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Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State <br /> 2021 Redistricting Guide <br />24 <br />Cities interested in submitting precinct boundary information in the form of a geographic information system (GIS) <br />datafile should refer to Appendix F before sending any digital data. <br />4.4.4 Post precinct boundaries <br />When precinct boundaries have been changed, the change does not take effect until a notice of the change has been <br />posted in the office of the municipal clerk or county auditor for at least 56 days. (M.S. 204B.14 subd. 4) <br />4.4.5 Notify affected households of changes <br />Notifying affected households of changes in precinct boundaries is covered by the notification required for changes in <br />polling place. (See 5.3.4 Notify affected households) <br />It is strongly recommended that all voters in the county be notified of their polling place, precinct, and other election <br />districts using postal verification cards even if no changes have occurred. The benefits of this are to inform voters if any <br />of their election districts have changed, and reaffirm their correct polling place. Cost sharing among the county, cities, <br />townships, and school districts may keep the mailing costs affordable for any group. A special redistricting postal <br />verification card will be available. <br />4.4.6 Publish precinct boundaries <br />Though not specifically required, it is recommended that municipalities publish precinct boundaries in an effort to <br />provide redistricting information to the public. This may be especially important in municipalities that have had <br />significant precinct boundary changes. <br />4.5 Preparing for the next election <br />If the redistricting process results in more precincts than the municipality or organized territory previously held, <br />additional work may be needed to prepare for the upcoming state primary and general election. Among those items that <br />may need to be done are: <br />•Acquire additional voting equipment; <br />•Additional polling place posters and supplies; <br />•Recruit additional election judges; and <br />•Confirm contracts for new or existing polling places, if necessary. <br />The redistricting process may be a good opportunity for counties, cities, and townships to encourage people to <br />participate in the election process by serving as an election judge. <br />At every general election, it is required that a map of the precinct be posted in each polling place. If precinct boundaries <br />have changed, a new map is especially important. <br />For more information about preparing polling places for upcoming elections, refer to the guides produced by the <br />Elections Division of the Office of the Secretary of State. <br />5.0 POLLING PLACES <br />5.1 What are polling places? <br />The polling place is the location to which voters come to cast their ballots on election day. Every precinct must have a <br />designated polling place. No changes may be made to polling place designations less than 90 days before the next <br />election, except in case of emergency.