New Hampshire

If you do not present a photo ID that is approved, or your identity is not verified either through the statewide voter database or personal knowledge of you, by an election official, you will be permitted to vote by affidavit ballot after executing a challenged voter affidavit.

In addition, a photograph taken of you will be attached to the duplicate copy of the affidavit voter verification letter to be delivered to the secretary of state. (If you object to the photograph requirement because of religious beliefs, you may execute an affidavit of religious exemption that will be attached to the challenged voter affidavit.)

Your affidavit ballot will be placed in a container designated “Affidavit Ballots” and hand counted after the polls have closed. The election official will give you an affidavit voter package that contains:

1. a) A prepaid U.S. Postal Service Priority Mail Express (overnight delivery) envelope addressed to the secretary of state for you to return the affidavit verification letter (described in subparagraph (b) below) and any required missing documentation that caused you to vote by affidavit ballot.

(b) An affidavit voter verification letter, in duplicate form, which lists all the documents required to qualify to vote in the state of New Hampshire. The election official will (1) mark, on both copies of the verification letter, which qualifying documents were not provided and (2) give you one copy of the affidavit verification letter; the election official will keep the other copy to forward to the secretary of state. You must return your copy of the affidavit verification letter and a copy of any required documentation to the secretary of state in the provided prepaid U.S. Postal Service envelope within 7 days of the date of the election in order for your ballot to be certified.

On the 7th day after the election, if you have not returned the verification letter with the missing voter qualifying documentation to the secretary of state, either in person or using the prepaid U.S. Postal Service Priority Mail Express Envelope, the candidate(s) and issue(s) on your affidavit ballot will be deducted from the vote total.

If your verification letter is either not returned to the secretary of state or does not provide the required voter qualifying information, your name will be referred by the secretary of state to the New Hampshire attorney general’s office for investigation to determine whether fraudulent voting occurred.

You do not need a REAL ID to vote in New Hampshire.

Your driver’s license or state ID card will show a star in the upper corner if it meets REAL ID requirements under federal law.

• New Hampshire REAL ID info

Get in touch with VoteRiders if you have questions or need free help getting ID.

You may register to vote and cast a ballot on the same day only on Election Day at your local polling place. If you do not present an acceptable photo ID, you must vote by affidavit ballot.

Yes. Based on feedback from the Secretary of State’s office, an electronic copy of an acceptable ID displayed on your mobile or electronic device would satisfy any requirement that would be acceptable by presenting ID itself. There is no distinction among types of IDs.  This view is not explicitly provided in the election law or the guidance document for election workers, but the nature of the state’s approach to voter ID, as described in the voter ID law, suggests a willingness to be flexible.

To be eligible to vote absentee, you must meet one of the following:

• You will be absent on the day of any state election from the county, city, or town in which you are registered to vote
• You have a religious commitment on Election Day
• You have a physical disability
• You are in the military
• Your employment obligation (including the care of children and infirm adults, with or without compensation) does not allow you to go to the polls
• You are in transit to or from work from the time the polls open until after the time the polls close
• You are an emergency worker called into service.

You do not need a copy of your ID to vote by mail in New Hampshire.

BUT: If it is your first time voting in a federal election in New Hampshire, please see the federal ID requirements for first-time voters. A federal election is when you vote for the President, your Congressional Representative or your Senators.

No, but the signature on your absentee ballot must match your signature on file with the state.

While notice of any defect(s) in your absentee ballot is not explicitly required, the state’s “best practice” is to attempt to notify any absentee voter whose ballot has been rejected for any reason.

The Absentee Ballot Application form requires you to provide a phone number and or email address where you can be contacted. The Clerk will explain how and where you can cure the defect that caused the rejection.