GENERAL QUESTIONS

Who is Minnesota Family Institute?
Minnesota Family Institute is the educational subsidiary of the Minnesota Family Council, the state's largest non-profit, non-partisan, pro-family organization. We are affiliated with Focus on the Family. Our mission as a non-profit is to defend and strengthen the family by advancing biblical principles in the public arena. We do this through educational activities such as the voter's guide. For more information, visit www.mnvoter.com and the Minnesota Family Council homepage.

What is the voter's guide?
The voter's guide is a list of local, state and federal candidates representing your area. It shows candidates' positions on issues important to families. The voter's guide was made to be available online so you can easily print out and copy a customized voter's guide for others in your local community.

Why is the voter's guide online?
Having the voter's guide online makes it more immediately accessible to people throughout Minnesota and allows you to customize your voter's guide to only include the candidates representing your area, rather than showing every candidate in Minnesota.

When can I get the voter's guide?
It is available now until election day. We encourage you to print it out now to allow time for you to copy it and distribute it to your friends, church, or community group.

When is the election?
Minnesota's General Election is November 4, 2008. The polling locations are open from 7 am to 8 pm.

Where do I vote?
To find you polling place, visit here:  Minnesota Secretary of State's Polling Place Finder.

Where can I get a map of the districts?
The State of Minnesota has many types of maps available at:   Legislative and Congressional District Maps.

Where do I find other election information?
For more information on the election, visit here:  Minnesota Secretary of State's Office.

How did you pay for the voter's guide?
The voter's guide and our non-profit organization is funded entirely by generous donations from people like you who believe in our mission and work for families over the past 25 years.

Can I donate to help with the costs of the voter's guide?
Yes. Thank you. We couldn't provide resources such as the voter's guide without donations from people like you. For information on giving, visit this web page:   Giving to Minnesota Family Institute.

USING THE VOTER'S GUIDE

Is this voter's guide allowed to be used in churches?
This non-partisan voters guide was prepared specifically for use in churches and similar nonprofit organizations. It has been reviewed by attorneys and in their opinion meets IRS regulations for nonprofit 501(c)(3) organizations. For more legal information, visit this page:  Answers to Legal Questions for Churches and Pastors.

What happens if candidate didn't check "yes" or "no" on a question?
In some cases, candidates did not respond to one or more questions. In these cases, the answer is treated as "no response".

What happens if candidate wrote their own response?
In some cases, candidates wrote answers qualified in such a way that it would be difficult to characterize them as a "yes" or "no" response. In these cases, the answer is treated as "no response".

How many candidates can I fit on one page?
This depends on how you have the "margins" on your "printer setup" configured (see the next question). Generally, you can fit a total of about 24 candidates (this is for all races) per page if your printer margins are set at 1/2 inch.

How do I get rid of the blank space at the bottom of the page?
How do I fix the problem of it printing onto the second page?
Both of these problems are related to your printing margin settings. To fix either problem, change the amount of space in the margins. (On most computers, you can do this by clicking the FILE menu and then PAGE SETUP.) The margins are the white space between the outside of the page and the text. Increase or decrease your margins as necessary so the voter guide looks good on the printed page. Most people find 1/2 inch margins work best.

How much time will this take?
It will take a minute or two to prepare your voter's guide online. Then print copies for your church or group. Arrange for a pulpit announcement or an announcement in the bulletin. Actual distribution would be done as people are leaving on Sunday. The whole process should take less than a few hours for even large churches or organizations.

Can you mail me a copy?
We cannot mail the voter's guide due to limited resources, however, we would be glad to help you through any problems you have printing your own copy online.

I don't have internet access. How can I get a copy?
We suggest you find someone with internet access such as a friend, library, company, school, or another location that has Internet access.

How much does the voter's guide cost?
The guide is free! The only cost involved is the duplication of the guide after it has been printed from our website. Most often, a church or other organization is willing to absorb that cost.

Is this voter's guide copyrighted?
Yes. However, you are given permission to freely reproduce the voter's guide as long as the material is not altered and the Minnesota Family Institute is credited for the material.

Can we copy the entire voter's guide and give it away?
Yes. Please do! Or download the printable PDF version of the complete voter's guide at http://www.mnvoter.com.

Who do I contact for more help?
Contact Mary at 612-789-8811 ext 204, or e-mail her at mary@mfc.org.

METHODOLOGY

How did you find out the positions of each candidate?
Positions for all candidates are based on responses to a Minnesota Family Institute questionnaire, recorded votes, media reports and/or public statements. Candidates who were sent a questionnaire but did not respond received follow-up phone calls.

Are third party candidates included?
Third party candidates have been included where they have demonstrated receiving 15% or more votes in past or current elections. Candidates meeting this objective, nonpartisan threshold are included in the voter's guide.