Transparency and Public Access

Minnesota elections are the envy of the nation! We are proud of our strong voter turnout, laws that ensure access to the ballot, robust security measures, and the transparency that's an essential part of maintaining trust in the system. All aspects of elections are governed by state and federal law, and many functions are open or available to the public.

Here's how you can see for yourself how elections work:

Become an Election Judge

The best way to learn about the system is to see how it operates from the inside! It takes around 30,000 election workers to hold an election in Minnesota. County and city governments are always looking for qualified applicants. It's a great service to the community (and you get paid). Find out more and how to apply. 

Attend Public Accuracy Testing

Before every election, local election officials test all equipment to be used in that election. For the preliminary testing, ballots are marked with assistive voting devices, a set of pre-marked ballots is fed into the ballot tabulators, and the machine's totals are compared with the pre-determined results. Some equipment is also tested at a Public Accuracy Test shortly before the election. Public Accuracy Tests are open to the public—contact your local election official to find the time and location of their next scheduled test.

Attend a Post-Election Review

By state law, after every state general election, Minnesota counties perform a post-election review of election results. The review is a hand count of the ballots for each eligible election (U.S. President, U.S. Senator, U.S. Representative, and Governor) in the selected precincts compared with the results from the voting system used in those precincts. Find out more about post-election reviews here. 

Attend a Canvassing Board Meeting

The results of an election are not official until they have been reviewed by a canvassing board. These groups meet at both a county and statewide level to confirm and certify the results of an election. These meetings are always open to the public. Find out more about canvassing boards here.