Student Voting Project | New Hampshire

Voting at School

ID Requirements

When you register to vote in person, you'll have to provide proof of 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.

Proof of citizenship includes: a birth certificate, U.S. passport or naturalization papers. To prove your domicile, you must show "reasonable documentation" of it. A current New Hampshire drivers' license or car registration, or a U.S. government ID that includes your name and address are absolute proof of your domicile, although other ID may also be accepted. The question of whether student ID or other kinds of ID will count is left up to local registrars. If you're planning to register on Election Day, you should check to make sure you'll have the right kind of ID.

You'll also have to prove your identity to show that the evidence you showed to prove citizenship, age, and domicile all relate to you. You'll need to show photo ID, or have another voter identify you, or if all else fails, sign another affidavit asserting your identity.

If you are already registered to vote, you do not need to show additional ID on Election Day. If you register to vote at the polls, you will need to bring the same kind of proof of age, citizenship, domicile and identity.

You also need to enclose ID if you register to vote absentee (see above.) 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. 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.

Registration Requirements

In general, all registration in New Hampshire must be done in person; you can register up to ten days before election at your town or city clerk's office, or at a meeting of the supervisors of the checklist, or on Election Day at the polls. Whenever you register to vote in person, you'll have to provide ID (see below).

Alternately, if you are eligible to vote by absentee ballot and aren't able to register at the clerk's office because you are out of town during their normal business hours, or you can't attend a meeting of the supervisors, you can register absentee. You'll need to request an absentee voter registration form and an absentee voter registration affidavit from your town clerk, and then complete the documents and send them back. (Your absentee voter registration affidavit will have to be witnessed.) You need to enclose documentation of your identity and domicile with your voter registration form. You don't have to vote absentee if you register absentee.

Residency Requirements

The Secretary of State of New Hampshire has specifically stated that students have the right to choose between keeping their residence at the place they lived before attending school or establishing residence in their school community. New Hampshire's laws make clear that a student who considers herself a resident in a place and has a present intention to make it her home can vote there.

Students who lived in New Hampshire prior to attending school and who wish to establish or keep their New Hampshire voting residency (i.e., at their parents' address), should have no problem doing so, unless they've already registered to vote in another state. Like all states, New Hampshire allows students to keep their voting residency even if they move out of the county or state to attend school. The only way you might lose this residency is if you "abandon" it by asserting residency in a new state. While registering to vote in another state is not automatically considered an abandonment of your New Hampshire residency, some judges or officials might view it as such.

Residency Challenges

The "checklist supervisors," local officials who handle voter registration, can only refuse to register you when you apply if they have evidence indicating that it is more likely than not that you are not a resident.

Any other citizen can file a complaint in court claiming that someone shouldn't have been added to the checklist because they weren't actually a resident. A hearing will be held, and the judge can order the challenged person removed.

Any voter can challenge your residency on Election Day, but if you sign a sworn statement saying you're eligible, you'll be allowed to vote.

Absentee Requirement

If you are absent from your town of registration on Election Day, you can vote by absentee ballot. The blank application for an absentee ballot is available on the web site of the Secretary of State. You can mail or fax in your application; there's no deadline for your application to be received, but you'll 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.

Voting at Home

ID Requirements

When you register to vote in person, you'll have to provide proof of 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.

Proof of citizenship includes: a birth certificate, U.S. passport or naturalization papers. To prove your domicile, you must show "reasonable documentation" of it. A current New Hampshire drivers' license or car registration, or a U.S. government ID that includes your name and address are absolute proof of your domicile, although other ID may also be accepted. The question of whether student ID or other kinds of ID will count is left up to local registrars. If you're planning to register on Election Day, you should check to make sure you'll have the right kind of ID.

You'll also have to prove your identity to show that the evidence you showed to prove citizenship, age, and domicile all relate to you. You'll need to show photo ID, or have another voter identify you, or if all else fails, sign another affidavit asserting your identity.

If you are already registered to vote, you do not need to show additional ID on Election Day. If you register to vote at the polls, you will need to bring the same kind of proof of age, citizenship, domicile and identity.

You also need to enclose ID if you register to vote absentee (see above.) 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. 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.

Registration Requirements

In general, all registration in New Hampshire must be done in person; you can register up to ten days before election at your town or city clerk's office, or at a meeting of the supervisors of the checklist, or on Election Day at the polls. Whenever you register to vote in person, you'll have to provide ID (see below).

Alternately, if you are eligible to vote by absentee ballot and aren't able to register at the clerk's office because you are out of town during their normal business hours, or you can't attend a meeting of the supervisors, you can register absentee. You'll need to request an absentee voter registration form and an absentee voter registration affidavit from your town clerk, and then complete the documents and send them back. (Your absentee voter registration affidavit will have to be witnessed.) You need to enclose documentation of your identity and domicile with your voter registration form. You don't have to vote absentee if you register absentee.

Residency Requirements

The Secretary of State of New Hampshire has specifically stated that students have the right to choose between keeping their residence at the place they lived before attending school or establishing residence in their school community. New Hampshire's laws make clear that a student who considers herself a resident in a place and has a present intention to make it her home can vote there.

Students who lived in New Hampshire prior to attending school and who wish to establish or keep their New Hampshire voting residency (i.e., at their parents' address), should have no problem doing so, unless they've already registered to vote in another state. Like all states, New Hampshire allows students to keep their voting residency even if they move out of the county or state to attend school. The only way you might lose this residency is if you "abandon" it by asserting residency in a new state. While registering to vote in another state is not automatically considered an abandonment of your New Hampshire residency, some judges or officials might view it as such.

Residency Challenges

The "checklist supervisors," local officials who handle voter registration, can only refuse to register you when you apply if they have evidence indicating that it is more likely than not that you are not a resident.

Any other citizen can file a complaint in court claiming that someone shouldn't have been added to the checklist because they weren't actually a resident. A hearing will be held, and the judge can order the challenged person removed.

Any voter can challenge your residency on Election Day, but if you sign a sworn statement saying you're eligible, you'll be allowed to vote.

Absentee Requirement

If you are absent from your town of registration on Election Day, you can vote by absentee ballot. The blank application for an absentee ballot is available on the web site of the Secretary of State. You can mail or fax in your application; there's no deadline for your application to be received, but you'll 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.