College and University Information and Resources

Welcome! Education beyond high school is a great journey with lots of benefits.  Whether at a 2-year, 4-year, trade school, public or private institution, postsecondary education has so much to offer.  But this page is about voting and elections. Did you know that Minnesota is consistently at or near the top of voter turnout in the nation, including young voters, 18-29! (We were #1 in 2024!)

One reason we have such high numbers is that Minnesota law requires postsecondary campuses to have a Campus Vote Coordinator, a voting and elections web page, collaboration with student government to plan voter outreach efforts on campus, to create an annual written campus outreach plan, distribute voter registration information twice a year, and more! 

Another reason we are so successful is that our Secretary of State's Office, county and city elections offices, and many community groups work with students on topics like voting, advocacy, and civic engagement.  This page is your jumping-off point for all things voting and elections for you and other students at your campus.

If you are left with any questions, if you have suggestions for this website, if you'd like resources or a speaker for your campus, or if you'd like support in running voting-related events or programs (that's a lot of IFs!) reach out to us at voteroutreach.oss@state.mn.us.

Institutional Resources:

• Postsecondary Laws and Requirements Around Voting

• Annual Reports and Outreach Plans

• Running Voter Registration Drives on Campus

• Voter Outreach Materials

• Faculty Guide to Running Voter Registration in Your Classroom

Student Resources Around Voting and Elections:

• Voter Registration

• First Time Voter Resources

• Postsecondary Student Information and Answers

• Election Misinformation and Disinformation

• Contact your Elected Representatives

• Running Voter Registration Drives on Campus

• Become an Election Judge

• Student Study Abroad Toolkit

Events and Programs:

• The Democracy Cup Voter Turnout Competition

• National Voter Registration Day

• ALL IN Democracy Challenge

Additional Resources:

• Examples of Postsecondary Outreach

• Misinformation and Disinformation (Election Facts Webpage)

• Post-Secondary Webinars

• Comprehensive Voter Outreach Toolkit

County Resources:  Working with Campuses on Student Lists, Campus Agreements, On-Campus Polling Places, Voter Outreach, Voter Education, etc.

Institutional Resources

• Postsecondary Laws and Requirements Around Voting
  Minnesota Statutes outline a series of mandatory actions, items, and submissions for every postsecondary institution that accepts state financial aid.  Find out more here.

• Annual Reports and Outreach Plans
  What you need to know about what is do each November, and how they help you serve your students in becoming engaged in their community.

• Running Voter Registration Drives on Campus
  A fun, easy project that helps students while supporting democracy.

• Voter Outreach Materials
  Applications, Fact Sheets, Graphics, Flyers, Videos and More!

• Faculty Guide to Running Voter Registration in Your Classroom
  Take a few minutes of class time to walk through online registration and share why voting is such an important civic activity.

Student Resources Around Voting and Elections

• Voter Registration
  Everything you need to be registered to vote. (Save time at the polls or when you vote early by registering now!)

• First Time Voter Resources 
  What you need to know about what you will see, what you will be asked, and more!

• Postsecondary Student Voting Information and Answers
  It's your vote, and your questions answered on this page.  

• Election Misinformation and Disinformation
  Fact vs. opinion (and fact vs. fiction), transparency, and the balance of access and secutity.

• Contact your Elected Representatives
  Learn who your representatives are and how to get in touch.

• Running Voter Registration Drives on Campus
  A fun, easy project that helps fellow students while supporting democracy.  Student government, clubs, classes- anyone can run registration!

• Become an Election Judge
  It takes 36,000 people to run an election, and you can be one of them!  Paid training, paid work day, see how an election is actually run, and help your neighbors cast their vote.  Did we mention it's paid?

• Student Study Abroad Toolkit
  Any Minnesotan who is out of state or out of the country has methods to vote.  Learn about voting while you study abroad.

Events and Programs

• The Democracy Cup Voter Turnout Competition
  Inspire your campus to turnout to vote, and have fun in the process!  This good-spirited competition in even-numbered years involves every campus and student association in Minnesota, and is judged by the NSLVE data of who came out to vote.

• National Voter Registration Day
  Join campuses and organization across the country in voter registration and education programing.

• ALL IN Democracy Challenge
  This national organization is a great support to outreach work on campus!  (Look under Resources for help with your campus engagement plan.)

Additional Resources

• Examples of Postsecondary Outreach
  Other campuses have some great ideas!  See what they have been doing.
  
  
• Misinformation and Disinformation (Election Facts Webpage)
  The Internet is not all facts (there are lots of opinions), and not everything stated as a fact is true.  How can you tell what is and what isn't accurate?

• Postsecondary Webinars
  Recordings of workshops and webinars the OSS has presented for colleges, universities, and trade schools.

• Comprehensive Voter Outreach Toolkit
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County Resources

Information Regarding Student Lists, Campus Agreements, Campus Polling Places, etc.
How can county elections offices help campuses with their elections-related requirements,
advise campuses on on-site polling places and early voting sites,
and generally supporting voter outreach at trade schools, colleges, and universities.