COLLEGE STUDENT VOTING IN NEW HAMPSHIRE

College students can vote in New Hampshire just like anyone else.

Am I Eligible to Vote in NH? • FAQs

You can register at the polls on election day!  Or plan ahead: register today at your clerk’s office

Who Is Eligible to Vote in New Hampshire?

Here are the ONLY requirements to vote in New Hampshire:

  • You must be a US citizen

  • You must be 18 years or older on or before Election day

  • You must be domiciled in New Hampshire. 

    • “Domicile” is just a fancy word for live - you are domiciled where you choose to lay your head at night and where you choose to be part of the community.

  • You must show that you are who you say you are.

FAQs

  • You can vote in NH as long as you are a US citizen, will be 18 or older on or before Election day, and are domiciled in New Hampshire. The law makes it very clear: “a student of any institution of learning 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.” RSA 654:1, I-a.

  • If you were physically present in New Hampshire and made it your civic home, it remains your home until you make a new place your home. That means that students who are away from New Hampshire and intend to return are still considered to live here for voting purposes. 

    BUT if you have never lived in New Hampshire, you can’t vote here, even if you are enrolled in a NH school. You need to have previously established a physical presence in NH and made it your home.

  • No. You do NOT need a driver’s license or car registration to vote. Your license status has no effect whatsoever on your right to vote. However, you do need some form of photo ID if you are a first time voter in New Hampshire, registering on election day.

  • No eligible voter in New Hampshire will be denied the right to vote for lacking documentation. You can sign affidavits attesting to your age, citizenship, and domicile to prove your eligibility if you don’t have documents. However, voters who register for the first time without proof of identity will cast an “affidavit ballot” and need to return proof of identity within 7 days for their ballot to remain counted. The process is faster and easier if you bring documents. Examples of these documents include (but are not limited to):

    • Identity: a school- or government-issued photo ID (license, non-driver’s ID, school ID, etc.)

    • Age: a driver’s license or non-driver ID from any state, birth certificate, passport, etc.

    • Citizenship: birth certificate, US passport/passcard, or naturalization document, etc. 

    Domicile: can be proved with many things including pieces of mail, campus address documentation from your school, a rental agreement, license, or official school records website with your local address or dorm. These records can be printed or digital.

Proof of Identify

  • Yes! All eligible voters will be able to cast a ballot on election day.

    However. If you are registering to vote in New Hampshire for the first time and don’t present an ID on election day, you will vote with an “affidavit ballot.” Your vote will only count if you send a copy of a photo ID to the Secretary of State’s office that is received within seven days of the election.

    If you’re already registered to vote or have registered to vote in New Hampshire in the past, you can sign an affidavit, have your picture taken, and vote like anyone else.

  • Yes. All photo IDs issued by accredited colleges, high schools or career schools in New Hampshire are accepted. Note: The ID must list an expiration date, and can’t be more than 5 years expired.

    Full lists of NH-accredited schools are here: colleges, career schools, high schools (public and non-public)

  • You can get a *free* non-driver’s ID at New Hampshire DMV, but you must act quickly. Make an appointment now. If you need help, call the Secretary of State’s office.

    *Non-driver’s IDs cost $10, but are free if you get a signed voucher from your clerk’s office or from the Secretary of State’s office.

  • Under a new law, in-person voters registering in New Hampshire for the first time who lack proof of identity on election day must use a ballot marked as an “Affidavit Ballot.”

    The voter will be given a packet with instructions to send proof of identity to the Secretary of State’s office. The packet includes a stamped envelope. If the voter fails to do this, election officials will pull the voter’s affidavit ballot and deduct the votes on that ballot from the election results.

    See “How do I get a photo ID quickly” for more on how you can acquire a photo ID.

Notes and Sources:

"Home" Definition: The law uses the word ‘domicile,’ but “[t]he fundamental idea of domicile is home.” The State of New Hampshire Guide to Registering to Vote (July, 2022), quoting Felker v. Henderson, 78 N.H. 509, 511 (1917). You are domiciled where you choose to lay your head at night and where you choose to be part of the community. “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. RSA 654:1, I.

Registering Early: Register before your town's last supervisors of the checklist meeting, held 6-13 days before the election.

Multilingual election info (SOS)

NHSOS July 2022 registration guide

NH SOS & DOJ 418 Guidance

NHSOS Absentee Guidance (July, 2022)

NHSOS New American voting guide

NHSOS Clerk info

NHSOS Polling Place lookup

Free non-driver ID, RSA 260:21 (V).