Each block on this histogram represents a change—e.g., a substantive change, repeal & replace, or renumbering—to an individual section rather than an amendment. Some amendments result in multiple changes, resulting in multiple blocks being attributed to one amendment. Likewise, a section may be amended more than once in an year, but these amendments will only appear as one block on the histogram. When a block or blocks are marked red in a specific year, that means that a new constitution went into effect that year.
The Constitution’s provisions are organized into articles, and each article is split into sections. Here, you can view an outline of the Constitution, see the Constitution’s full text as it stood on any date since ratification, and compare any amended provision of the Constitution to its earlier version.
Explore by Year
View the constitution’s amendments by year of adoption and historical context for significant amendments.
The Minnesota Constitution & Its Amendments
Minnesotans voted to approve the state constitution on October 13, 1857. The constitution was the result of a tumultuous, politically divided convention that spanned seven weeks. This bitter political conflict continued even after delegates reached a compromise on the constitutional language. Delegates refused to sign a document bearing the signatures of delegates from the other political party, necessitating the creation of two copies of the constitution to gather signatures. Although these two copies of the constitution were meant to be identical, the copies were created overnight by lamplight, a process that resulted in over 300 differences between the two copies of the constitution approved by the delegates. Both copies were before Congress when Minnesota was admitted into the Union. As there has been no legal challenge based on a difference between the two versions, there has been no determination as to which copy serves as the definitive version of the original Minnesota Constitution. Consequently, it can be said that Minnesota is “the only state with two official [original] constitutions.” Subsequent amendments and a 1974 reworking of the Minnesota Constitution mean that there is now a single, definitive text.
The power to amend the state’s constitution rests in both the legislature and the people. First, each house of the legislature must vote and approve, by a simple majority, proposed individual amendments to the constitution. The proposed amendment must then be submitted to the people for their approval or rejection at the next general election. Prior to 1898, an amendment needed only to receive a simple majority of those voting on the question to be approved. However, in 1898 the ratification process was changed to require a majority of all votes cast in the election—including those who abstained from voting on the amendment question. Therefore, not voting on an amendment is counted the same as a “no” vote, making it more difficult for an amendment to be ratified. Since statehood, the Minnesota Legislature has submitted a total of 216 constitutional amendment proposals to the people for their ratification or rejection. Of these proposals, 121 were approved and 95 were rejected.
Because the Constitution requires that multiple amendments submitted to the electorate at the same election must be voted upon separately, legislators can opt instead to deploy the procedures under Article IX, § 2 for the calling of a constitutional convention, which allows substantial revisions or wholesale rewrites of the constitution to be packaged as a single proposal put forth to voters. The constitutional convention procedure has never been formally invoked in Minnesota’s history.
For more information about constitutional conventions, see 1974.
Minnesota State Capitol. Mike Hicks.
Additional Resources Access links to commonly referenced sources in Minnesota constitutional research.
Access links to commonly referenced sources in Minnesota constitutional research.