MN Presidential Primary

According to MN Statute 207A.12, “the results of the presidential nomination primary must bind the election of [MN political party] delegates” who will attend each party’s nomination convention and vote.

Meaning: when MN voters select a winning candidate for a party, those delegates from MN must vote for that candidate at the national convention.

Please note that there may be slight differences in how the rules for presidential primaries in other states. Please visit your state’s Secretary of State’s office to learn more or contact the political party.

Yes! Voters must be registered in Minnesota to partake in the presidential primary. The deadline to pre-register online is February 13th, 2024.

Same-day registration is also available, but community members are advised to register in advance to avoid the lines.

Learn how to register to vote

Oles that are registered to vote in Minnesota and live on campus will use the ballrooms in Buntrock Commons as a polling place.

Students, faculty, and staff who live off campus will need to identify their polling place online. As a reminder, Northfield’s zip code is 55057.

Find your polling place

Students who will be abroad for the spring semester or who will be away from campus on the day of the presidential primary are able to vote absentee starting the 19th of January. Ballots must be received by Election Day so make sure to do this sooner rather than later. Particularly for students who are studying abroad, the Overseas Vote Foundation has great information about being civically engaged while out of the country.

Learn more about voting away from campus

Each participating major party (Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, the Legal Marijuana Now Party and the Republican Party) will have a separate ballot. Only presidential candidates will appear on the ballots.

Registered voters must select the ballot of the party of their choice. Voters can only vote on one ballot. If a voter refuses to select a party, they will not be able to vote in the presidential nomination primary. Selecting a specific party does not register the individual with that party; however, voters must attest that they generally support the principles of a specific party in order to get that party’s ballot in the presidential primary contest. If you’re voting early by mail, you need to check a box on the absentee ballot application attesting to the party’s principles.

A list of who voted in a presidential nomination primary as well as the political party each voter selected will be provided to the state chair of only the voter’s chosen political party (a change from the 2020 presidential primary election). How a voter voted on the ballot will remain confidential.

Note: The ballot for the MN presidential primary was official submitted on December 12th, 2023. As such, there may be candidates listed on the ballot who have since dropped out of the race.

Historically, MN has had precinct caucuses hosted by each political party to choose all federal and state level candidates running for office and the party platform. In 2019, the MN state legislature decided, as a way to make determining party candidates for president more accessible to all registered voters, to run a separate Presidential Nomination Primary (PNP) on March 5, otherwise known as “Super Tuesday” when many other states are also running primary elections or caucuses, including: Alabama, Alaska (R), Arkansas, California, Colorado, Iowa (D), Maine, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, and Virginia.

Precinct caucuses are the first step in a process that will decide whom the party endorses for office at the state and federal level.   This year’s precinct caucuses will be held on Tuesday, February 27 at 7:00 pm at the following locations:

• Democratic-Farmer-Laborer (DFL) party at Northfield Middle School
• Legalize Marijuana Now: contact the party for location
• Republican Party: contact the party for location

The precinct caucuses send delegates to progressively larger regional, state, and finally national conventions held each June. Then the party-endorsed candidate will run against all other candidates (including those who were not at the caucuses) in the MN August Primary. The August primary determines who is on the ballot for the general election in November.

Additional information about the Minnesota Presidential Primary can be found on the website for the Minnesota Secretary of State.