Student Consumer Information

Voter Registration Information

All BSU students are encouraged to register to vote and exercise your right to have a voice in our democracy. BSU has a responsibility to provide you with the voter registration information you need.

Decide where you reside

You can only vote from the address where you “reside.” Your residence is the place you consider your home, from which you have no current intent to move. As a college student, if you consider your campus residence as your home, you may vote at that address, but if you consider your parents’ address, or some other address as your home, you must vote from that address. Of course, you can only vote from one address in each election.

Register to Vote

Before Election Day

You can download a Voter Registration Application at the Minnesota Secretary of State website and return it by mail to the address listed on the application, or in person to the Beltrami County Auditor or MN Secretary of State’s office. Forms are also available at the BSU Records Office.

On Election Day

In Minnesota, you also have the right to register and vote on Election Day when you provide proof of residence. Information about registering on Election Day is also found on the Minnesota Secretary of State website. For students, proofs of residence can include:

• Student photo ID (if your college or university provides a housing list to election officials)
• A valid Minnesota driver’s license, Minnesota ID card or permit with your current address
• If your Minnesota ID has an old address, you can use it or your college or university ID in combination with another document that has your current address, including a student fee statement, a utility bill, or a rent statement from your landlord that itemizes utilities
• A voter registered in the same precinct as you who can confirm your address with a signed oath, also known as a “voucher.”

Absentee Student Voting

If you are going to be somewhere other than your residence on Election Day, you can still vote by absentee ballot. Absentee ballot applications and instructions are available at the Minnesota Secretary of State website.

If you are going to be out of the country or studying abroad on the day of the elections, you can still vote in Minnesota. Visit the Minnesota Secretary of State website for information and resources related to overseas voting.