Politics and Elections

Minnesota Election Information • Minnesota Political Parties • Minnesota Lobbying and Campaign Finance • Redistricting • National Election Resources • Research and Public Engagement Organizations • National Lobbying and Campaign Finance • Voting Statistics and Election Results-Historical • Minnesota Media Political Coverage

Minnesota Election Information

• Center for the Study of Politics and Governance - A part of the University of Minnesota's Humphrey Institute. Their Smart Politics website offers national and local political analysis.
• Election Law & Voting Resources - A compilation of information from the Minnesota Law Library. 
• Elections & Redistricting - Publications from the Minnesota House of Representatives, House Research Department.
• Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State - Minnesota's secretary of state serves as the chief elections officer in Minnesota and works closely with county and local election officials to administer elections. The secretary chairs a State Canvassing Board, which certifies the results of elections.
  • Election Administration and Campaigns - this area of the SOS website provides information on how to become a candidate, Minnesota election laws, calendars, and election data and maps.
  • Minnesota Precinct Caucus Information and a Caucus Finder - Use to find out where to attend your precinct caucus.
  • My Ballot - An interactive database that provides the names of candidates and questions that will be on the ballot for your precinct.
• Researching Legislators - A compilation of print and online resources on current and former Minnesota legislators from the Legislative Reference Library.

Minnesota Media Political Coverage

• Morning Hot Dish - The Star Tribune's morning newsletter on politics and public policy.
• Minnesota Politics and Government on Twitter - A wiki listing of Minnesota politicians, governments, political reporters, bloggers and others who are involved in politics and have a Twitter presence.
• Politics and Government - Online coverage of Minnesota politics from Minnesota Public Radio.
• The Political Animal - Politics and policy of Minnesota from Pioneer Press reporters (blog).
• Twin Cities Public Television (TPT) - Two weekly programs that focus on Minnesota politics, Almanac and Almanac at the Capitol (during the legislative session).
• WCCO's Reality Check - Minnesota veteran TV reporter, Pat Kessler, investigates issues and political ads for their veracity.

Minnesota Lobbying and Campaign Finance

• Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board: Member Appointment and Confirmation Process - A publication from the Minnesota House of Representatives, House Research Department.
• League of Women Voters Minnesota - Information about the League's activities and publications, as well as Minnesota legislative and election links.
• Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board - Responsible for the development and administration of programs for registration, disclosure, and enforcement of the Ethics in Government Act. A variety of Public Official Lists and Lobbyist Lists are available, as well as the Lobbyist Handbook.
• Minnesota Government Relations Council (MGRC) - Formed in 1979, the MGRC is a nonprofit corporation dedicated to the promotion and advancement of the ethical and professional standards of legislative representation.
• Legislator Voting Records and Ratings - A Minnesota Legislative Reference Library guide to votes cast by Minnesota Legislators.
• Lobbying (in Minnesota) - Provides a basic overview from the Minnesota State Legislature's website.

Minnesota Political Parties

• State Regulation of Political Parties - A 7-page brief from the Minnesota House of Representatives, House Research Department.
• Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) Party (Minnesota) - Information on DFL leadership and elected officials with current press releases and party documents. See also the national Democratic Party site.
• Grassroots Party 
• Green Party of Minnesota - See also the national Green Party of the United States site.
• Independence-Alliance Party of Minnesota - Includes their platform.
• Legal Marijuana Now Party - Opposed to drug prohibition, Legal Marijuana Now was established in 1998 in St. Paul, MN. 
• Libertarian Party of Minnesota - Includes their platform. See also the national Libertarian Party site.
• Minnesota/Dakotas District, CPUSA - Links to the national Communist Party USA site.
• Natural Law Party - Platform, news and issues.
• Republican Party of Minnesota - Information on party leadership, elected officials, and their Party Resources page with party platform and constitution. See also the Republican National Committee, including party platform documents.

National Election Resources

• Campaigns & Elections - Online version of the magazine with the same name.
• The Electoral College - An overview from the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL).
• National Association of Secretaries of State - A wealth of election related information.
• Voting Assistance Guide - Everything you need to know about absentee voting in all 55 States, territories and the District of Columbia.
• Voter Identification Requirements - Current information on Voter ID laws and developments provided by the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL).

National Lobbying and Campaign Finance

• Common Cause - A large, nonprofit, grass roots initiative promoting open, honest, and accountable government. Many of its efforts focus on campaign finance and lobby disclosure reforms.
• Federal Election Commission - The independent federal agency that gathers campaign finance data on presidential and congressional campaigns.
• Follow the Money.org - Reports and a searchable database on campaign contributions in state politics. Includes information on Minnesota candidates.
• OpenSecrets.org - Center for Responsive Politics - Provides databases, searchable by zip code, for researching the role money plays in Congressional elections and actions.

Redistricting

• Congressional Demographics - New look-up tool from the U.S. Census Bureau that allows quick display of population, education, housing, marital status and other data about each Congressional District.
• Elections & Redistricting - Publications from the Minnesota House of Representatives, House Research Department.
• Overview of Reapportionment and Redistricting in Minnesota - Legislative Reference Library overview of the reapportionment and redistricting process. The guide provides information and links to many resources, as well as links to four decades of guides on Minnesota's redistricting efforts: 2020, 2010, 2000 and 1990. 
• Redistricting - Publications and presentations from the nonpartisan Minnesota Senate Counsel, Research and Fiscal Analysis Office (SCRFA)

Research and Public Engagement Organizations

• Citizens for Election Integrity - Minnesota -- A nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that advocates for transparent elections and provides a searchable database of State Recount Laws.
• FactCheck.org - A nonpartisan site dedicated to the reduction of confusion and deception in the United States political process. This watchdog group monitors the accuracy of political statements made by the major political players.
• National Popular Vote - Nonprofit group attempting to make the electoral college vote for president reflect the popular vote.
• Recall of State Officials - The National Conference of State Legislatures' (NCSL) site with current information on the eighteen states that allow for recall. Site also provides recall history, use of recall over time, and grounds for recall in the various states.
• The Pew Research Center - An independent research group that studies attitudes toward the press, politics, and public policy issues. Their site includes: Electionline.org - current news and information related to election reform.
• U.S. Election Assistance Commission - Their website aims to help the public find answers to their voting questions and creates a centralized database of information on past elections.
• U.S. Electoral College - Information from the National Archives and Records Administration.
• U.S. Politics & Government - Information from the nonprofit public policy Brookings Institution.

Voting Statistics and Election Results--Historical

• American National Election Studies (ANES) - High quality data on voting, public opinion, and political participation since 1948.
• Center for American Women and Politics - Statistical data compiled by Rutgers University related to women elected to or serving in state and national government offices in the United States. The Fast Facts page provides links to current and historical data.
• CNN Politics - Cable Network News (CNN) website provides historical data on the recent presidential, congressional, and gubernatorial races in the United States from Election Center 2020 and Election Center 2016.
• Initiative and Referendum Institute - A non-partisan educational organization providing historical state I&R data. 
• Minnesota Election Results - Historical election data from the Minnesota Secretary of State.
• Minnesota Historical Election Archive - Searchable website collecting the returns of nearly 20,000 elections since statehood. Curated by Smart Politics.
• Project Vote Smart - A national, nonprofit, nonpartisan voter information service. Use their Voting Records area to see how your U.S. Congressperson or State Legislator has voted on a particular bill.
• U.S. Census Data on Voting and Registration - Demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of the United States population as it relates to voting.

See Also Special Interest Groups

The sites listed on this page are not created, maintained, or endorsed by the Minnesota Legislature.