Chapter (x) - Voter Registration (and Voter Rolls/Histories) (and the Statewide Voter Registration List)

As stated in the Introduction, any Minnesota can be seen as having six parts or phases:

voter registration,
absentee ballots,
election day,
election night,
reporting, and
auditing.

We’ll start with registration.

‘Registration’ is not defined in § 200.52, however Chapter 201 - Eligibility and Registration of Voters goes into the what, who, where, when, why, and how of everything from getting pre-registered to vote as a 16- or 17-year-old to getting signed up to receive an absentee ballot (in a single instance or as a perpetual receiver), to registering to vote on election day itself, through paper or the electronic process at the precinct polling place.

Voter Registration

Minnesota’s voter registration lists (voter rolls) have made local and national news in late 2025 and early 2026. The Department of Justice has requested them, as have state legislators. The secretary of state has sent guidance (such as the November 14, 2025 “Northstar Notes” to counties suggesting that the counties themselves, if receiving a request, can choose to whom they give such data: “We suggest discussing any requests for the master list with your county attorney. Please feel free to reach out to us with any questions.”

It has been said that voter registration is the foundation of a successful election. From an auditing lens, learning how an election system manages its voter registrations, and its electronic voter registration system, is therefore key. Is voter registration so essential that it is a must? At least one state, North Dakota, does not use voter registration. Meanwhile, countries like Taiwan arguably do registration more intelligently than anywhere else (tying voter registration to its national residential registration system), which streamlines their election day voting process, which is a manual count concluding by 8pm on election day itself.

In Minnesota, there are several lists referred to in the statutes: the master list, the public information list, and 77878787.
^
statutes for this…

§ 201.054 METHODS OF REGISTRATION; PROHIBITIONS; PENALTY.

Voter rolls Essentially, they are a master list of voters maintained by the Office of the Secretary of State, accessible by a number of people, including the county auditors of all 87 counties, who are technically the primary custodian of the registration lists for their respective counties.
This information is housed by the statewide voter registration system (SVRS), a centralized electronic database, which not only includes the active (and inactive) list of voters, but also the voter histories, which show things like how (in person, absentee), not who, a voter voted for, in prior elections.
This data is acessible, beyond the classified information like social security numbers, to everyday voters like you and me, either for one’s (DISTRICT-CHECK) or the entire state’s list. It is one of a citizen auditor’s tools to monitor, for instance, the active and inactive list of voters. Once you get into this kind of research, you might hear something like, xx number of voters were ‘turned on’ in February, or xx number of voters were ‘turned off’ in March. This concept of active/inactive voters will be explored further in the section below on the statewide voter registration system’s main functions and capabilities.
Candidates (and their campaign teams) can also access the lists (the voter rolls and voter histories), which can help them identify voters to focus on in their campaigns. For example, if someone hasn’t voted in, say, the most recent two or three elections, maybe that person would welcome a door knock from a candidate that would inspire them to vote again.
Before going into more detail on the voter rolls/histories as well as the Statewide Voter Registration List, let’s start with ways a voter can register.

How to Register to Vote

If a U.S. citizen has lived in Minnesota for at least 20 days prior to an election and is at least 18 years of age and is not an incarcerated felon, and not in a guardianship in which the court has revoked the ward’s right to vote and not someone who the court has found to be legally incompetent (§ 201.014), that person is eligible to vote and can also register to (or be registered to) vote in several ways:

Automatic voter registration: Through a driver’s license application Minnesotans may register to vote—this occurs unless the applicant opts out of voter registration (§ 201.161)
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On election day, at the polling place. (STATUTE? For electronic rosters, see § 201.225)
Through the absentee ballot application (§ 203B.04, § 203B.065).
Online through the Secretary of State’s website (§ 201.023)
By mail, a paper application (§ 201.061, § 201.071)
In person before election day at the county or municipal election office (§ 201.061, § 201.071)
Through public assistance agencies (§ 256.925)
Facilitated by participating post-secondary institutions: College students who change their permanent address may vote from their college address instead of, for example, their parents’ (§201.1611). Post-secondary institutions are required by law to provide a list of students living both on campus (AND CONTINUE FROM SOS WEBSITE DETAILS OF 2023 law changes, Voting Rights Act(?) 8888
16- and 17-year-olds can pre-register to vote

SIDEBAR
#4, Registering to Vote with an Absentee Ballot Application, is worth studying. Looking at § 203B.04, we see that a voter may apply for an absentee ballot anytime not less than one day before the election (election day).
Then, additionally, we see that the absentee ballot application may include a voter registration application if the applicant is not already registered; the applicant must provide proof of residence as required under § 201.061.
How many absentee ballot applications are coming from people (or organizations helping people) who are yet to register? Would the Office of the Secretary of State be able to provide this data point for recent elections?

STATS
Despite all these methods of registration, statistically between 5-10% of voters register same-day, meaning for example on a primary or general election day. (The exact proportion varies by polling place, municipality, and county and varies for different elections, though it is typically higher for general elections.)
[Option to put these images in the appendix.]

Data from Minnesota Blue Book, 2025:

And the general elections:

Looking at just 2020 and 2024, one may ask: How was it possible for less people to have voted (3,272,414 versus 3,292,997) while there were almost 300,000 (296,287) additional same-day voter registrations? (A separate issue is whether the most recent census is even accurate; separate from that, is 4,285,809 a realistic voting age population number from which to derive the percent of eligible voters?)

Voter Rolls: Voter Histories and Current Voter List

Software design at target (and testing, QA)
Parameters
Fields
Status of voter, active/inactive, etc.
What are the rules/protocols for these ^ (are they also in statute?) or left up to secretary of state as per § 201.021… big gray area?

What happens in the electronic systems themselves?
When a voter registration is initiated, the person will receive a Voter ID within the system known as the statewide voter registration system (SVRS).

[Can use ‘sidebar’ styling to show direct quotes from the statutes, sos rules, election judge guide, or hava/etc. … Coloring can make it stand out differently, or shades of gray for cheaper printing, but get costs from local shop, then do the kickstarter to print x amount]
“The county auditor shall be chief registrar of voters and the chief custodian of the official registration records in each county.”

Next line: “The secretary of state is responsible for defining, maintaining, and administering the centralized system.

What is this system? Let’s see what the 2025 election statutes say:

201.021 PERMANENT REGISTRATION SYSTEM.
A permanent system of voter registration by county is established, with a single, official, centralized, interactive computerized statewide voter registration list defined, maintained, and administered at the state level that contains the name and registration information of every legally registered voter in the state, and assigns a unique identifier to each legally registered voter in the state. The interactive computerized statewide voter registration list constitutes the official list of every legally registered voter in the state. The county auditor shall be chief registrar of voters and the chief custodian of the official registration records in each county. The secretary of state is responsible for defining, maintaining, and administering the centralized system.
History: 1973 c 676 s 3; 1975 c 204 s 94; 1981 c 29 art 2 s 5; 1984 c 560 s 2; 1987 c 361 s 2; 2004 c 293 art 1 s 1
This statewide database has multiple functions and little is publicly known about exactly how it works, from the perspective of logic, data revisioning, maintenance, what other applications may speak to it or interact with it (such as KNOWiNK or ERIC), and how exactly it is sliced when the public requests versions of it.

201.022 STATEWIDE REGISTRATION SYSTEM.Subdivision 1. Establishment. The secretary of state shall maintain a statewide voter registration system to
facilitate voter registration and to provide a central database containing voter registration information from around the state. The system must be accessible to the county auditor of each county in the state. The system must also:
(1) provide for voters to submit their voter registration applications to any county auditor, the secretary of state, or the Department of Public Safety;
2025 Minnesota Election Laws Page 44
(2) provide for the definition, establishment, and maintenance of a central database for all voter registration information;
(3) provide for entering data into the statewide registration system;
(4) provide for electronic transfer of completed voter registration applications from the Department of Public Safety to the secretary of state or the county auditor;
(5) assign a unique identifier to each legally registered voter in the state;
(6) provide for the acceptance of the Minnesota driver’s license number, Minnesota state identification number, and last four digits of the Social Security number for each voter record;
(7) coordinate with other agency databases within the state;
(8) allow county auditors and the secretary of state to add or modify information in the system to provide for accurate and up-to-date records;
(9) allow county auditors, municipal and school district clerks, and the secretary of state to have electronic access to the statewide registration system for review and search capabilities;
(10) provide security and protection of all information in the statewide registration system and ensure that unauthorized access is not allowed;
(11) provide access to municipal clerks to use the system;
(12) provide a system for each county to identify the precinct to which a voter should be assigned for voting purposes;
(13) provide daily reports accessible by county auditors on the driver’s license numbers, state identification numbers, or last four digits of the Social Security numbers submitted on voter registration applications that have been verified as accurate by the secretary of state;
(14) provide reports on the number of absentee ballots transmitted to and returned and cast by voters under section 203B.16; and
(15) provide reports necessary for early voting.
The appropriate state or local official shall provide security measures to prevent unauthorized access to the computerized list established under section 201.021.
Subd. 2. Rules. The secretary of state shall make permanent rules necessary to administer the system required in subdivision 1.
Subd. 3. Consultation with local officials. The secretary of state must consult with representatives of local election officials in the development of the statewide voter registration system.
History: 1987 c 361 s 1; 1988 c 646 s 1; 1990 c 585 s 2; 1995 c 233 art 2 s 56; 1Sp2001 c 10 art 18 s 8; 2004 c 293 art 1 s 2; 2005 c 162 s 1; 2023 c 62 art 4 s 11

(WITH ABOVE, the Electronic rosters, § 201.225(?) must also connect to it.

201.225 ELECTRONIC ROSTER AUTHORIZATION.
Subdivision 1. Authority. A county, municipality, or school district may use electronic rosters for any election. In a county, municipality, or school district that uses electronic rosters, the head elections official may designate that some or all of the precincts use electronic rosters. An electronic roster must comply with all of the requirements of this section. An electronic roster must include information required in section 201.221, subdivision 3, and any rules adopted pursuant to that section.
Subd. 2. Technology requirements. An electronic roster must:
(1) be able to be loaded with a data file that includes voter registration data in a file format prescribed by the secretary of state;
(2) allow for data to be exported in a file format prescribed by the secretary of state;
(3) allow for data to be entered manually or by scanning a Minnesota driver’s license or identification card to locate a voter record or populate a voter registration application that would be printed and signed and dated by the voter. The printed registration application can be a printed form, a label printed with voter information to be affixed to a preprinted form, or a combination of a form and label, or an electronic record that the voter signs electronically and is printed following its completion at the polling place;
(4) allow an election judge to update data that was populated from a scanned driver’s license or identification card;
(5) cue an election judge to ask for and input data that is not populated from a scanned driver’s license or identification card that is otherwise required to be collected from the voter or an election judge;
(6) immediately alert the election judge if the voter has provided information that indicates that the voter is not eligible to vote;
(7) immediately alert the election judge if the electronic roster indicates that a voter has already voted in that precinct, the voter’s registration status is challenged, or it appears the voter maintains residence in a different precinct;
(8) provide immediate instructions on how to resolve a particular type of challenge when a voter’s record is challenged;
(9) provide for a printed voter signature certificate, containing the voter’s name, address of residence, date of birth, voter identification number, the oath required by section 204C.10, and a space for the voter’s original signature. The printed voter signature certificate can be a printed form, a label printed with the voter’s
2025 Minnesota Election Laws Page 67
Amendments to subd. 2 effective June 1, 2025
Amendments to subd. 5 effective July 1, 2025
information to be affixed to the oath, or an electronic record that the voter signs electronically and is printed following its completion at the polling place;
(10) contain only preregistered registered voters within the precinct, and not contain preregistered registered voter data on voters registered outside of the precinct, unless being utilized for a combined polling place pursuant to section 204B.14, subdivision 2, absentee or early voting under chapter 203B or for mail balloting on election day pursuant to section 204B.45, subdivision 2a;
(11) be only networked within the polling location on election day, except for the purpose of updating absentee ballot records;
(12) meet minimum security, reliability, and networking standards established by the Office of the Secretary of State in consultation with the Department of Information Technology Services;
(13) be capable of providing a voter’s correct polling place; and
(14) perform any other functions necessary for the efficient and secure administration of the participating election, as determined by the secretary of state.Electronic rosters used only for election day registration registering voters and updating voters’ registration do not need to comply with clauses (1), (8), and (10). Electronic rosters used only for preregistered voter processing voters who are registered and do not need to update a registration do not need to comply with clauses (4) and (5).
Subd. 3. Minnesota Election Law; other law. Unless otherwise provided, the provisions of the Minnesota Election Law apply to the use of electronic rosters. Voters participating in the safe at home program must be allowed to vote pursuant to section 5B.06. Nothing in this section shall be construed to amend absentee voting provisions in chapter 203B.
Subd. 4. Election records retention. All voter signature certificates and voter registration applications printed from an electronic roster must be retained pursuant to section 204B.40. The electronic rosters must print voter signature certificates and voter registration applications on material that will remain legible through the period prescribed by section 204B.40. Data on election day registrants and voter history must be uploaded to the statewide voter registration system for processing by county auditors.
Subd. 5. Election day. (a) Precincts may use electronic rosters for registering voters and updating registrations on election day registration, to process preregistered registered voters, or both. The printed election day registration applications must be reviewed when electronic records are processed in the statewide voter registration system. The election judges shall must determine the number of ballots to be counted by counting the number of original voter signature certificates or the number of voter receipts.
(b) Each precinct using electronic rosters shall must have a paper backup system approved by the secretary of state present at the polling place to use in the event that the election judges are unable to use the electronic roster.
Subd. 6. Reporting; certification. (a) A county, municipality, or school district that intends to use electronic rosters in an upcoming election must notify the Office of the Secretary of State at least 90 days before the first election in which the county, municipality, or school district intends to use electronic rosters. The notification must specify whether all precincts will use electronic rosters, and if not, specify which precincts will be using electronic rosters. The notification is valid for all subsequent elections, unless revoked by the county, municipality, or school district. If precincts within a county, municipality, or school district that were not included in the initial notification intend to use electronic rosters, a new notification must be submitted.
(b) The county, municipality, or school district that intends to use electronic rosters must certify to the Office of the Secretary of State at least 30 days before the election that the electronic rosters meet all of the requirements in this section.
History: 2014 c 288 art 1 s 1; 2016 c 158 art 1 s 78; 2021 c 31 art 2 s 16; 2023 c 62 art 4 s 26; 2025 c 39 art 8 s 22-23
201.23 MS 1957 [Repealed, 1959 c 675 art 13 s 1] 201.23 MS 1971 [Repealed, 1973 c 676 s 33] 201.231 [Repealed, 1981 c 29 art 7 s 39]201.24 MS 1957 [Repealed, 1959 c 675 art 13 s 1]
2025 Minnesota Election Laws Page 68

201.24 MS 1971 [Repealed, 1973 c 676 s 33] 201.25 MS 1957 Renumbered 201.28201.25 MS 1971 [Repealed, 1973 c 676 s 33] 201.26 MS 1957 Renumbered 201.29201.26 MS 1980 [Repealed, 1981 c 29 art 7 s 39] 201.261 [Repealed, 1973 c 676 s 33]
201.27 MS 1957 Renumbered 201.30

It has been discovered that the absentee ballots are tracked most likely in a separate module from the statewide voter registration system. This is deduced by the fact that counties and the state are able to certify their elections, claiming that their books are balanced, while the statewide voter registration system still shows variances between, for example, the reported number of absentee ballots cast and the total number of voters with a voter history showing their method of voting as absentee. This is legal in Minnesota, where the counties have until six weeks post election to balance their books. For emphasis, this can legally happen and has occurred in at least 2020 and 2022.

Same-Day Registrations?

KNOWiNK poll pads
Etc.

Same-Day Registration through Electronic Poll Pads

The DOJ recently asked for the state of Minnesota’s same-day registration data.

How do the KNOWiNK poll pads interact with the statewide voter registration system?

Did you know? According to the Department of Public Safety
Driver’s Licenses for All Act:
Separately, the Driver’s Licenses for All Act (HF 4) was signed into law on March 7 2023, becoming effective on October 1 2023. This law changed Minnesota’s driver licensing rules so that applicants no longer need to prove lawful presence in the U.S. to obtain a standard driver’s license or state ID—meaning anyone who meets identity/address requirements can get a license. However, automatic voter registration still requires verification of U.S. citizenship under Minn. Stat. § 201.161 before the state will register someone to vote.

Ask your Auditor a question:
Has your auditor ever found registrations that should not be there?
What reporting or analytics are available at the county or municipal level to verify voter registrations prior to final lists made ready for polling place election judges on election day?

Further reading:
Chapter xx of [S]elections…
County records vs SVRS

The main rules are in Minn. Stat. ch. 201, especially §§ 201.014–201.023 (eligibility and registration), § 201.061 (Election Day registration), and § 201.161 (automatic voter registration).

Online registration — Minn. Stat. § 201.023 (voter registration; statewide system)
By mail (paper application) — Minn. Stat. §§ 201.061, 201.071
In person before Election Day — Minn. Stat. §§ 201.061, 201.071
Election Day registration at polling place — Minn. Stat. § 201.061
Automatic voter registration (AVR) — Minn. Stat. § 201.161
Driver’s license or state ID application (DPS) — Minn. Stat. § 201.161; § 171.11
Public assistance agencies — Minn. Stat. § 256.925
Post-secondary institutions / schools — Minn. Stat. § 201.1611
Registration with absentee voting materials — Minn. Stat. § 203B.04; § 203B.065

Further research?

Activity:
2023 election code changes made people the courts found guilty of a felony eligible to vote so long as they are not presently incarcerated. Since, what proportion of felons vote in person versus absentee? If absentee is preferred, what proportion use direct balloting in the 18-day pre-election window versus an absentee ballot?

Problem solving:
Which fields, flags, or statuses in the statewide voter registration system seem most useful? Least useful? Why? Examples: Date of Birth; Active/Inactive; Method of Voting