Your Vote, Your Voice

February is Black History Month, a time for Americans to remember and commemorate the Black people who fought for centuries for justice and equal rights. When it comes to voting and elections specifically, one name that is important to Minnesota’s history of Black Suffrage is John Richardson – the man credited as being the first Black person to ever cast a vote in Minnesota.

Exactly 157 years ago on February 23, 1869, John Richardson cast his ballot on a Wabasha County bond referendum and marked a stark change in Minnesota elections. John’s journey to the polls was hard fought. After escaping slavery in Tennessee during the Civil War, Richardson was sheltered by Union Troops until settling in the north. His progress to vote would have also never happened without the Black community in Minnesota, most specifically the Golden Key Club, an African American literary group started in St. Paul.

The Golden Key club had sent a one-page memorial to the Minnesota House urging for voting rights amongst African Americans, who were paying taxes and had fought in the Civil War. This was a catalyst in state Republicans proposing an amendment to remove the word “white” from voting requirements in the state constitution. This amendment would be proposed twice – once in 1865 and in 1867 – both failed to pass.

It wasn’t until 1868 that Minnesota became one of the two Northern states (the other being Iowa) to call for an African American suffrage referendum on the ballot. The referendum passed with 57% of the vote on November 3, 1868, which gave all male citizens in Minnesota the right to vote. Black women unfortunately did not have the right to vote in general elections in Minnesota until 1920.

We recognize the hard-fought history of expanded suffrage in Minnesota during Black History Month – and we carry that responsibility forward year-round by administering secure, accurate, and accessible elections and ensuring every eligible voter has equitable access to the ballot.

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Sources: African American Suffrage in Minnesota, 1868 | MNopedia

Politics of the Past: Minnesota’s struggle for black suffrage

house.mn.gov/hinfo/swkly/1995-96/select/black.txt

Hennepin County Elections is excited to announce that the ExpressVote, an accessible ballot marking device, will now be available at all voting locations in the county.

Minnesota law requires all voting locations in the state to have an accessible ballot marking device. Hennepin County is committed to providing a device that is secure and easy to use and allows voters with disabilities to fill out their ballot independently and privately.

“Accessible ballot marking device” is a mouthful, but what it really means is that voters will be able to fill out (“mark”) their ballot using a touchscreen instead of a pen. The ExpressVote also includes a Braille-equipped touchpad for voters with vision disabilities. Voters can also adjust the size of the text on the screen, change the screen contrast, and have their ballot read to them via headphones.

Minnesota continues to use exclusively paper ballots, so it’s important to note that the ExpressVote is NOT an electronic voting machine and does NOT store or tabulate votes. After a voter makes their selections on the ExpressVote screen, the machine prints out a paper ballot that must then be fed into the ballot tabulator for their vote to be counted, just like every other ballot.

While the ExpressVote is designed to improve the voting experience for voters with disabilities and accessibility needs, the machines are open to all voters. Just ask an election judge to show you how it works!

We piloted the ExpressVote in limited cities during the 2024 election season, and we’re now rolling it out to all of Hennepin County. We encourage you to check it out when you vote in 2025!

For more information about the ExpressVote (including a how-to video of all its accessibility features), visit https://www.hennepin.gov/residents/elections/accessible-voting.

Throughout 2024, Hennepin County Elections contracted with 35 local organizations to provide voter outreach and engagement to the communities they serve. These contracts ranged in amounts up to $20,000 and lasted from a few months to the entire year.

Over the year, the contracted organizations held nearly 73,000 face-to-face conversations and helped more than 22,500 residents register to vote or pledge to register to vote. In total, their efforts reached more than 442,000 people within Hennepin County.

The organizations used a variety of unique strategies to engage their communities in voting and provide information about elections, including: