Elections

2026 Elections and Minnetonka Beach Candidate Filing Basic Information

2026 Elections

Minnetonka Beach Administers Elections in Even-Numbered Years

State Primary Election: Tuesday, August 11, 2026

A primary election determines which candidates will be on the November 3rd General Election ballot. There are no elected official offices for Minnetonka Beach in the Primary Election - those candidates will be on the November 3rd General Election ballot.

Polls will be open at City Hall from 7:00 am - 8:00 pm 

Absentee Voting by mail or at Hennepin County Government Center: Friday, June 26 - Monday, August 10, 2026; In addition to Absentee Voting, the 18-day Early Voting period (formerly called Direct Balloting) begins at City Hall Friday, July 24 - Monday, August 10, 2026. Voters can cast their voted ballot issued to them at City Hall directly in to the ballot counter which is the same way election day voters cast their ballots. Absentee ballots residents receive via mail can still be mailed to Hennepin County Elections using the pre-addressed, postage paid envelope included with their ballot mailed to them. It is advised to mail early to allow adequate time for voted ballots to arrive at Hennepin County Elections for processing ahead of August 11th.


State General Election: Tuesday, November 3, 2026

Nonpartisan and partisan local, county, city, state, and federal offices will be on the November 3rd General Election ballot

Elected official offices for the City of Minnetonka Beach will be on this ballot. They include Mayor, two council seats, and City Treasurer

Polls will be open at City Hall from 7:00 am - 8:00 pm

Absentee Voting by mail or at Hennepin county Government Center: Friday, September 18 - Monday, November 2, 2026; In addition to Absentee Voting, Early Voting (formerly called Direct Balloting) begins at City Hall Friday, October 16 - Monday, November 2, 2026. Voters can cast their voted ballot issued to them at City Hall directly in to the ballot counter which is the same way election day voters cast their ballots. Absentee ballots residents receive via mail can still be mailed to Hennepin County Elections using the pre-addressed, postage paid envelope included with their ballot mailed to them. It is advised to mail early to allow adequate time for voted ballots to arrive at Hennepin County Elections for processing ahead of November 3rd.

 


Candidate Filing for City Elected Official Offices:

On the November 3rd Ballot Minnetonka Beach eligible voters will cast their vote for the following elected official open seats:

Mayor - 2 year term

Two City Council Members: 4 year term

Treasurer - 2 year term

Candidate filing opens on July 14th at 8:00 am at City Hall. Candidate Filing packets will be available at City Hall for candidates wishing to be on the November 3rd General Election ballot. Candidate filing ends on July 28th at 5:00 pm. Filing fee is $2.00. 

Candidate Withdrawal ends on July 30th at 5:00 pm.


More information and dates to follow. If you would like to serve as an election judge please contact City Clerk Jane Burgess at 952-471-8878 ext. 2,

or email city-clerk@ci.minnetonka-beach.mn.us.








 

2026 Election Judge Application and Training Information (paid)


Serving as an Election Judge Overview


Serving as an Election Judge
Election judges play an important role in administering elections by ensuring the constitutional rights of voters are protected. Serving as an election judge is an opportunity to learn more about election processes and to provide a great service to the community. The City of Minnetonka Beach compensates election judges for their time served including training and equipment testing time (two judges). Head Judges receive $18.00 an hour and Regular Judges are paid $15.00 and hour. Below is some information that you may find helpful in deciding if you would like to serve. 

State law permits people to take time off from work without loss of pay to serve as an election judge. 

Your employer is required to give you time off from work to be an election judge without a reduction in pay. To qualify, you must:

  1. Notify your employer in writing at least 20 days in advance of Election Day.
  2. Attach a copy of your schedule and pay rate form to your written notice. The schedule and pay rate will be provided by the jurisdiction that hires you as an election judge.

"Without a reduction in pay" means you get to earn at least the same amount you would have, had you gone to work that day. In practice, this means your employer can ask you to turn over the amount you earn as an election judge during hours you would have normally been scheduled to work, or your employer can deduct that amount from your normal pay.

You can voluntarily take a vacation day to be fully paid by your employer and receive the judge salary you earn as extra income. An employer cannot force you to take vacation or any other form of paid leave.

You can give your employer this memo to employers which explains your right to receive time off to serve as an election judge.


Party Balance
State law required that party balance be maintained among judges in the precinct as there are specific election judge tasks that require representation from different political parties. These duties include, but are not limited to: curbside voting, emptying of the ballot box, and initialing ballots. For this reason, election judges are required to disclose their political party affiliation to the Election Administrator. This information will only be shared with the head election judge in the precinct that you will be working in. You do have the option to serve as a non-partisan judge; however, you would be unable to perform some tasks in the precinct.
 
Election Judge Duties
Election judges perform a variety of election duties that include, but are not limited to:
  • Checking in voters
  • Explaining voting procedures and how to use voting equipment
  • Distributing ballots
  • Registering new voters
  • Offering assistance as needed
  • Closing the polling place at the end of election day
  • Verifying and certifying precinct election results

 

Qualifications
To be an election judge you must meet all off the following qualifications:

Required Qualifications
  • Must be eligible to vote in Minnesota
  • Must be able to read, write, and speak English
  • Cannot be a spouse, parent, child, or sibling of any election judge serving in the same precinct
  • Cannot be a candidate or a spouse, parent, child, or sibling of any candidate on the ballot in that precinct
Desired Qualifications
  • Ability to communicate clearly with voters
  • Comfortable assisting and serving a diverse population
  • Ability to remain impartial and not exert influence over voters
  • Physical and emotional stamina
  • Attention to detail
  • Basic math skills

Election Judge time commitment

TRAINING

You must attend a required paid two hour training session at City Hall.  There is an extra hour of paid training required for Head Election Judges. Also, two judges will conduct the voting equipment Public Accuracy Test prior to each election (paid time)

WORK DAYS

Work days are the primary and general elections which vary in number each election year. There will be a need for judges to serve at City Hall during the 18 day period that the City administers Early Voting including the Saturday prior to each election. Legislative changes in 2026 now require two judges to initial each ballot at the time that ballot is issued to an Early Voter at City Hall. The City Clerk and other City Staff are certified to serve as one of the two judges to initial a ballot to the voter. Early Voters will be able to cast their ballot directly in to the ballot counter machine during the 18 day Early Voting period the same format ballots are cast on election day. 

WORK DAY SCHEDULE

A typical schedule on Election Day are two shifts of party balanced judges. First shift is from 6:00 a.m. to 2:00 pm and second shift is 2 pm to close. Polls close at 8 pm and typically closing duties are completed by 9:00 p.m.

Election Judge Training Videos 

 
2026 Election Judge Training Videos: click here

2026 Election Judge Training Knowledge check: click here

2026 Election Judge Training Knowledge check answer key: click here

2026 Poll Book Training: click here

2026 MN Secretary of State Election Judge Manual: click here

2026 MN Secretary of State Election Judge Training PowerPoint Presentation: click here

 

 


 

Help America Vote Act

The Federal Help America Vote Act was passed to improve access to voting for all eligible voters.  One specific requirement of the act is to provide voting equipment that allows voters with a disability to vote privately and independently.  In Minnesota that is possible with a ballot marking devise called the AutoMark.  Voters with disabilities can use this ballot marking devise in city hall to vote absentee or on election day.  Voters with visual disabilities can mark their ballot privately using a headset to hear the candidate or ballot question choices.