Elections

The Minnesota Legislature

The State of Minnesota is governed by a Senate and a House of Representatives. The state is divided into 67 legislative districts, each of which has a Senator. Each Senate District, in turn, is subdivided into two House Districts, an “A” and a “B,” for a total of 134 House seats. Senators and Representatives are elected to both serve their respective districts and to act on behalf of the state as a whole.

United States Congress is composed of a Senate and House of Representatives.

The U.S. Senate has 100 members, two from each state, who serve staggered six-year terms.
The U.S. House of Representatives has 435 voting members who serve two year terms and represent the 50 states, proportional to population.

Minnesota's two current U.S. Senators are Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith. Minnesota has eight Congressional districts with one representative each in the U.S. House. The St. Cloud Area League of Women Voters serves primarily members who reside in the Sixth Congressional District, currently represented by Tom Emmer.

The results of the 2020 Census indicated that Minnesota would retain its eight U.S. Senate seats. However, the state legislature redrew Congressional districts to ensure that each district has roughly the same total population. To achieve that parity, any given district can encompass a wide geographic area that includes rural and urban communities of various sizes.

General Elections

Statewide General Elections are conducted every two years in Minnesota. Representatives for both the
U.S. House and the Minnesota House are on the ballot each time. Every four years, voters elect
Minnesota Senators and the U.S. President. One of the state's two U.S. Senate seats will appear on the
ballot every two or four years, depending on the schedule for staggering.

A General Election ballot also includes local races for municipal offices, school board members, and
county officials such as commissioners, attorney, and sheriff. Ballots contain such a wide variety of races to
make efficient use of election resources, and voters need to become informed about who is running in a
given year.

Important Election Dates in 2026

May 19: Candidate Filing Deadline

June 26: Absentee Voting begins for Primary Election

July 21: Pre-registration ends for Primary Election

July 24 : Direct Ballot absentee voting begins for Primary Election

August 11: Primary Election Day

September 18: Absentee Voting begins for General Election

October 13: Pre-registration ends for General Election

October 16: Direct Ballot absentee voting begins for General Election

November 3: General Election Day