Prepare to Vote

Voting in elections is your opportunity to be heard, hold elected officials accountable and have a say in important issues that affect your community. Prepare to vote so you can take part in our democracy.

What is on the Ballot for the Primary and General Elections?

The Primary Election:

There may be two kinds of offices on your primary ballot: partisan offices and nonpartisan offices.

Partisan offices

Partisan offices will list a political party next to a candidate’s name on the ballot. All state and federal offices—such as U.S. representative or Minnesota senator—are partisan offices.

Partisan candidates will be listed in two columns on the front side of the primary ballot. One column will list the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party candidates. The other column will list the Republican Party candidates.

You can only vote for candidates from one political party. If you vote for candidates from both political parties, your votes will not count. You decide which one of the two parties you will vote for—Minnesota does not have political party registration.

Nonpartisan offices

Nonpartisan offices will not list a political party next to a candidate’s name on the ballot. For example, county, city, township and school board offices are nonpartisan.

Nonpartisan offices will be listed on the back side of the primary ballot. You can vote for any candidate. The candidates who get the most votes will be on the November general election ballot.

SAMPLE BALLOT

Election Laws

The date of the Public Accuracy Testing will be posted later and will occur at the Ramsey County Election Offices located at 90 West Plato Blvd, St. Paul.