Part of the American tradition dating back to September 13, 1788, voting is a quintessential American right. Taking place every year, eligible American citizens are allowed to elect those who they believe best represent themselves and their community to governmental positions. 

You can easily register to vote as many times as you wish (every time you move), however you may only vote once per election. Click here to register to vote for your state

Voting in Person 

**Important Notice: if voting in person, you must go to your designated polling station based on your permanent address**

Hamline Students that live on campus or east of Snelling vote at 777 HAMLINE AVE N, ST PAUL, MN  55104. Those who live west of Snelling vote at 1610 Hubbard Ave, St Paul, MN 55104.  

Those who do not live on campus can find out their specific polling stations by going Here for MN voters, and Here (type in your state, then look for your voting precinct (locations for that information differs for each state/website)) for out-of-state voters. 

Voting Absentee 

For those who can not make it to the polls on or before election day, they can participate in absentee voting. absentee voting (also known as mail-in voting) is a process where the state sends a resident a ballot, the ballot is filled out, then returned to the state either via pre-paid postage (mail) or dropped off in a designated drop-off box. To request your absentee ballot visit your state's secretary of state office's website (find your state absentee voting page by going to this link). 

Early Voting

Some States (MN being one of them) allow for their citizens to vote early at select polling locations. For more information on how to vote early visit the following link. For information on where polling places are visit your secretary of state office's website (MN or other states) 

Those who have residency in other states are still able to participate in democracy. If you live on campus, or in the state of MN, then you can register as a MN voter (see Where Do I Vote for information on how to register) to vote in person. If you would rather vote for the candidates in your home state, then you can apply to be an absentee voter (see Where Do I Vote for information on how to register) and vote by mail. 

One of the most important parts of voting is looking into who is on the ballot. With every position on the ballot being important, looking into political candidates before voting ensures that you are voting for the people who best represent you. Here are the best ways to be informed about your candidates:

• Visit your secretary of state office's website (MN or other states) 

• Check your local newspaper (often the week(s) before the election your local tribune will have a column that introduces you to your local candidates) 

• Check out the candidate's websites and social media (often candidates will have a personal website, Twitter, Facebook, and/or Instagram

• Email or call them (often candidates will put out ways to get in contact with them: do it! This way you can get to know what they are like personally or get to know more direct answers to the questions you might have)

**Keep in mind it is ok to not vote for a section on your ballot if you do not feel comfortable doing so; incomplete ballots are not thrown out. If, for example, you choose to only vote for your governor and nothing else, your governor of choice will still receive your vote**

• For more information on your state's elections go to https://www.usa.gov/election-office.  

• For more information about Hamline Votes or the process of voting at Hamline contact 651-523-2878

• Example ballot (does not contain current information; only to be used as an example of what a ballot looks like in MN).