This year is a local election year, with early voting in Minnesota beginning Friday, September 19, ahead of election day on Tuesday, November 4. Maybe you know this already, clued in by the yard signs popping up in your neighborhood, calls from candidates, or perhaps it’s already marked in your calendar. Maybe you weren’t aware of elections this year, and there’s a reason for that too. Local elections receive significantly less attention than midterm and presidential elections, especially when they are held on odd years, and in turn receive far less voter turnout. While it might be a nice reprieve from campaigns dominating our news feeds and inboxes, it’s important to remember that local elections still matter, and showing up for them is important if we want a say in how our communities are shaped.
Depending on where you live, you might be voting for new city council members, mayors, school board members, and other elected officials this November. These leaders will make big decisions across all areas of your community, from education to economic development—including affordable housing and homeownership. If you care about housing, showing up in local elections is one of the most important ways you can advance Habitat’s mission.
Local leaders have a profound impact on how we address our housing needs. And because they live in the direct community they represent, they can better understand the specific needs of our housing market and create tailored solutions to address them. They can determine zoning laws that dictate the kinds of development allowed in different areas, approve or deny specific projects, implement policies that affect renters and homeowners, and distribute public funding to help meet the cost of producing and preserving affordable housing.
At Twin Cities Habitat, we see examples of this every day:
The City of Minneapolis funds specific programs and contracts for us to continue our A Brush with Kindness program, foreclosure prevention services, and housing production.
The City of Minnetonka helped us get approval and funding to develop five 2-unit twinhomes in the Minnetonka Mills.
St. Paul passed its 2024 budget to include $9.78 million in Tax Increment Financing (TIF) for The Heights, a development that wouldn’t be possible without this sort of unique public investment.
Aerial view of Habitat homes at The Heights in August 2025.
Across the entire metro area, we rely on strong public partnerships with local elected officials and staff to get our work done. Come November, we hope to welcome new electeds who also want to prioritize affordable homeownership.
Local elections are also a great way to impact your community because your vote goes even further than in other elections. Voter turnout is highest for presidential elections, then midterm elections, and is lowest for municipal ones. This means that local races are decided by a small number of voters, sometimes by even just a handful of ballots, so every vote counts and carries more weight than it does for other races. This is especially important for marginalized communities that have historically been underrepresented in the political process. Disparities in economic, racial, and age gaps are even larger in local elections than national ones, leaving impactful races up to a small group of people that do not accurately represent the community at large. But when BIPOC, low-income, and young individuals do show up to the polls, it is an opportunity to have a greater say in the decisions that impact their everyday lives. This is particularly valuable in housing, where exclusionary historical practices have created additional barriers to accessing homeownership for marginalized communities.
So how do you vote with housing in mind? We’re here to make it easy. The best way to find candidates that align with your views on housing is to engage with them, either in person at an event; by contacting their campaign; or by researching the issues on their website. You don’t have to be an expert on affordable housing—use our Candiate Conversation Guide to help inform your questions and prompts. You can keep things general, or ask candidates their positions on specific programs or issues that are most important to you, like down payment assistance, programs for first time buyers, or addressing racial disparities in homeownership.
Once you research your candidates, it’s important to make a plan to vote. Visit our Elections Resource Center to find more information and important dates so you can be prepared to cast your ballot. Here’s how you can make a plan in just a few minutes:
Decide how you’re going to vote:
Vote early in person with an absentee ballot.
Vote early by mail by applying to have an absentee ballot mailed to you, then return it and make sure it’s received by Election Day (you can even track it to make sure).
Vote on Election Day in person by finding your polling place and it’s specific hours.
Do your research:
Check out your sample ballot to see a list of the candidates and questions you’ll be voting for.
Spread the word to friends and family!
Help get out the vote by sharing this blog or our Pledge to Vote and encourage them to show up to the polls this year.