2007 Minnesota Statutes

204C.05 STATE ELECTIONS; HOURS FOR VOTING.
    Subdivision 1. Opening and closing times. Except as otherwise provided in this section, at
the state primary and the state general election the hours for voting in every precinct in the state
shall begin at 7:00 a.m. and shall extend continuously until 8:00 p.m.
    Subd. 1a. Elections; organized town. The governing body of a town with less than 500
inhabitants according to the most recent federal decennial census, which is located outside the
metropolitan area as defined in section 200.02, subdivision 24, may fix a later time for voting to
begin at state primary, special, or general elections, if approved by a vote of the town electors at
the annual town meeting. The question of shorter voting hours must be included in the notice of
the annual town meeting before the question may be submitted to the electors at the meeting. The
later time may not be later than 10:00 a.m. for special, primary, or general elections. The town
clerk shall either post or publish notice of the changed hours and notify the county auditor of the
change 30 days before the election.
    Subd. 1b. Elections; unorganized territory. An unorganized territory or unorganized
territories which constitute a voting district may have shorter voting hours if at least 20 percent of
the registered voters residing in the voting district sign a petition for shorter hours and present
it to the county auditor. The later time may not be later than 10:00 a.m. for special, primary, or
general elections. The county auditor shall either post or publish notice of the changed hours,
within the voting district, 30 days before the election.
    Subd. 2. Voters in line at closing. At or before the hour when voting is scheduled to begin,
the election judges shall agree upon the standard of time they will use to determine when voting
will begin and end. Voting shall not be allowed after the time when it is scheduled to end, unless
individuals are waiting in the polling place or waiting in line at the door to register or to vote.
The voting shall continue until those individuals have been allowed to vote. No individual who
comes to the polling place or to a line outside the polling place after the time when voting is
scheduled to end shall be allowed to vote.
History: 1981 c 29 art 5 s 5; 1983 c 303 s 13; 1985 c 169 s 6; 2005 c 156 art 6 s 40