Minnesota - City of Minneapolis, Elections & Voter Services
Program Title
Leveraging Pop-Up Voting to Expand Ballot Access
Program Summary
Law changes in 2023 allowed for pop-up-style voting in Minnesota. Prior even to the passage of the new law, Minneapolis Elections & Voter Services (EVS) met with connections across the University of Minnesota, including Student Government and Civic Engagement entities, to discuss opportunities to engage with the campus community. Each group was energized to envision novel ways of bringing voting to campus. Following an extensive process, EVS selected the University of Minnesota as an ideal location for a 2023 pilot. Given the expected lower turnout of this municipal election, the presence of only one race, and the fact this was the first pop-up, a low turnout was predicted for the site. However, a total of 95 voters cast their ballot at the pop-up polling place, which was roughly double the optimistic internal EVS projections. Building on this success, Minneapolis has created an extensive city-wide plan for the 2024 general elections, which addresses language needs, low turnout, and innovative marketing to expand access to the ballot box.