How to Vote

Requirements

• Must be 18 years of age• Must be a U.S. citizen• • •

Registration

• There are three places for registration in the state of New Hampshire

• • – NOT ALL STATES ALLOW THIS

• – Maintain the lists of registered voters– Required to meet the Saturday before all elections

Registration

•

• – Different towns may accept different

documentation– License, Photo I.D., Passport, etc.– Town Clerk’s office maintains a list

Party Affiliation

• You are not required to declare a political party when registering to vote

•

– This DOES NOT MEAN you are required to vote for that party

– This declaration does not need to be permanent• – There is usually a deadline to change before each

election

Voting

• – Usually from 8 A.M. to 7 P.M.

• You must bring your I.D. to the polling place• – Usually the Town Hall, but sometimes schools or

community centers are used as well•

Voting Procedures

• Once you are given your ballot, you go into a curtained cubby to vote

• Your ballot is then collected by the town–

– Some towns have electronic ballot counters that use bubble sheets

–

Alternate Ways to Vote

• Voters may apply to vote with an absentee ballot– –

• Some colleges allow out of state students to vote as a resident of the state in which they are attending school

• Rules can vary widely by state

– – Americans who are indefinitely living outside the U.S.

but still maintain a U.S. residence•

Absentee Voting

•

– This may be done in person or by mail• Absentee ballots must be received by the

Upcoming Elections

• – September 9, 2014

• – November 4, 2014

• – 2016 – Exact date varies by state– New Hampshire is always first, and it’s usually sometime

in January• – November 8, 2016