New Hampshire

Complete coverage for New Hampshire can be found below. (Return to States List)

Swing State Focus

• Absentee Ballots: What is the last date on which an absentee ballot can arrive and still be counted?

  All mailed absentee ballots must be received by 5 p.m. on election day. NH ST § 657:22 (West 2012). Clerks may accept absentee ballots submitted in person until 5:00 pm on the day before the election. http://sos.nh.gov/RegVote.aspx.

• Absentee Ballots: How many absentee ballots were cast in 2008 and 2010, and what percentage of those were counted as valid ballots?

  In 2008, 70,064 absentee ballots were cast and 98.2 percent were counted. In 2010, 29,539 absentee ballots were cast and 97.7 percent were counted.

  http://www.eac.gov/research/election_administration_and_voting_survey.aspx.

• Absentee Ballots: What must a voter do to validate an absentee ballot (e.g. any witness requirement? ID requirement for mailed ballots?)

  The voter must seal the ballot in the envelope, execute the affidavit providing the reason the person is voting absentee, and endorse the envelope with the voter’s name, address, and voting place. NH ST § 657:17 (West 2012)

• Absentee Ballots: Will absentee voters be notified of mistakes on their ballot and be given an opportunity to correct those mistakes?

  If a person fails to certify his or her eligibility to use an absentee ballot, the election worker will send the applicant an absentee ballot along with written instructions regarding which documents are needed to complete the registration process and notice that the ballot will not count without those documents. NH § ST 657:16.

• Absentee Ballots: What is the latest date on which a voter can request an absentee ballot, and are those dates different for overseas and domestic voters?

  There is no specific date deadline to request a ballot, but clerks must send all absentee ballots before 5:00 pm on the day before the election. N.H. Rev. St. § 657:15.

• Poll-worker Error: What does state law say about a ballot cast incorrectly or in the wrong place due to poll-worker error?

  No information available.

• Provisional Ballots: What kind of information is required to validate a provisional ballot?

  New Hampshire does not have a provisional ballot system in place, as it allows voters to register on Election Day. A voter whose name does not appear on the checklist but is otherwise a qualified voter will be allowed to register and vote.

  NH ST § 654:7-a (West 2012)

• Provisional Ballots: How many provisional ballots were cast in 2008 and 2010, and what percentage of those were counted as valid ballots?

  Not applicable due to Election Day registration.

• Provisional Ballots: Is there an affidavit alternative for verifying the ID requirements for a provisional ballot?

  Not applicable due to Election Day registration.

• Provisional Ballots: Will provisional ballots count for the races for which a voter was in the correct location, even if in the wrong precinct for lower-ticket votes?

  Not applicable due to Election Day registration.

• Provisional Ballots: What is the last date on which a provisional ballot voter can provide information that validates the ballot?

  Not applicable due to Election Day registration.

• Recount Resources: Does the state have an automatic recount, and how is it triggered?

  No.

• Recount Resources: May a candidate request a recount?

  A candidate may request a recount, provided that there is less than a 20% difference between the applying candidate and the declared victor, contingent upon the deposit of a fee with the Secretary of State. NH ST § 660:01 (West 2012)

• Recount Resources: What is the date for certification (how many days after the election)?

  Certification occurs when the time for a recount or appeal to the ballot law commission or superior court has expired or after all candidates for an office have waived in writing a recount or an appeal. N.H. Rev. Stat. § 659:84. A request for a recount must be made by the Friday following the election. N.H. Rev. Stat. § 660:1
  
  

• Voter ID: What is the ID requirement to vote?

  In New Hampshire, voters are required to provide a valid photo identification in order to vote. Valid identification (in elections before September 1, 2013) includes:

  ·Driver’s license issued by any state (even if expired);

  ·ID card issued by NH DMV (Division of Motor Vehicles);

  ·U.S. Armed Services ID card;

  ·U.S. Passport (even if expired);

  ·Valid photo ID card issued by either the federal government or a state, county or municipal government;

  ·Valid student ID card;

  ·Other photo ID deemed legitimate by the supervisors of the checklist, the moderator, or the clerk; or

  ·Verification of identity by a supervisor of the checklist, the moderator or the clerk.

  NH ST § 659:13 (West 2012)

• Voter ID: On what date did the voter ID requirement become effective?

  The regulation became effective June 27, 2012, when the legislature overturned the governor’s veto of the voter identification bill. http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/06/27/n-h-approves-voter-id-law/

• Voter ID: Is there an affidavit alternative available to use on Election Day for persons without the required ID?

  Voters who do not provide the required identification may complete a challenged voter affidavit and vote a regular ballot. The Secretary of State will send such voters a letter of identity verification within 60 days of a general election to be returned with confirmation that the person voted in the election, and failure to return the confirmation could result in an investigation of fraudulent voting. NH ST § 659:13 (West 2012)

Information & Analysis

November, 2008

• GOP Lawsuit in New Hampshire (11/04/08)

January, 2008

• N.H. Primary Recount Possible (1/16/08)
• N.H. Primary Ballots Run Low (1/08/08)

Commentary

There are no commentary articles in New Hampshire that Election Law @ Moritz has written at this time.

News Wire

Election law news from across the country concerning New Hampshire

April, 2013

• N.H. Senate holds hearing on voter ID law (4/01/13)

March, 2013

• N.H. House panel recommends rolling back new voter ID law (3/06/13)

February, 2013

• Early voting? Not if Gardner can prevent it (2/12/13)

November, 2012

• About 1 percent of NH voters didn’t show ID on election day; letters to be sent out (11/27/12)

October, 2012

• Voter ID voucher offered by NH Secretary of State (10/09/12)
• NH Supreme Court to hear voter registration case (10/03/12)

September, 2012

• NHCLU suit challenges election law (9/13/12)
• Feds approve voter ID law (9/05/12)

July, 2012

• New flyers available to explain changes to state election laws (7/25/12)
• Voter ID law of the land after Legislature overturns Gov. Lynch veto (7/02/12)

June, 2012

• Voter ID plan would take effect in fall, with tigheter restrictions later (6/05/12)

May, 2012

• Redistricting cases combined (5/10/12)

March, 2012

• U.S. Voting Rights Act regulates N.H. (3/27/12)

February, 2012

• Lawmakers define voters' residency (2/09/12)

December, 2011

• Rejection of N.H. House redistricting plan urged (12/16/11)

October, 2011

• New Hampshire primary date to be announced next week (10/28/11)
• Nevada GOP folds; opens January date for NH primary (10/24/11)
• New Hampshire mulls Republican primary in December (10/13/11)

May, 2011

• NH House Voting on Requiring Photo ID to Vote (5/31/11)
• NH House to vote on requiring photo ID to vote (5/02/11)

April, 2011

• NH committee endorses requiring photo ID to vote (4/29/11)

March, 2011

• Voting bill fails to pass House committee (3/14/11)
• NH rejects seeking birth records from candidates (3/14/11)
• NH House committee votes to eliminate Ballot Law Commission (3/10/11)

February, 2011

• NH House committee takes up student voting bill (2/24/11)
• NH college students oppose voting restrictions (2/17/11)

January, 2011

• Voting bill fails to pass House committee (1/01/11)
• NH rejects seeking birth records from candidates (1/01/11)

September, 2010

• Federal Law May Have Slowed Down Ballot Counting (9/16/10)

June, 2010

• 2012 primary plans would keep N.H. first (6/08/10)

June, 2009

• Voter accused of double-dipping (6/12/09)

November, 2008

• GOP wins lawsuit in N.H. over poll observers (11/05/08)

July, 2008

• Voting machine problems are focus of documentary (7/29/08)

Litigation

Active Cases

There are no active cases in New Hampshire that Election Law @ Moritz is covering at this time.

Archived Cases

• Hollander v. McCain (Candidate Eligibility)

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