Elections, Voter Information, and Forms ELECTION SCHEDULE FOR 2024 General Election - Tuesday, November 5 HOW TO REGISTER TO VOTE IN NEW HAMPSHIRE Updated 09/10/2024 The information below is provided as a summary of the qualifications and process involved in registering to vote in New Hampshire. For more detail, please click on the link to the NH Secretary of State's document found here. WHO CAN REGISTER New Hampshire residents who will be 18 years of age or older on the day of the next election, and a United States citizen, may register with the supervisors of the checklist or the town or city clerk where they live up to 10 days before any election. You may also register on election day at the polling place. The supervisors of the checklist or the town or city clerk’s office can provide voters of what proof of qualification they should bring to register. There is no minimum period of time you are required to have lived in the state before being allowed to register. You may register as soon as you move into your new community. HOW TO REGISTER 1) Apply to your town or city clerk’s office. You will be required to fill out a standard voter registration form and will be required to show proof of age, citizenship and domicile. Proof of age is most commonly established by providing a current photo ID. Proof of citizenship is established by providing EITHER an official birth certificate OR a valid passport. Proof of domicile is established by presenting a utility bill (e.g., an electric, heating oil, propane or cable bill). These bills can be presented in either paper or electronic form. 2) It may be easier for you to register with your community’s Supervisors of the Checklist. By law, they are required to meet on the Saturday 10 days prior to each election. Check the local newspaper(s) or call your clerk’s office for the date and time of such meeting. 3) Qualified individuals may also register to vote at the polling place on election day at all elections. You will be asked to show proof of age, citizenship and domicile. ABSENTEE REGISTRATION If you meet the state’s voter requirements and qualifications and are unable to register in person because of physical disability, religious beliefs, military service, or because of temporary absence, you may register by mail. You should request an absentee voter registration application and a standard voter registration form from the town clerk. The absentee voter registration application must be witnessed and then both the application and the voter registration form are to be returned to the town clerk. College Students please scroll to VOTING AS A COLLEGE STUDENT UOCAVA VOTERS UNIFORMED SERVICES VOTERS – An absent uniformed service voter may apply for an absentee ballot from the town or city in which he or she was domiciled immediately prior to entering the service. Uniformed service voters are eligible to vote for all offices. VOTERS TEMPORARILY RESIDING OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES – Any person who is temporarily residing outside the United States has the right to vote in the town or city in which he or she was domiciled immediately prior to his or her departure. Temporarily absent voters are eligible to vote for all offices. FEDERAL BALLOT ONLY VOTERS – Any United States Citizen, who is domiciled outside the United States has the right to register and vote absentee for any federal office (President, United States Senator, United States Representative) in the town or city in New Hampshire in which they or a parent or legal guardian had their domicile immediately prior to their departure from the United States, even though the person no longer maintains a domicile in said city or town and even though their intent to return is uncertain. UOCAVA voters should use the Federal Post Card Application Form (FPCA) to apply for an absentee ballot and/or register to vote. The UOCAVA voter may choose to have his or her absentee ballot delivered either by mail or electronic transmission. Absentee ballots for UOCAVA voters are available 45 days prior to a state election. To access, complete and print the FPCA form, click here to get started. ABSENTEE BALLOTS – Requests for Absentee ballots are available from your town or city clerk approximately 30 days prior to an election. Request the absentee ballot application from the clerk or you may download the application by clicking on the link in the sidebar. An application for an absentee ballot may be transmitted by facsimile to a town or city clerk. ABSENTEE BALLOTS – Return of Clerks may accept completed absentee ballots submitted in person by the voter until 5:00 p.m. the day before an election or until 5:00 p.m. on election day if received through the mail. A marked absentee ballot may NOT be transmitted by facsimile to a town or city clerk. POLITICAL PARTIES When registering to vote, you will not be required to register as a member of a political party (republican or democratic); you may register as an undeclared voter. If you are registered as an undeclared voter and go to vote in a state primary election, you will be required to choose a party when accepting a ballot. Voters should be aware of their party status before a primary election (if you are uncertain of the status of your party affiliation, call the Town Clerk's office at 603-863-5608 during normal business hours, Monday through Friday). If you voted on a party ballot in the 2020 state primary election, you are now a registered member of that party unless you filled out a new registration card or signed a list to return to undeclared status with the supervisors of the checklist. If you are unsure of your party affiliation, you should contact the town clerk's office, as they have the records of party membership. The State of New Hampshire provides an on-line voter registration portal for registered voters to look up their current party affiliation: NH Voter and Absentee Ballot Look-Up. If you are a party member and wish to change your registration status, stop by the Grantham Town Clerk/Tax Collector's Office during normal business hours and complete a new voter registration form, which will include the change to party affiliation. You can also come to any regularly scheduled public meeting of the Supervisors of the Checklist and complete the change then. However - before EVERY state primary there is a deadline after which party affiliation changes are not allowed. In the case of the state primary occurring on Tuesday, September 10, 2024, the deadline for changes to party affiliation is Tuesday, June 4. COLLEGE STUDENTS If you are a student attending college in New Hampshire, PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING: VOTING AS A COLLEGE STUDENT IN NEW HAMPSHIRE AND VOTER REGISTRATION Introduction Voting is a fundamental right and a responsibility of citizens in our democracy. Under Part I, Article 11 of the New Hampshire Constitution, every inhabitant of the State of New Hampshire, who is a United States citizen and age 18 or older, is qualified to vote in New Hampshire. Voting is the most important right because it is the right by which citizens protect all other rights. College Student Voting New Hampshire election law provides college students with a special privilege when determining where they register to vote. A college student in New Hampshire may choose as his/her voting domicile, either the domicile he/she held before entering college or the domicile he/she has established while attending college. New Hampshire law provides the following definition of domicile: An inhabitant's domicile for voting purposes is that one place where a person, more than any other place, has established a physical presence and manifests an intent to maintain a single continuous presence for domestic, social, and civil purposes relevant to participating in democratic self-government. A person has the right to change domicile at any time, however a mere intention to change domicile in the future does not, of itself, terminate an established domicile before the person actually moves. Under no circumstances may college students retain two voting domiciles. Like any other citizen, college students have only one voting domicile and may only cast one vote in any election. A student of any institution may lawfully claim domicile for voting purposes in the New Hampshire town or city in which he or she lives while attending such institution of learning if such student’s claim of domicile otherwise meets the requirements of the paragraph above. The following is not legal advice and is meant only to provide you with information that may help you make an informed decision regarding where to vote. If you have questions, you are encouraged to consult with your parents, legal advisor or college officials. Changing your legal address may impact other things such as: Health insurance – most health insurance is not affected. If you obtain insurance through a family plan that requires your legal domicile to be your family residence, you may want to check with your family or your insurance agent. Car insurance – usually affected only if you obtain insurance through a family plan that requires your legal domicile to be your family residence. Check with your family or your insurance agent. Taxes – only individuals with significant assets or tax liabilities might be affected. If you are in this category, you may want to check with your tax advisor. Any scholarship or grant that is conditioned on your being and remaining at a legal resident of a particular town/city or state. Financial aid officers report that major student loan and grant programs including Pell, Perkins, Stafford, PLUS, SEOG, and Federal work study are not affected. Check with your financial aid officer. Many legal interests, such as your in-state versus out-of-state tuition status is not affected by establishing your voting domicile in the municipality where you live while attending college. If you have questions about the election laws, the complete laws are available at www.state.nh.us/sos/statutes.htm. Questions may also be directed to the Secretary of State's Office at 603-271-3242 or to your town/city supervisors of the checklist or clerk. If you believe your rights as a voter are being denied you may file a complaint with the Attorney General's Office by calling toll free 1-866-868-3703 (1-866-voter03). REGISTERING TO VOTE While voting is a right, the law imposes on every person who wants to vote a duty to prove that he or she is qualified. Proving that one is qualified to vote occurs during the registration process. Provided you bring the correct documents with you, registering to vote is a quick and easy process. You may register in person at the town or city clerk's office for the town or city where you have established your voting domicile. The supervisors of the checklist must be in session for the correction of the checklist at some suitable place in the city or town between 6 to 13 days prior to the election which is the last opportunity to register in person prior to appearing in person on election day. Please check with your clerk's office or the Granthamnh.net website calendar for the time and place of the meeting in Grantham. There is Absentee registration available and Absentee voting also. To help facilitate the process, each applicant should bring documents which can prove identity, domicile, citizenship and age. The law treats a New Hampshire driver’s license, non-driver ID, or other government-issued photo identification that lists your name and the address you claim as your voting domicile, or vehicle registration form as presumptive evidence of your domicile and will generally be accepted as proof of age and identify. If you are licensed to drive in New Hampshire or have a vehicle registered in New Hampshire, these are the most helpful documents to bring with you. Other documents which may prove these requirements are: state or federally issued driver’s license, U.S. Passport; Armed Services Identification; identification issued by the Federal government; or photo identification issued by any state government. FORMS OF IDENTIFICATION ALLOWED TO PROVE IDENTITY, DOMICILE, CITIZENSHIP AND AGE (THIS IS NOT AN EXCLUSIVE LIST) Driver's license (New Hampshire or out-of-state) or ANY government-issued photo ID U. S. passport OR official birth certificate Or any other proof determined reasonable by the supervisors of the checklist. The Federal Help America Vote Act (HAVA) requires each person applying to register to vote to provide a driver's license or non-driver ID number (if the voter has a license or non-driver ID from any state) or, only if the voter is not licensed to drive or does not have a state issued non-driver identification, the last four digits of his/her social security number. Federal law requires that the validity of the registration information provided be checked against the information on file with the Department of Motor Vehicles or the Social Security Administration. If you do not have these forms of identification which prove identity, domicile, citizenship and age or all of these, you may complete a Domicile Affidavit and/or a Qualified Voter Affidavit. VOTING ABSENTEE New Hampshire law permits a qualified voter, who is a college student attending college outside their home town in New Hampshire, to register and vote by mail. To register, the student must complete an absentee voter application and a voter registration form obtained from the clerk’s office for the town/city where the student’s voting domicile is established. A person can register absentee only if he or she does not intend to be in that town when the clerk’s office is open, or by reason of a physical disability is unable to attend a meeting of the supervisors of the checklist at any time prior to the election. Otherwise, if the student will be in town and can register in person, the student is required to do so. In most cases, college students who vote by absentee ballot do so because they are absent from their town or city on election day. To vote absentee, the student must complete an application for an absentee ballot. That application is available from the town/city clerk or on the Secretary of State’s website. Registered voters in New Hampshire may vote absentee if the voter: plans to be absent on the day of the election from the city, town or unincorporated place in which the voter maintains his or her voting domicile; cannot appear in public on election day because of observance of a religious commitment; is unable to vote in person due to a disability; or cannot appear at any time during polling hours at his or her polling place or to be in transit from work from the time the polls open until after the time the polls close. Students attending college in New Hampshire from other states may also have the right to vote by absentee ballot from their hometown in their home state. If you are considering requesting an absentee ballot from any state, including New Hampshire, you should check with the town or city clerk or another appropriate local election official to determine the timeline for requesting and submitting such ballot. UPCOMING EVENTS AND DEADLINES Voters can register and make corrections to vote on election day, with the Supervisors of the Checklist. Appropriate documentation is needed. (see above) 2024 General Election Sample Ballot pg. 1 2024 General Election Sample Ballot pg. 2 2024 Absentee Ballot Application - State and Federal Elections
