The 2020 U.S. elections has resulted in new challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic and national unrest. In the United States, the nation’s 3,069 counties traditionally administer and fund elections at the local level, including overseeing polling places and coordinating poll workers for federal, state, and local elections.
County election officials work diligently with federal, state, and other local election officials to ensure the safety and security of our voting systems and polling locations. County election officials strive to administer elections in a way that is accurate, safe, secure, and accessible for all voters.
Counties, along with municipal clerks, hire and train poll workers to ensure they are well equipped to assist voters and protect against voter fraud or other security risks. Additionally, election officials are prepared for a wide range of “hard security” challenges at polling locations — including mitigating natural disasters, following protocols for an active shooter, civil demonstrations, fire, severe weather, and other emergencies.
Along with the guidance below, law enforcement, city clerks, and county auditors should take the time now to plan and be on the same page for any incident that might occur at a polling place. Make sure officers working on election day have a clear understanding of where polling places are in the community, since these locations can change from one election to the next.
The following information may be helpful to
discuss in advance as well:
First Amendment issues related to elections, signs, etc.
- Signs cannot be displayed within 100 feet of the polling place, unless they are being displayed on private property.
- In the polling place, individuals cannot display campaign T-shirts, buttons, or literature which relate to specific candidates, official political parties, or questions on the ballot that day. These items will need to be either covered up or removed while in the polling place.
First Amendment audits/recording in polling places (non-media)
There is no law that strictly prohibits taking photos or videos in the polling place. However, the Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State discourages this activity for the following reasons:
- Voters have a right to privacy, both as to how an individual has voted as well as whether or not an individual has voted. Either or both of these could be compromised by pictures or video. In addition, other voters' objections to being photographed could lead to disruptions within the polling place.
- When voter turnout is high there may be lines and polling places may be crowded. Voters have a right to take the time they need to vote but should not take extra time to take pictures.
- Minnesota Statutes 204C.17 and Minnesota Statutes 204C.18 prohibit voters from showing their marked ballot to others. Taking photographs or video of your own marked ballot could violate this prohibition.
Police in polling places
- Peace officers shouldn’t be in polling places unless requested. They are not allowed within 50 feet of a polling place except to vote or respond to request for aid.
Campaigning restrictions
- No one can campaign inside the polling place or within 100 feet of the building. If the polling place is on public property, no one can campaign anywhere on the property, even beyond 100 feet. However, the prohibition of signs and campaign materials within 100 feet does not apply to adjacent private property. For additional information, please reference Minn. Stat. Sec. 211B.11 “Election Day Prohibitions” & Minn. Stat. Sec. 204C.06 “Conduct in and near polling places.”
- No one can use undue influence to compel an individual to vote for or against a candidate or ballot question. For more information on what constitutes undue influence, see Minn. Stat. Sec. 211B.07.
Masks
- Gov. Tim Walz's Executive Order 20-81 requires that masks be worn in public places, including polling places. The Secretary of State's Office has provided counties with posters informing voters of this requirement.
- No voter will be denied the right to vote for failure to wear a mask. If a voter walks in without a mask, please offer them one. If despite the offer they don’t take it, ask them to please wear a mask. If they still refuse to wear a mask, offer an alternative solution such as voting in the hallway or doing curbside voting in a vehicle. If they are still persistent on not wearing a mask or conducting their vote in an alternative way, you must give them a ballot.
Voters lingering in polling place
- People may not gather or linger in the polling place or within 100 feet of the building in which the polling place is located. One exception is an individual conducting an exit poll. Exit polls cannot be conducted within the polling place but may be conducted anywhere outside of the room being used as the polling place. An individual conducting an exit poll may only approach voters as they leave the polling place after having voted to ask them to take an anonymous written questionnaire.
Security risks
It is important that poll workers be aware of and train for any possible security risks at their polling locations including the following precautions and prevention measures:
- Use of physical security checklists prior to Election Day.
- How to handle emergencies and call 911 when safe to do so.
- What to do if you receive or observe a threat and when to evacuate a polling location.
- Emergency evacuation routes and exits at a polling location.
- Active shooter training (Run. Hide. Fight or similar training).
- When to notify law enforcement and what to expect when law enforcement arrives.
- Recognizing the warning signs of escalating behavior and reporting violence indicators.
- Emergency assembly areas.
- Familiarization with the election emergency plan.
Elections plan
- County election officials must develop a county elections emergency plan to be made available for use in all state, county, municipal, and school district elections held in that county. Cities, towns and school districts may create a local elections emergency plan that meets the requirements of the county elections emergency plan. For additional information, please reference Minn. Stat. sec. 204B.181.
Permit to carry regulations
- Minnesota has no statutes that prohibit firearms in a polling location unless the polling location is specifically described in statute as being an area or building (courthouse complexes, school zones, etc.) that prohibits the carrying of a firearm with a valid permit under MN statute 624.714.
- However, if the polling place is in a private building that has banned guns on their property, that prohibition continues even on Election Day, as the polling place (church, private school, union hall, or other) is still the landlord and has a right to continue to ban guns.
Up next: Winter driving
Stay safe,
Jacob
