Skip to content

Tuesday, Jun. 24, 2025

Are naturalized citizens eligible to run for office in Minnesota?  

Deanna Pistono, MinnPost
yes

Naturalized citizens – those who obtain citizenship through a legal process rather than by birth – can be elected to the Minnesota Legislature. 

Under Article VII of the state constitution, every person who is eligible to vote in Minnesota and is at least 21 years old can become a candidate for election in any district where they have lived for at least 30 days before the election. Eligible voters are those who are 18 or older, have been citizens for three months before the election and have lived in their precinct for at least the last 30 days. 

State Rep. Kaohly Her made headlines earlier this month when she stated that she and her family had arrived in the United States illegally from Laos as refugees. In a later interview with the Minnesota Reformer, Her added that she became a U.S. citizen in middle school and that her parents are also citizens.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

About fact briefs

Fact briefs are bite-sized, well-sourced explanations that offer clear "yes" or "no" answers to questions, confusions, and unsupported claims circulating online. They rely on publicly available data and documents, often from the original source. Fact briefs are written and published by Gigafact contributor publications.

See all fact briefs

MinnPost is an independent, nonprofit newsroom that produces thoughtful, in-depth journalism about civic and cultural affairs impacting Minnesota. Through our reporting, we take readers beyond the headlines and deep into the issues that matter through our public-service journalism, empowering them to engage in the politics and policy-making shaping Minnesota’s future.

Learn More

Latest Fact Briefs

Be a Friend of facts

Help us fund more great fact briefs like this one.