Minnesota
A dated list of changes to how Americans vote: district maps, polling places and drop boxes, voting laws and rules, and courts and election officials. Each entry says who did what and when, shows what became of it, and links to the page it rests on. Attempts that failed are listed as failed. Entries that rest on a news report name the outlet.
This is the state view: events recorded for Minnesota, then national events that apply here. See the national timeline.
In Minnesota
2018
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Supreme Court rules Minnesota's polling-place political apparel ban violates the First Amendment
In Minnesota Voters Alliance v. Mansky, No. 16-1435, decided June 14, 2018, the Supreme Court considered Minn. Stat. 211B.11(1), which bars anyone, including voters, from wearing a "political badge, political button, or other political insignia" inside a polling place on Election Day. The syllabus states: "Held: Minnesota's political apparel ban violates the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment." The Court reversed the Eighth Circuit and remanded the case.
Source last checked Oct 23, 2026
Nationwide
2017
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Homeland Security designates election infrastructure as critical infrastructure
On January 6, 2017, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said he had determined "that election infrastructure in this country should be designated as a subsector of the existing Government Facilities critical infrastructure sector." The statement defines election infrastructure as including "storage facilities, polling places, and centralized vote tabulations locations" and voter registration databases and voting machines.
Source last checked Oct 29, 2026
How this timeline is built
Every entry rests on at least one source that was opened and read, and that source states the date and the fact. Courts, legislatures, election offices, the Justice Department, the Census Bureau, the Federal Register and Congress.gov come first. A news report is used only when no official page states the fact, and it is labeled with the outlet's name. Encyclopedias are not used as sources. History starts in 1965 with the Voting Rights Act. County names come from the Census Bureau's 2024 Gazetteer. Congressional district numbers are those in use for the 2026 election; an event is tagged to a district only when its source names that congressional district.
When a later event changes an earlier one, such as a law later struck down, both entries are listed and point to each other. This page does not predict outcomes or say which party a change helps. U.S. House maps for 2026 · Back to the 2026 voting center.