Voting in New Hampshire

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

  • New Hampshire is your home

How Do I Vote

If you’re already registered to vote at your current address, just head to your polling place during voting hours on election day and cast your vote!

If you have moved to a new town or to a different city ward or are registering for the first time in New Hampshire, you will need to register to vote.

Registering to Vote

When and Where do I Register to Vote?

You can REGISTER AT YOUR POLLING PLACE ON ELECTION DAY. New Hampshire has same-day voter registration! Note that you must provide a photo ID if you register to vote for the first time in NH on election day. 

OR

REGISTER EARLY at your town or city clerk’s office for more voting options. 

    • Registering early makes voting at the polls on election day faster and easier.

    • Registering to vote makes voting absentee easy. You will have the option to vote absentee if you can’t make it the polls on election day. See below for details on who is eligible to vote absentee in New Hampshire.

Find your clerk’s office info and hours here. You can also register at your town’s Supervisors of the Checklist meetings, or at occasionally held voter registration events held by your local election officials at universities, high schools, nursing homes, or town offices.

Do I Need Documentation to Register to Vote?

To be eligible to vote in New Hampshire, you need to prove your identity, age, citizenship and domicile (physical address). You can sign affidavits to prove most of these qualifications if you lack documentation. However, you now need a valid photo ID to prove your identity if you are registering for the first time in NH on election day. In all other circumstances, no eligible voter will be denied the right to vote for lacking documentation.

If you are registering to vote at the polls for the first time in NH, you now need a valid photo ID for your vote to count.

  • What do I need?

    A photo ID issued by any state, the federal government, or a NH high school, college or trade school.

    Examples include:

    A driver’s license or non-driver’s ID from any state

    a passport,

    a military ID,

    A NH school ID.

    A voter ID. Note: you can get this for free at the DMV if you first ask your town or city clerk or the Secretary of State’s office for a voucher,

    The ID may be expired, as long as it has an expiration or issuance date less than 5 years ago. If you’re over 65, the expiration date is irrelevant.


    What if I don’t have appropriate proof?
    - If you have registered in New Hampshire before, or if you are registering ahead of election day, you may sign an affidavit to prove your qualifications, have your picture taken, and vote just like anyone else.
    - BUT, if you are registering for the first time in NH on election day, however, you will need to present an ID for your vote to count. If you don’t have an ID on election day, you will be allowed to cast a ballot, but your ballot will not count unless you provide a copy of your photo ID to the NH Secretary of State’s Office within seven days.

    • Your photo ID will also prove your age if it contains your date of birth. You can use an official document like a birth certificate or naturalization certificate.

    • Or, you can sign an affidavit and vote like anyone else.

    • US birth certificate, US passport or passport card, naturalization document, etc.

    • Or, you can sign an affidavit and vote like anyone else.

    • Your domicile (your physical address) can be proved with many things including pieces They can be printed or digital.

      For example:

    • State-issued ID with your address

    • mail sent to you at your address (not a PO box),

    • a utility bill showing your address,

    • documentation from your school showing the address of your dorm or off-campus address

    • a rental agreement, lease, deed, or property tax bill

    • a letter from a homeless shelter or service provider,

    • car registration

    • Or, you can sign an affidavit and vote like anyone else.

Absentee Voting

Absentee Voting Eligibility

Absentee voting in New Hampshire is  permitted for voter who can’t make it to the polls on election day for one of the following reasons: 

  • You need to be at work,

  • You will be away on Election Day,

  • You are responsible for childcare or caring for an infirm adult,

  • You have a disability or illness, or

  • You are observing a religious commitment on Election Day 

Voting Absentee in person at your local clerk’s office

You can vote absentee in person at your local clerk’s office up to the day before Election Day. You can go to their clerk’s office, request your absentee ballot, fill it out, and return it–all on one visit.

Voting Absentee by mail: step by step

STEP 1

STEP 2

STEP 3

STEP 4

Request an absentee ballot.  Click here to download an absentee request application (fillable form).  To check your voter registration status, click here.

Fill out, sign and return the application to your town clerk. Return it to your clerk’s office by mail, email, fax, or in person. Absentee ballots start mailing about 30 days before the election, and tend to arrive a few days after you submit your application.

Fill out your absentee ballot & sign the envelope. You can expect your absentee ballot a few days after you send in  your application. Make sure to follow the instructions and don’t forget to sign the inner envelope.

Return your absentee ballot to your town clerk either by mail or in person to arrive before election day. Close to the election? Drop your ballot off in person if you can. You can track your ballot here.

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 established your civic home in New Hampshire but are someplace else temporarily, you remain domiciled here unless and until you make a new place your domicile (home). Just because you might move in the future does not prevent you from voting here.

  • 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.

  • I’m worried I don’t have an acceptable proof of identity. What should I do?
    Register early at your clerk’s office - you can sign affidavit
    Proofs of ID.
    You can get a non-driver’s ID at the DMV for $10. It will be free if you get a signed voucher from your clerk’s office.

  • Yes, but only specific people. A member of your immediate family or another “delivery agent” may drop off your absentee ballot for you. They may deliver it to your clerk’s office before election day or bring it directly to your polling place before 5pm on election day.

    “Delivery agents” include:

    The voter’s spouse, parent, sibling, child, grandchild, father-in-law, mother-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, stepparent or stepchild;

    Nursing home administrator or a nursing home staff member designated in writing by the administrator to deliver ballots;

    Residential care facility administrator, or residential care facility staff member designated in writing by the administrator to deliver ballots;

    A person* assisting a blind voter a voter with a disability who has signed a statement on the affidavit envelope acknowledging assistance. (*This person cannot deliver more than 4 absentee ballots.)

    Your delivery agent will be asked to complete a return form and show photo identification in order to deliver your ballot. See NH RSA 657:17.

  • Yes. Unless you are currently incarcerated for a felony conviction you can vote. People on probation or parole can vote just like anyone else. Misdemeanor convictions don’t prevent you from voting.

  • Yes. So long as you are a US Citizen, 18 years old, and live in NH, you can vote. Your voting address (“domicile”) can be any place where you lay your head at night. It can be a parking lot, shelter, a friend’s house, park or bridge.

    You can provide a letter from a homeless shelter or a written statement from a friend with whom you are temporarily residing to show domicile. RSA 654:12 I(c)(1)(B). You can also sign an affidavit to prove your domicile and vote like anyone else. Note that if you are registering in New Hampshire for the first time on election day, you need some form of photo ID.

  • If you have moved to a new town or a different city ward, you need to re-register to vote at the address where you currently live. Check your voter registration here.

  • You will be able to become unaffiliated with a party and register as undeclared after the primary. Some clerks are sending out "return to undeclared" cards with your ballot. If you vote in person, you can fill out the "return to undeclared" card at your polling place after you cast your ballot.

    Otherwise, you can always complete a party change form at your clerk’s office or at a Supervisors of the Checklist meeting after the primary.

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.

"Illness" here applies to: 1) voters with symptoms of a communicable disease or illness; 2) voters who, due to their own health circumstances, limit public exposure in their day-to-day life as a preventative measure. 3) other voters if, based on their own health circumstances, medical authorities advise them to avoid going out in public

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).