New Hampshire

Polls must be open from at least 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time, but individual communities may open their polls earlier or close them later.

Designated polling locations and their hours are available here at the NH Secretary of State’s website.

Registration Deadlines

• For registration deadlines, see How to Register below.

How to Check Your Registration: Voters can determine whether they are registered to vote at the following link: Am I Registered?.

You are eligible to vote in New Hampshire if you:

• Are a U.S. citizen
• Are at least 18 years old by Election Day
• Are domiciled in New Hampshire town or ward in which you seek to vote

You are NOT eligible to vote in New Hampshire if:

• You are in prison or jail for a felony conviction.

Restorative Requirements

• If you have completed a felony prison sentence, even if you are still on parole or probation, then you are immediately eligible to register to vote.

How to register 

For more information on Registering to Vote in New Hampshire, please visit: https://www.sos.nh.gov/elections/register-vote 

There is no length of time that an individual is required to live in New Hampshire to qualify to vote. The individual just needs to establish a domicile in the New Hampshire jurisdiction in which they are registering.

If You Want to Vote Absentee, requests may be made:

• In-Person
• By Mail
• By Fax
• By Email

Absentee Ballots may be returned:

• In-Person
• By Mail

Absentee ballots must be returned to the clerk’s office:

• by 5:00 pm on Election Day – (mail)
• by 5:00 pm the day before Election Day – (in person)

New Hampshire does not have early voting.  If a voter will be unable to vote in person on Election Day, they can request an absentee ballot. However, on the Monday before election day, a voter who is eligible to vote using an absentee ballot may go in person to their clerk’s office, apply for and obtain an absentee ballot, vote it while at the office, and return it for counting. The clerk’s office must be open for this purpose at least between 3:00 pm and 5:00 pm.

The voter should request their absentee ballot from their town/city clerk as early as possible.  An Absentee Ballot Application can be downloaded from the Secretary of State’s website by clicking on https://sos.nh.gov/elections/voters/absentee-ballots/.

A voter may mail, fax, or hand deliver the completed form to their town or city clerk’s office.  The clerk will mail absentee ballots to any voter who has submitted a verified absentee ballot request by 12:00 p.m. on the day before the election. The clerk will provide an absentee ballot to any voter requesting an absentee ballot in person at the clerk’s office up until 5:00 p.m. on the day before election day.
For more information on absentee voting, the voter should visit the web site: Absentee Ballots | New Hampshire Secretary of State (nh.gov). 

A voter may check the status of their application for an absentee ballot or their absentee ballot at https://app.sos.nh.gov/voterinformation.

Voter Registration

In order to complete your voter registration in New Hampshire and vote for the first time, you will need identification to prove your age, domicile, and citizenship. Accepted IDs include:

• Valid New Hampshire Vehicle Registration
• Valid Student ID
• Certificate of Vehicle Ownership
• Valid ID Issued by Another State
• Birth Certificate
• Valid New Hampshire non-driver’s ID
• Valid US Passport
• Valid New Hampshire issued ID
• Valid Military ID
• Valid New Hampshire Driver’s License except one issued to an individual that is not a United States citizen
• A signed, Challenged Voter Registration Affidavit
• Valid Federal issued ID

Note: You may use any combination of one or more of these IDs provided they establish proof of Age, Domicile and Citizenship.

Voting In-Person

Accepted forms of ID include:

• Valid New Hampshire Voter ID Card with Photo
• Valid US Passport
• Valid Military ID
• Valid New Hampshire Driver’s License
• Valid New Hampshire Non-driver’s ID
• Valid Photo ID
• Valid Student ID from State School
• Federally issued Driver’s License

The name on your voter id must match the name on your voter registration record.

To be valid, the ID must contain the voter’s name and photograph and have an expiration date that has not been exceeded by more than five years, except that voters age 65 or older can vote regardless of when the ID expired.

A voter who does not have an approved photo ID may obtain a free photo ID for voting purposes only by presenting a voucher from their town/city clerk or the Secretary of State to any NH DMV office that issues identification.

If the voter does not have the required ID to register to vote, they can prove their identity, age, and/or citizenship, by signing a Qualified Voter Affidavit, under oath, in front of an election official.  The voter will also need to prove that they are domiciled in the town or ward where they intend to vote.  Proof can be either by documents or if they do not have documents with them, by affidavit.  

A voter may vote without providing ID, but they will need to use a Challenged Voter Affidavit which polling place staff should provide.  New Hampshire does not provide “provisional” ballots.  If the voter is required to file a Challenged Voter Affidavit, the state will mail the voter a letter of identity verification after the election.  The letter will ask the voter to return the letter within 30 days to confirm that they voted in the election or to contact the attorney general immediately if he or she did not vote in the election.  The letter will also explain the procedure for obtaining a free non-driver’s photo ID for voting purposes.

There are no ID requirements for completing and returning the absentee ballot.

If a voter has moved within the same precinct and has not informed the clerk or the supervisors of the checklist, the voter will be required to update their address at the polling place.  

If the updated address is within the polling place’s town or ward, the voter must be permitted to vote.  

If the voter has moved to a different precinct or county, the voter will be required to re-register in the new precinct or county.  

New Hampshire permits same-day registration if the voter does not appear on the checklist at the correct polling place and is otherwise properly qualified to vote.

Voting Military

Service members and their dependents may register and request a ballot using the overseas voter registration/ballot request form (“FPCA”). You may include the following ID:

• Your New Hampshire non-driver ID number
• Your New Hampshire Driver’s License Number
• Last 4 Digits of your Social Security Number
• Valid New Hampshire Voter ID Card

Voting Overseas

U.S. citizens living overseas may register and request a ballot using the overseas voter registration/ballot request form. You may include the following ID:

• Your New Hampshire Driver’s License Number
• Last 4 Digits of your Social Security Number
• Valid New Hampshire Voter ID Card
• Your New Hampshire non-driver ID number

A voter domiciled in New Hampshire and serving in the military or living overseas may request and complete an application to register to vote and request and vote an absentee ballot using the Federal Post Card Application (FPCA), which can be found here.  UOCAVA voters may also contact their city or town clerk and request that they be sent an FPCA by mail or email. Voters can find their local clerk using the Voter Information Lookup site. The FPCA must be received by the clerk by 12:00 p.m. on the day before the election to be processed.

The clerk will mail or email the registration form and the ballot to the voter depending on what the voter has requested. The voter should complete the registration form and the ballot and return them by mail or commercial carrier to the clerk following the instructions provided. The ballot will only be counted if it is received by 5:00 PM on election day.

A voter who is a U.S. citizen living abroad and who indicates on their FPCA that they are uncertain if they will return to the U.S. or if they have never lived in the U.S. but their parent or legal guardian was last domiciled in New Hampshire will be issued a Federal Office Only (FOO) ballot. This ballot can only be used to vote for federal offices. The FPCA must be received by 12:00 p.m. on the day before the election by the local clerk for the city or town in which the voter last resided or, where applicable, where the voter’s parent or legal guardian last resided. The ballot will only be counted if it is received by 5:00 PM on election day.

The Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot (FWAB) may be used to vote for federal (but not state or municipal) offices in general, special and primary elections. To use the FWAB the voter must have completed the FCPA. The FWAB can be accessed here. The FWAB will not be counted if a state absentee ballot is received from the voter or if the federal absentee ballot is submitted from any place in the United States. The voter may complete the FWAB by writing in the name of the candidate or the name of the political party next to the title of the office.

A person sentenced for a felony may not vote from the time of sentencing until the sentence’s final discharge unless the execution of the sentence is suspended (with or without probation) or the person is paroled. New Hampshire automatically restores voting rights to persons with felony convictions upon release from prison, but the voter must re-register if they have been removed from the checklist due to the felony conviction. Any person convicted of bribery or intimidation relating to elections or any willful violation of the election law is permanently barred from voting unless their voting rights are restored by the Supreme Court of New Hampshire.

Persons confined in a penal institution in pre-trial detention or as a result of a conviction for a misdemeanor retain the right to vote. Their domicile for voting purposes is the town or city where they had their domicile immediately prior to being confined.  Persons confined in a penal institution must vote by absentee ballot.

Visit Restore Your Vote or call 866-Our-Vote for more information