You must vote in the precinct in which you live. Each precinct has a polling place. Shorewood has five polling locations:

Precinct 1: Residence 4445 Enchanted Point Shorewood MN 55364	Precinct 2: Minnewashta Church 26710 West 62nd Street Shorewood MN 55331
Precinct 3: SouthShore Center 5735 Country Club Rd Shorewood MN 55331	Precinct 4: Excelsior United Methodist Church 881 Third Ave Excelsior MN 55331
Precinct 5: Excelsior Covenant Church 19955 Excelsior Boulevard Shorewood MN 55331

Voting is easy!

Before you can vote, you need to be on the official list of voters. This is called being registered. The easiest way to register is by filling out a voter registration application, available at City Hall, and returning it to Hennepin County Government Center - 300 S. 6th Street, Rm. A600, Minneapolis MN 55487 or Shorewood City Hall.

Go to your polling place on Election Day. An election judge will check if you are on the list of registered voters and, if so, have you read the oath and sign the roster. Then you will receive a ballot. If you cannot go to your polling place on Election Day, you can request an absentee ballot prior to Election Day to vote!

You may pre-register any time up to 20 days prior to an election.

Eligibility of Voters:

You are eligible to register and vote in Hennepin County if you are:

• at least 18 years old on the day of the election
• a citizen of the United States
• a resident of Minnesota for at least 20 days before the election

You are not eligible to vote if you have been:

• under a guardianship in which the court order revokes the ward's right to vote
• found by a court to be legally incompetent
• convicted of treason or any felony without having your civil rights restored

Who needs to register?

• Individuals who have never registered to vote
• Individuals who have moved or changed their name since they last registered
• Individuals who have not voted at least once in the last 4 years

Where to pre-register?

Voter Registration Applications are available in PDF format to download. PDF format allows you to view your form electronically on most computers. Adobe Acrobat Reader is required to view and print PDF files.

You may pre-register by mail or in-person at one of the following locations:

• Shorewood City Hall, 5755 Country Club Road
• All Hennepin County Libraries
• Hennepin County Service Centers located near Brookdale, Ridgedale, Southdale and in Maple Grove
• Hennepin County Government Center, 300 South 6th Street, Minneapolis
• The Secretary of State's Office

Deadline to pre-register:

• August 24, 2010, for the Primary election
• October 12, 2010, for the General election

Newly registered voters will receive a notice in the mail indicating their polling place location.

If you miss registering prior to Election Day, you may still register on Election Day at your polling place if the following conditions are met:

Eligibility of voters

A person IS eligible to vote, if at the time of the election he/she:

• Is 18 years of age or older
• Is a citizen of the United States and
• Has resided in Minnesota for 20 days before the election.

The following are NOT eligible to vote:

• A person convicted of treason or any felony without having your civil rights restored.
• A person placed under guardianship in which the court order revokes the ward's right to vote.
• A person found by a court of law to be legally incompetent.

Election Day Registration – Proof of residence

If you are not able to pre-register, you can register on Election Day. To do so, you must provide election judges at your polling location with certain acceptable forms of identification to prove your eligibility, such as:

• A Minnesota Driver's License, Learner's Permit, Identification Card, or a Tribal Identification Card with your current address (or the receipt for renewal or change of the license or I. D.)
• A "Notice of Late Registration" received from your city clerk if your voter registration application was received after the last day to pre-register.
• One of the following documents that contains your name and photo: Minnesota driver's license, identification card, or a Tribal Identification Card with a previous address, US passport, US military identification card or student identification card from a Minnesota college AND a bill for electric, water, gas, telephone, cell phone, cable TV, sewer or solid waste services with a due date within 30 days of the election that contains your name and current address.
• Another registered voter living in your precinct who will come to the polling location with you to vouch for your residency.

If you are a college student, you may also use your college student identification card with your name and photo if your college has provided a list of students to the county.

Absentee voting allows individuals to get your ballot early and vote in person or by mail within the 30 days before each election.

Eligible Shorewood voters may vote by absentee ballot if they are unable to vote in person on Election Day for any of the following reasons:

• Absent from the precinct on Election Day
• Illness or disability
• Unable to go to the polling place due to a religious holiday or beliefs
• An election judge serving in another precinct .

Absentee voters have the following options:

• Vote in person at Shorewood City Hall during regular business hours starting 30 days prior to Election Day; or during the additional voting hours.
• Complete the entire process by mail - Download an Absentee Ballot Application. Mail or fax the completed Absentee Ballot Application to:

  Shorewood City Hall
  5755 Country Club Road
  Shorewood, MN 55331

  Fax (952) 474-0128

  Upon receipt of the application, a ballot will be mailed. Allow at least seven business days to complete the process.

Election Judges serve our community in the polling places on Election Day. Their efficient and honest work insures fair elections. The City of Shorewood needs people for this exciting and vital work and will pay you.

Election Judge Requirements:

• An eligible voter in Shorewood
• Willing to identify with the Democratic-Farmer Labor, Independence or Republican parties
• Able to read, write, and speak English
• Not the brother, sister, spouse, parent or child of another election judge in the same precinct or of candidate in the election
• Not a candidate in the election
• Attend a training class

Election Judge Responsibilities:

• Open and close the polls
• Register and sign in voters
• Distribute and collect ballots
• Operate voting equipment
• Record and certify the vote totals

But I work on Election Day. . .

With 20 days written notice to your employer, you can take time off from work to serve as an election judge - with pay. Include a notice from the city or town that gives the hours you will be serving and the hourly rate of pay. Your employer then makes-up any difference between your election judge pay and the amount you would have made at work - similar to jury duty. Employers, however, can limit election judge service to 20% of the employees at a work site. (Minnesota Statutes 204B.195)

Scheduling

Full-day (6 a.m. to approximately 9 p.m.) or half-time shifts are available. Election Judge assignments are made by the Elections Department.

High School Students

If you are a high school student 16 and older and have good academic standing, you can be an election judge too.

For further information, call 952.960.7900.

Eligibility to Run for Municipal Office

Per Article VII, Section 6 of the Constitution of the State of Minnesota: Every person who by the provisions of this article is entitled to vote at any election and is twenty-one (21) years of age is eligible for any office elective by the people in the district wherein he has resided thirty days previous to the election, except as otherwise provided in this Constitution and law of the United States.

Shorewood municipal office candidates file in the Office of Elections at Shorewood City Hall. Each candidate receives a packet of financial and campaign information at the time of filing. If you have any questions about filing to run for municipal office, please contact City Hall at 952.960.7900. 

The following dates are in accordance with the provisions of Chapter Two of the Municipal Code of Shorewood and Minnesota Statutes.

Opening date for municipal candidate filing for office: Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Closing date for municipal candidate filing for office: Tuesday, September 14, 2010 (5:00 p.m.)
Candidates for municipal elective office may withdraw by filing an affidavit of withdrawal with the city clerk before 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, September 16, 2010

Filing fee (all candidates): $2.00, or petition in lieu of filing fee per Shorewood Municipal Code, 1300.

The following municipal offices will be included on the November 2010 ballot.The following Council members seats will be on the November 2 ballot:

• Mayor, two-year term, at large
• Council Member, at-large, 2-year term (vote forone)
• Council Member, at-large, 4-year term (vote for one)

Besides the municipal offices of Mayor and City Council member, the 2010 General Election in Minnesota will include other federal, state and county offices.

• Shorewood is located in the following districts:
  
  US House: 03
  MN Senate: 33
  MN House: 33B
  County Commissioner: 06
  Judicial District: 04
  School District: 276
  School District: 277 (Islands)
  County: Hennepin