How to Vote by Absentee Ballot in New Hampshire
Vote-by-mail absentee ballots have been used in New Hampshire for a century. Absentee ballots are traditionally used when the voter will be out of state or far away from their town, on religious holidays, and other reasons specified below. There are two applications, one for town elections, and another for state and federal elections. For any questions specific to your town, your town clerk and supervisor of the checklist are the two primary election officials dealing with absentee ballots.
Those issues which pertain specifically to absentee voting during the Covid 19 pandemic are listed in dark red, below.
Voting by Absentee Ballot in NH - Normal Circumstances
Hampshire may apply for an absentee ballot with only one of four official "excuses." - Physical disability
- Religious observance
- Absence from City on day of election
- Employment obligations. For the purpose of absentee voting, the term "employment" shall include the care of children and infirm adults, with or without compensation.
Efforts are underway to eliminate these excuses and implement no-excuse or vote-by-mail, both of which make voting accessible to more eligible voters, but these efforts have not been approved by the legislature and governor at this time. (Call your legislators!)
Voting by Absentee Ballot in NH - Voting in 2020 Elections with"Physical Disability" excuse for Covid 19 / Coronavirus Concerns
With municipal elections this spring, a state primary on September 8, 2020 and the general election on November 3, 2020, we are urging voters who 
have concerns about voting in person to vote by mail with an absentee ballot.
On April 10, 2020, the Secretary of State and Attorney General of NH issued issued a statement allowing any voter with a fear of COVID-19 to vote by absentee using the "physical disability" excuse in 2020. Here's the a portion of the statement:
"With respect to any upcoming municipal elections, we offer the following guidance as to who is eligible to vote by absentee ballot in light of the current public health crisis. As explained below, in light of the current public health state of emergency, Emergency Orders #16 and #26, and current public health guidance on social distancing and avoiding being in public in groups of 10 or more, all voters have a reasonable ground to conclude that a "physical disability" exists within the meaning of RSA 657:1. Therefore,all voters may request an absentee ballot on that basis." To read the entire memorandum, [click here.]
Subsequent statements by the Secretary of State William Gardner and Governor Sununu clarified that for the duration of 2020, any registered voter wishing to receive an absentee ballot for a municipal, state or federal election could get one. Additionally, although as of April 22, 2020 the SOS has not issued official guidance, Sec. Gardner has said in news reports th
at voters with Covid 19 concerns may also register to vote by mail. Call your local town clerk's office for more information on on what copies of documents and identification will be necessary.
If you have concerns about voting in person during the Covid 19 emergency, we recommend you request your absentee ballot beginning immediately. Don't wait until September; you can fill out two requests now, for September and November, and submit them. This will aid the town clerk and election workers in processing an unprecidented number of ballots. Your ballot won't arrive until a few weeks prior to the election.
Requesting an Absentee Ballot Application in NH
Requests for absentee ballots must: 
- Be made by filling out an offcial absentee ballot request form
- Requesting a minimum of 10 days in advance if you want it to be sent by mail
- Going directly to town hall on the Monday before election day before your clerk's office closes
- Made in writing with the request form, not by phone
- And contain your physical "wet" - as in ink - signature. Electronic signatures are not accepted by the State of New Hampshire for voting purposes.
- You may download and fill out your form electronically (with PDF software, for instance), but you must print out the form, and sign it in ink.
- Once you've signed the form, you can mail back the paper copy, or scan the document with your ink signature and fax or email it as an attachement.
- If you don't have a printer, request a paper absentee application from your town clerk.
Get an Application from Your Town Clerk You may get an application in person at your city or town clerk's office, or an application can be mailed to you or emailed as a pdf to you upon request. We have heard that some town clerks refuse to mail requests, and require you to come in person. This is not required and you are within your rights to request that it be mailed.
Get an Application Online For state & federal elections, find the Application for State Election Absentee Ballot at the official NH Secretary of State Elections Forms page. This is a two-page application. Applications for absentee ballots for local elections will only be available at your town's website.
You may get an absentee ballot application at your Town or City Clerk's office until 5:00 P.M. on the day before election day. To get an absentee ballot for state and federal elections by mail, fill out and mail or fax the official absentee ballot application well in advance of the election to your town or city clerk's office. You are not required to have a photo ID to vote absentee.
While anyone may return another voter’s absentee ballot application, it’s important to know that absentee ballots can only be handed to the voter or mailed to the voter. Election officials are unable to hand your ballot to anyone else, regardless of their relation to you. Why only you? New Hampshire Law 657:15 specifies that it must either be mailed to or personally delivered to the applicant.
For uniformed service members who vote (UOCAVA) in NH elections, there is a separate Federal Post Card Application for Voter Registration and Absentee Ballot Request (FPCA) form you should use to request a ballot. This is a two-page application. More information is available here:
Absentee Voting Due to Bad Weather
A few years ago, an ill-timed significant snowstorm kept voters from casting votes on election day. The legislature has now updated the absentee 
ballot application to include special absentee ballot accommodations for certain people. As updated in NH RSA 657:1, when the National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning, blizzard warning, or ice storm warning for election day, certain individuals will be permitted to vote by absentee ballot on the Monday immediately prior to (day before) the election for the following circumstances:
- A person who is elderly, infirm or has a physical disability and would otherwise vote in person but has concerns for their safety traveling in the storm.
- A person who anticipates that school, child care, or adult care will be canceled and would otherwise vote in person but will need to care for children or infirm adults.
The voter will need to appear in person at the City Clerk’s office to obtain the ballot, the day before the election, and submit it that day.
