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Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State <br /> 2021 Redistricting Guide <br />19 <br />4.0 PRECINCTS <br />4.1 What are precincts? <br />Precincts are the basic geographical areas for organizing and administering elections. For example, separate ballot styles <br />are created for each precinct, separate voting rosters are created for each precinct, and votes are tallied by precinct. <br />Precinct boundaries are established by the governing body of each municipality, and the county board in unorganized <br />territories. City councils and township boards establish precinct boundaries as the result of various requirements in state <br />statutes and also to suit the needs of the community. At a minimum, each municipality must be at least one precinct; <br />additional precincts are necessary if the municipality is divided by a county, county commissioner, legislative or <br />congressional district boundary. Within these broad requirements, municipalities may create as many or as few precincts <br />as suits the community. <br />4.2 Precinct requirements <br />4.2.1 Precinct boundaries <br />At a minimum, each city, township or county’s unorganized territory must be at least one precinct. <br />One precinct cannot be split between more than one: <br />•County <br />•Congressional district <br />•Legislative district <br />•City ward <br />A jurisdiction split by legislative or congressional districts during redistricting will need to adjust its precinct boundaries <br />to follow the legislative and congressional district boundaries as defined in the state redistricting legislation. (M.S. <br />204B.14) <br />For the decade following the redistricting of county commissioner districts, precincts must not cross county <br />commissioner district boundaries. (M.S. 375.025 subd. 1) <br />4.2.2 Population <br />Precincts are not tied to population size. However, precincts with large numbers of registered voters can become <br />difficult to manage. While there is no specific threshold that covers all situations statewide, a small percentage of <br />precincts have over 2,000 registered voters. <br />4.2.3 Available polling places <br />Polling places must be in or near the precinct they are for, with certain exceptions. Although precincts are officially <br />established first and polling places second, it may be helpful to identify polling places before establishing precinct <br />boundaries. See the Polling Places section for more information. <br />4.2.4 Other non-required considerations <br />Although precincts may be made up of non-contiguous portions of the city, it is recommended to avoid this if possible. <br />One reason is to make the redistricting of county commissioner districts easier, following the establishment of precincts. <br />Whenever a precinct exists which is made up of multiple parts, all parts of that precinct must be contained within a <br />single county commissioner district, which may significantly limit where the county can draw commissioner districts. <br />(M.S. 375.025 subd. 1)