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Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State <br /> 2021 Redistricting Guide <br /> 27 <br />5.3.3 School district combined polling places <br />If a school district is holding an election on a day when no other governmental unit in its area is holding an election, a <br />school board may designate one or more combined polling places at which the voters in two or more precincts may vote <br />in the school district election. A single team of election judges, using a single ballot box and keeping a single set of <br />returns, may serve the polling place. In school districts that have been organized into separate board member districts, a <br />combined polling place for a school general election cannot include more than one board member election district. (M.S. <br />205A.11, subd. 2; 205A.11, subd. 3) <br />These combined polling places must be designated by resolution by December 31 of each year. The polling place <br />locations must be at locations that have been designated for use as polling places by county or municipal governments. <br />(M.S. 205A.11, subd. 2) <br />Combined polling places designated for 2022 will likely only be used (if at all) on the February 8 special election date, as <br />school districts may not conduct special elections on the April 12 or May 10 uniform election dates in the year ending in <br />two, and at the state primary and general elections, the municipality or county will be responsible for operating that <br />precinct’s polling place. (M.S. 204B.135, subd. 4) <br />If the school district election coincides with another election in a precinct, the city or township is responsible for <br />operating that precinct’s polling place. (M.S. 205A.11, subd. 1) <br />Note that Postal Verification Cards (PVCs) cannot be sent to meet the voter notification requirements for school district <br />combined polling places. <br />5.3.4 Polling places and mail balloting <br />Precincts designated as mail ballot precincts must still designate a polling place. This is usually the office of the county <br />auditor or municipal clerk. Voters residing in a mail ballot precinct who are not registered may go to the designated <br />location to vote absentee in person. (M.S. 204B.45) <br />5.3.5 Polling place equipment <br />The cost and availability of voting equipment is another factor in making decisions about the number and location of <br />polling places. Some counties and municipalities have cost-sharing arrangements for voting equipment. <br />It is common for each precinct to have its own ballot counter and memory unit, but one counter may be used to count <br />ballots for multiple precincts. (M.R. 8230.4365) <br />5.4 Giving notice <br />5.4.1 Notify the county auditor <br />Whenever there has been a change in polling place location, the municipal clerk must notify the county auditor of the <br />new location. The auditor needs the information for entry into the statewide voter registration system in order to <br />facilitate the notification of affected households, and for notifying newly registered voters as they occur throughout the <br />year. <br />School boards must notify the county auditor(s) within 30 days of the establishment of a combined polling place. (M.S. <br />205A.11, subd. 3) <br />5.4.2 Notify affected households <br />When redistricting causes a voter’s polling place to change, the municipal clerk or county auditor must notify all affected <br />households with at least one registered voter by a first class, non-forwardable mailing at least 25 days before the next <br />election. (M.S. 204B.16, subd. 1a) <br />There are multiple ways to provide notice using the required voter notification: