Municipal elections for most NH towns will be March 11. Some in April or May. City elections in the fall.

Sample ballots will be available for municipal elections from your town clerk.

For special elections, check our Events page or the Sec. of State’s website.

How to vote early in case of a storm: if an official winter storm warning has been issued and you believe getting to the polls on election day may be too dangerous or impossible for you, you may go to your town clerk’s office on Monday, fill out an absentee ballot application, turn it in and get the ballot right then. Immediately fill out the ballot, put it in the envelope, sign the back of the envelope, and hand it back to the clerk. Bring ID with you, please. This special absentee voting is not only legal, it is a good solution for voters who otherwise would miss their chance to vote for town and school officials. Do it! Town elections matter! All you lucky folks with four-wheel drive and courage, you may still go to the polls on Tuesday and vote as you usually do.

Here is the link to the law allowing Monday voting when a winter storm warning has been issued for election day.

If you are already registered in your town or ward, you will be asked your name and asked to verify your physical address and asked to show a photo ID when you go to the polls. If you have a photo ID, please bring it!

If you are not yet registered in your current town, see our Voter Registration page.

You need show only ONE photo ID. If you don’t have one with you on election day, you can sign an affidavit and still vote.

Acceptable photo IDs include the following:

• Driver’s license from NH or any other state (current or expired no more than 5 years*);

• Non-driver’s photo ID issued by NH Department of Motor Vehicles;

• US armed services ID card;

• US passport or US passcard (current or expired no more than 5 years*);

• Valid student ID card;

• Other photo ID acceptable to the moderator, supervisor of the checklist, or town clerk;

• Verification of a person’s identity by the moderator, supervisor of the checklist, town or city clerk, or a town selectman.

NOTE: *For voters over 65 years old, no expiration date restriction applies.

If you don’t have an ID listed above, you will still be able to get a ballot by signing an affidavit saying you are who you claim to be.

Your photo will be taken at the polls and attached to the affidavit.

Following the election you’ll receive mail from the Secretary of State. Sign the enclosed postcard and mail it back, confirming that you did vote in the recent election.

IMPORTANT:  If you have medical conditions that limit your public exposure, you may request an absentee ballot by checking “disability” as your reason.

If you know you won’t be able to go to the polls on Election Day because of disability, religious beliefs, work schedule, military service, or temporary absence, you may request an absentee ballot to vote. (Note that “work schedule” includes care of young children or the infirm, even if you are not paid for that work.)

Helpful hints about voting absentee:

Be sure to sign the inner envelope. If  health conditions that limit your exposure to others in public is your reason for voting absentee, sign the envelope on the right-hand side (which mentions “disability.”)

Return your ballot well in advance of the election. Mail or hand deliver your ballot to your town/city clerk. If you mail it, one stamp should work for most ballots.

Don’t use  a Sharpie to mark your ballot–it bleeds thru.  Use a black ball point pen or a pencil.

You may get an Absentee Ballot Application at your town or city clerk’s office until 5:00 pm on the day before election day. You may also request it via email or possibly by phone. Do this well ahead of the election to allow time for the mail both ways. When you get your ballot, fill it out with a black ballpoint pen or a pencil (not a Sharpie; it bleeds thru). Put your completed ballot in the smaller envelope. Then sign that envelope, put it into the larger envelope,  and hand deliver or mail it back to your town or city clerk. You will need to add postage if you mail it. Usually just one stamp, unless you have multiple sheets in your ballot.

If you prefer, you may get an absentee ballot for state and federal elections  online. Some towns also post the town election ballots online. Download then fill out and return the application well in advance of the election to your town or city clerk’s office.

https://www.sos.nh.gov/elections/voters/absentee-ballots

You are not required to send a copy of a photo ID to vote absentee.

When you get your ballot, fill it out as directed. Be sure to sign the envelope (sign the right side if you are voting absentee because of medical conditions or disabilities). Put the signed envelope inside the larger envelope.

Returning your ballot:

To mail it back, put on a stamp and allow enough time. It must be received at the town or city clerk’s office by 5:00 pm on Election Day. (If your town’s ballot is more than one sheet of paper, you will probably need extra postage.)

  You may also hand deliver it to the town clerk’s office.

You may also hand deliver it to the polling place on election day before 5 pm if you run out of time.

Absentee ballots may NOT be faxed. They may, however, be hand-delivered by a relative with an ID on election day.

Answers can be found on the NH Secretary of State’s Elections website at this page: https://sos.nh.gov/elections/voters/uniformed-overseas/

Answers can be found on the NH Secretary of State’s Elections website at this page: https://www.sos.nh.gov/elections/voters/register-vote/absentee/accessible-voting

Voting in New Hampshire 2024:

This flier may be downloaded and reproduced without alteration by any group working to increase the public’s interest in voting. It is a non-partisan guide to voter registration and casting a ballot.  Download the pdf here.

Voter registration and voting instructions from the Sec. of State’s office in Spanish (en enspanol), in French (francais), and Mandarin Chinese. https://www.sos.nh.gov/multilingual-election-information

En espanol:  Cómo votar en las elecciones del 2022 en Nuevo Hampshire

Information about registering & voting in Arabic, French, Nepali, Portuguese, and Spanish are all now on the NH Voting Rights website here (the main landing page): https://www.nhvotingrights.org/

If you want to check the status of your absentee ballot application or ballot for federal elections, you can do so on the Secretary of State’s website. https://sos.nh.gov/elections/voters/absentee-ballots/absentee-ballot-status/

Voting info for released felons and others incarcerated. Download the info from the ACLU-NH here.

Candidates’ profiles from Citizens Count NH website

Candidates’ profiles also at Ballotpedia.org

Candidates’ profiles also at VOTE411.org

Federal law says that students may choose whether to vote at their family residence or in the town where they live while attending college.

College students voting: Get more information from the Sec. of State’s document: https://lwvnh.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/registering-to-vote-in-new-hampshire.pdf

Note: If this website changes and you can’t find the information, call the Secretary of State with questions: 603-271-3242