Student Voting Guide | New Hampshire
This student voting guide explains the laws for the state of New Hampshire. If you wish to vote from your school address, check the student voting guide for the state where you attend school. If you want to cast an absentee ballot in your home state, check the student voting guide for that state.
The Brennan Center is committed to giving students as much information as possible to help you exercise your constitutional right to vote. More than ever in recent history, changes to voting laws are being implemented in ways that can affect your ability to make your vote count. In addition to the content you will find in this Student Voting Guide, a report that we issued last year documents a number of these changes and we continue to track passed and pending voting law changes here. While we are working to give you up-to-date information, we urge you to be proactive! In order to ensure you have all the information you need before casting your vote, you should also check with your state and local election officials for information about additional requirements or regulations.
This voting guide was last updated in July 2012.
In general, all registration in New Hampshire must be done in person;[1] you can register up to ten days before Election Day at your town or city clerk’s office,[2] or at a meeting of the Supervisors of the Checklist (elected officials who maintain the list of all registered voters for their jurisdiction and are required to meet on the Saturday 10 days prior to each election),[3] or on Election Day at the polls.[4] The last day to register in advance of Election Day is October 27, 2012. Whenever you register to vote in person, you’ll have to provide ID that proves your identity, age, citizenship, and residency (see Identification section below).
However, if you are eligible to vote by absentee ballot and are not able to register at the clerk's office because you are temporarily absent or because of physical disability, you can register absentee.[5] You will need to request an absentee voter registration form and an absentee voter registration affidavit from your city or town clerk or the Secretary of State, and then complete the documents and return them to the city or town clerk.[6] Your absentee voter registration affidavit will have to be witnessed by one other individual.[7] You need to enclose proof of your identity and address with your voter registration form.[8] You do not have to vote absentee if you register absentee.
You can register to vote if you will be 18 by the next election.
In general, all registration in New Hampshire must be done in person;[1] you can register up to ten days before Election Day at your town or city clerk’s office,[2] or at a meeting of the Supervisors of the Checklist (elected officials who maintain the list of all registered voters for their jurisdiction and are required to meet on the Saturday 10 days prior to each election),[3] or on Election Day at the polls.[4] Whenever you register to vote in person, you’ll have to provide ID that proves your identity, age, citizenship, and residency (see Identification section below).
However, if you are eligible to vote by absentee ballot and are not able to register at the clerk's office because you are temporarily absent or because of physical disability, you can register absentee.[5] You will need to request an absentee voter registration form and an absentee voter registration affidavit from your city or town clerk or the Secretary of State, and then complete the documents and return them to the city or town clerk.[6] Your absentee voter registration affidavit will have to be witnessed by one other individual.[7] You need to enclose proof of your identity and address with your voter registration form.[8] You do not have to vote absentee if you register absentee.
You can register to vote if you will be 18 by the next election.
When you register to vote in person, you will be asked to provide proof of identity, citizenship, age, and domicile (your address), by providing various forms of identification, but you can sign an affidavit as to each if you can’t produce ID.[18]
Proof of citizenship includes: a birth certificate, U.S. passport or naturalization papers.[19] To prove your domicile, you must show “reasonable documentation” of it.[20] A current New Hampshire drivers’ license or car registration, or a U.S. government-issued ID that includes your name and address are presumptive evidence of your domicile, although other ID may also be accepted.[21] The question of whether student ID or other kinds of ID will count is left up to local registrars.[22] If you are planning to register on Election Day, you should check to make sure you bring the right kind of ID.
You’ll also have to prove your identity to show that the proofs of citizenship, age, and domicile all relate to you.[23] You’ll need to show photo ID, or have another voter identify you, or if all else fails, sign another affidavit asserting your identity.[24]
In July 2012, the New Hampshire legislature passed a new law requiring voters to provide photo identification at the polls.[25] Voters will not be required to comply with these new requirements during the September primary, but the law will be in effect for the November election. Prior to voting in November 2012, a voter must provide one of the following valid forms of photo ID:
- A driver’s license issued by the state of New Hampshire or any other state, regardless of expiration date;
- An identification card issued by the director of motor vehicles;
- A United States armed services identification card;
- A United States passport, regardless of expiration date;
- Any other valid photo identification issued by federal, state, county, or municipal government;
- A valid student identification card; or
- A photo identification not authorized specifically above, but determined to be legitimate by the supervisors of the checklist, the moderator, or the town or city clerk.
If you do not have any of the above IDs, you will be permitted to sign an affidavit swearing to your identity, unless your identity can be verified by an election worker.
Please note that this list of acceptable IDs will narrow after September 2013, when only photo IDs issued by the New Hampshire DMV or federal government will be accepted.
If you are absent from your town of registration on Election Day or are unable to get to the polls on election day due to religious observance or physical disability, you can vote by absentee ballot.[26] The blank application for an absentee ballot is available on the web site of the Secretary of State here. You can mail or fax in your application; there’s no deadline for your application to be received, but you will want to leave enough time for the clerk to send you a ballot and have you return it on time. If you mail in your absentee ballot, it must be received by the clerk by 5 p.m. on Election Day.[27]
If you are registering to vote for the first time and you intend to vote absentee, you can register to vote as an absentee voter. You will need to enclose ID if you register to vote absentee. With your absentee registration, you can send a copy of a current and valid New Hampshire driver’s license or a copy of a photo ID issued by the U.S. government that shows your name and address.[28] Or you can send a copy of any other current and valid photo ID along with a copy of a second piece of identification showing your name and address, including a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document.[29]
Last Updated in July 2012
[1] N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 654:28.
[2] N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 654:8.
[3] N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 654:28.
[4] N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 654:7-a(II).
[5] N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. §654:16.
[6] N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 654:16 .
[7] N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 654:17(II).
[8] N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 654:17(I).
[9] Voting as a College Student in New Hampshire and Voter Registration, Sec’y of State of N.H., http://sos.nh.gov/nhsos_content.aspx?id=12816 (last visited July 10, 2012).
[10] N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 654:1(I), (I-a); Newburger v. Peterson, 344 F. Supp. 559 (D N.H. 1972) (students cannot be required to show indefinite intention to remain in New Hampshire in order to register to vote).
[11] Id.
[12] N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 654:7(IV) (2012) (as modified by 2012 Senate Bill 318).
[13] Voting as a College Student in New Hampshire and Voter Registration, Sec’y of State of N.H., http://sos.nh.gov/nhsos_content.aspx?id=12816 (last visited July 10, 2012).
[14] N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 654:12(II).
[15] N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 654:42.
[16] N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 654:42.
[17] N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 659:27.
[18] N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 654:12.
[19] N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 654:12(I).
[20] N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 654:12(I)(c).
[21] N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 654:12(II)(a).
[22] Voting as a College Student in New Hampshire and Voter Registration, Sec’y of State of N.H., http://sos.nh.gov/nhsos_content.aspx?id=12816 (last visited July 10, 2012).
[23] N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 654:12(III).
[24] N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 654:12(III).
[25] N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 659:13 (2012), as amended by 2012 Senate Bill 289.
[26] N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 657:1.
[27] N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 657:22.
[28] N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 654:17(I).
[29] N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 654:17(I).
