Title LXIII, Elections

If any of the appointed inspectors of election shall be absent from any state election or unable to perform his duties, the selectmen shall appoint some person qualified as provided in RSA 658:3, using the list of alternate appointees provided under RSA 658:5 unless no person on …

An election officer pro tempore as provided for in RSA 658:19 through 658:22 shall have all the powers and duties of the officer he replaces as provided in the election laws and shall take the oath of office in like manner. His term of office shall expire at the termination of th…

Any person, other than a moderator, clerk, selectman, inspector of election, or supervisor of the checklist, whose name appears on a ballot for an elective position, other than a position of an election official, shall be disqualified from performing duties as an election officia…

Two of the inspectors, one from each of the 2 political parties, shall be designated by the moderator at the opening of the polls to act as ballot clerks. They shall have charge of the ballots and shall furnish them to the voters. They shall be given a duplicate copy of the check…

The town or city clerk shall cause the sample ballots provided for in RSA 656:18 and 656:28 to be posted outside the guardrail in the polling place. For the general election, he shall cause 2 sample ballots to be posted. For the state and presidential primaries, he shall cause 2 …

The secretary of state shall also prepare full instructions for the guidance of voters at such elections as to obtaining ballots, the manner of marking them, the method of gaining assistance and obtaining new ballots in place of those accidentally spoiled. He shall cause the same…

The secretary of state shall prepare and distribute copies of the following RSA sections which the selectmen shall post or cause to be posted outside the guardrail in the polling place at all elections: RSA 654:7-a, RSA 654:7-b; RSA 659:13, RSA 659:13-b, RSA 659:27, RSA 659:30, R…

The secretary of state shall prepare a notice explaining to voters the photo identification requirement in RSA 659:13, including all the permissible methods for proving identity, and directing voters to the department of state's website or to the town or city clerk to obtain the …

The inspectors of election shall be registered to vote at the polling place where they serve.

The city or town clerk shall deliver to the election officers before the opening of the polls on the day of the election the sealed packages of ballots in their possession together with filament tape or other similar tape with which to seal the ballots. Any city or town clerk who…

At or prior to the opening of the polls in each town or ward, the seal of the packages shall be publicly broken by the town or ward clerk; and the ballots shall be given to the ballot clerks and the ballots shall be examined and counted by the election officers in the presence of…

The secretary of state shall prepare and distribute to each town or ward clerk 3 copies of the pre-election certificate. When the ballots are counted, the moderator and clerk shall certify thereon the total number of official and absentee ballots received. One copy shall be retai…

Before the polls are opened at the central polling place on the day of an election, the town clerk shall seal up the 2 duplicate copies of the checklist for each additional polling place lodged with the clerk by the supervisors with the number of blank ballots determined by the m…

If pasters are to be used at the election and have been delivered to the town or city clerk, the clerk shall deliver the pasters to the moderator who shall cause them to be pasted in the proper place on each ballot before it is handed to the voter.

If the official ballots have not been received at the polling place of any town or ward on the morning of election before the opening of the polls, it shall be the duty of the town or city clerk to cause unofficial ballots to be prepared, as far as possible, in form of the offici…

At the opening of the polls, the ballot box shall be publicly opened and shown to be empty; and the election officers shall ascertain that fact by a personal examination of the box.

Each inspector of election shall be sworn to the faithful performance of his or her duties and shall hold office for 2 years from August 1 in the year in which he or she is appointed or until a successor is appointed and qualified.

In making appointments of inspectors of elections as provided in RSA 658:2, political committees or, in the absence of such appointments by a political committee, the town and ward selectmen, in consultation with the moderator, may designate a list of alternates to the list of ap…

In case any appointment shall not be made as provided in RSA 658:2 or 658:5 or vacancies are not filled as provided in RSA 658:22, then, on application of 6 qualified voters of the town or ward, a justice of the municipal or district court shall appoint the inspectors.

For all state elections, the moderator is authorized to appoint an assistant moderator who shall take the oath of office in the same manner as the moderator. The moderator may also appoint such other election officials as he or she deems necessary and request the town clerk to ap…

An assistant election official appointed as provided in RSA 658:7 shall be at least 17 years of age as of the date on which such official initiates performance of the duties of office.

The term of office of each of the assistant election officials appointed as provided in RSA 658:7 shall expire at the termination of the proceedings at the election for which he or she was appointed.

I. The selectmen of each town and ward shall provide for a suitable place in which to hold state elections and shall see that the same is warmed, lighted, and furnished with proper supplies and conveniences. Such supplies and conveniences shall include a ballot box and a sufficie…

Every polling place in which state elections are held shall be easily accessible to all persons, including persons with disabilities and elderly persons who are otherwise qualified to vote in the choice of any officer or officers to be elected or upon any question submitted at su…

The supervisors shall be present at the opening of each election at which a checklist is to be used and shall have with them the corrected checklist for that election and shall remain in attendance until the close of the election.

All state election ballots remaining in the possession of the town or city clerk may be destroyed in accordance with RSA 33-A:3-a.

The absentee ballot affidavits and application forms processed by the moderator as provided in RSA 659:50, the absentee ballots challenged and rejected as provided in RSA 659:51 and RSA 659:53, and the qualified voter affidavits as provided in RSA 654:12 and any other documentary…

Within 90 days of the closing of the polls for each regular state general election, and for each presidential primary election, the supervisors of the checklist in the towns, and the corresponding officers in the cities, shall send one of the marked checklists which were used in …

The forms completed by challengers and affidavits made by challenged voters as provided in RSA 659:27 and RSA 659:27-a shall be preserved in accordance with RSA 33-A:3-a.

I. Where no other penalty is provided, whoever violates any provision of this chapter shall be subject to a civil penalty not less than $250 nor more than $1,000. II. The attorney general shall notify persons subject to this section of the state's intention to seek a civil penalt…

The voting at each additional polling place shall be conducted as at the central polling place as provided in RSA 658:16.

I. All persons whose names are entered upon the corrected checklist brought by the town or ward clerk to the polling place shall be entitled to vote. II. No person whose name is not upon the checklist shall be allowed to vote, unless, in the opinion of the supervisors of the chec…

I. (a) A person desiring to vote shall, before being admitted to the enclosed space within the guardrail, announce his or her name and address to one of the ballot clerks who shall, if the name is found on the checklist by the ballot clerk, repeat the name and address. If the add…

No person not authorized by law may stand or sit within 6 feet of the ballot clerk for purposes of observing the check-in of voters without the express permission of the moderator.

The affidavit of religious exemption shall be in the following form: AFFIDAVIT OF RELIGIOUS EXEMPTION Name: ____________________ Domicile Address: ____________________ Date of birth: _______________ I hereby swear or affirm that because of my religious beliefs, I object to having…

I. A person desiring to vote at a state or presidential primary election shall, at the time of announcing the person's name, also announce the name of the party to which the person belongs or whether the person is registered as an undeclared voter. If the person's party membershi…

On receipt of his or her ballot, the voter shall forthwith without leaving the space enclosed by the guardrail proceed to one of the voting booths or voting privacy screens and shall mark his or her ballot.

The number of voters within the guardrail at any one time shall not exceed the number of voting booths and voting privacy screens at the polling place, provided that the number of voters shall not include election officers or any voter who is engaged in the act of handing his or …

The secretary of state shall provide on the top of the general election ballot the following voting instructions. The secretary of state is authorized to replace the phrase "Make the appropriate mark" with an appropriate description and example of the mark to be made for the type…

For the purposes of this chapter, the term "appropriate mark" shall mean the mark to be used in the proper manner of marking the ballot as stipulated in the instructions to voters.

A voter shall vote on questions submitted to voters by making an appropriate mark as instructed on the ballot next to the answer he or she desires to give.

Any voter who declares to the moderator under oath that said voter needs assistance marking his or her ballot shall, upon the voter's choice and request after the moderator has informed the voter of the accessible voting options that are available at the polling place, receive th…

Any voter, after appearing at the polling place location prior to the closing of the polls to vote in person, who declares to the moderator under oath that said voter is unable to access a polling place due to disability shall, upon the voter's request, have the required document…

I. Every city, every town, and every school district which has adopted an official ballot system shall: (a) Ensure that each polling place has at least one accessible voting system. (b) Bear the cost of programming for the city, town, or school district election with the vendor c…

No person other than representatives of the secretary of state, representatives of the attorney general, the election officers, the voters admitted or those admitted to aid a voter pursuant to RSA 659:20 shall be permitted within the guardrail except by the authority of the elect…

If any voter spoils a ballot, he may receive others, one at a time, not exceeding 3 in all, upon returning each spoiled one. The ballots thus returned shall be immediately marked "cancelled" by the moderator over his signature and, at the close of the polls, shall be preserved as…