throughout their districts to listen to the concerns and priorities of their constituents.

This is one of the few occasions when citizens
are able to solicit solid commitments from candidates
and incumbents if they are elected into office.

If public education is going to be an important issue on state agendas, there must be a strong base of people willing to learn about candidates, share information, and, most importantly:

VOTE on Election Day
The Governor and all 201 Minnesota legislators are up for election in November 2010.

Minnesota's 2010 Race for Governor: Who's on first? - A preliminary list of 2010 gubernatorial candidates, Politics in Minnesota.

Candidates for Constitutional Office
Registered with the Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board

2009 Local Candidate Filings
Find local candidate filings for upcoming elections
(not yet updated for 2010)
Minnesota Secretary of State

There are four important dates in an election year:

Precinct Caucuses—February 2, 2010
Community members come together at precinct caucuses to build an agenda of the issues and to support candidates to run for elected office.
Primary Elections—Previously September, now August 10
Primary elections narrow the field of candidates to one per political party for the November general election.
Voter Registration Deadline—October
You need to register to vote if you’ve never voted before, if you’ve moved since the last election, or if you haven’t voted in 4 years. The deadline for pre-registration is twenty days before Election Day. NOTE: Minnesota allows citizens to register at the polls. The Secretary of State provides Voter Registration information in multiple languages.
General Elections—November
The general election is when voters choose who will represent them at the federal, state and local levels. It’s held every two years on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November.

Resources from the League of Women Voters:

Voter Guide - Enter your address to find your list of candidates, ballot questions and more! And check out Road to Election Day, the League's guide to participating in the Minnesota political process.

Additional Resources

Nonprofits, Voting, and Elections (Updated March 2008) - A guide for 501(c)3 organizations on how to conduct election-related activities, NonprofitVote.org.

More information on the rules guiding the election and advocacy activities of 501(c)3 organizations, Parents United.

Vote (2010) - Download and print to take to your next parent group meeting, Parents United (MS Word).

House Election Statistics -Minnesota House of Representatives.

In This Section

Precinct Caucuses

Election Resources

2010 Gubernatorial Candidates

March 3, 2010

August primary bill signed into law
Moves the date of the primary from September to August 10 to comply with a new federal law mandating more time in between the primary and general elections for military and overseas voters to get their ballots in on time.

July 21, 2009

2008 surge in Black voters nearly erased racial gap - In last year’s presidential election, younger blacks voted in greater proportions than whites for the first time and black women turned out at a higher rate than any other racial, ethnic and gender group, a census analysis released Monday confirmed, New York Times (Minnesota Participation Project).

April 30, 2009

Dissecting the 2008 Electorate: Most Diverse in U.S. History - The electorate in last year's presidential election was the most racially and ethnically diverse in U.S. history, with nearly one-in-four votes cast by non-whites, according to a new analysis of Census Bureau data by the Pew Research Center. The nation's three biggest minority groups -- blacks, Hispanics and Asians -- each accounted for unprecedented shares of the presidential vote in 2008, Pew Research Center (Press Release).

March 18, 2009

2008 Minnesota Legislative Report Card on Racial Equity - The state legislature and governor earned an “F” during the 2008 legislative session. Seven of the 15 racial equity bills that were considered for this report became law; giving the state legislature and governor an overall score of 47 percent, Organizing Apprenticeship Project (Executive Summary).