By DAVID BROOKS
The Concord Monitor
There won’t be many changes in the way New Hampshire’s polling places are run during this year’s presidential primary compared to past elections, although there will be one interesting difference: You don’t have reason any more to go topless.
In a famous incident during the 2020 primary in Exeter, a woman was told she couldn’t vote while wearing her “McCain Hero, Trump Zero” T-shirt because state law did not allow materials featuring candidates’ names inside polling places. So she removed the shirt even though she was wearing nothing underneath and then cast her ballot.
“She took it off so fast, no one had time to react. So the whole place just went, ‘Woah,’ and she walked away, and I let her vote,” then-moderator Paul Scafidi told the Portsmouth Herald, adding, “She could have just gone into the hallway and turned it inside out.”
Since then the state Legislature has tweaked the state law, one of a number that regulate activity on election day. Campaign materials like signs are still not allowed inside a polling place but clothing, including hats, is a different matter.
“If there’s an article of clothing with the name of a candidate, if the person is actively voting and moving through, the moderator is going to let that go,” said Secretary of State David Scanlan, who oversees elections for New Hampshire. That voter can’t linger inside, however.
New Hampshire has a number of state laws that govern polling places, including several sections in RSA659, with a couple other laws concerning absentee ballots. The underlying assumption, as you might expect in New Hampshire, is local control.
“Generally the moderators have pretty broad discretion in how they manage the polling place,” said Scanlan, referring to town moderators or the ward’s election moderators. Both are elected positions.
For example, state laws say that no campaigning can be done inside a corridor that runs from the parking area to the front door and which is at least 10 feet wide. Details are left to moderators.
“Every polling place is different. The buildings are different, the grounds are different, and the moderator has to be able to allow opportunities for people campaigning, but within the confines of what the property looks like,” said Scanlan. “In some places the campaigning has to be 100 or more feet away (from the door), in others it’s closer. As long as campaigners have an opportunity to engage with voters without harassing them.”
Inside the polling place, moderators establish a rail of some kind and only election officials or voters in the process of voting can go beyond it to the voting booths. Observers must stay outside, no closer than 4 feet from the rail and 6 feet from the voter registration table unless they are official inspectors from either of the two political parties.
Those individuals can sit closer to the registration table and mark names off checklists, keeping track as part of get-out-the-vote efforts. These people must be appointed by the moderator who has to receive a letter from the political party designating who is the official challenger.
Otherwise, said Scanlan, “It is a public space, a space where a public event takes place.” Any member of the public is welcome to come inside and watch.
Photos, videos and audio recordings are allowed although the moderator has discretion about where people taking the recordings can stand, partly to make sure that no picture is taken of a completed ballot carried by a voter from the voting booth to the ballot clerk. (Speaking of pictures, “ballot selfies” are now legal: You can put a photo of your own marked ballot online without incurring any legal wrath.)
Voter challenges – claims during election day that a person casting a ballot is doing so illegally – can be made by the party-appointed observer or by any registered voter at any time during election hours.
“There has to be a valid reason,” said Scanlan. “The challenger has to fill out a challenge form, to list reasons why the person isn’t valid.”
A ruling can be made by local election officials including the supervisor of the checklist after such things as checking photo identification and comparing voter checklists. If uncertainty remains, the challenged voter may have to cast a “challenged voter affidavit” which must include a 2-by-2-inch photo taken at the polling place unless the voter claims religious exemption against having their picture taken. There will be follow-up to ensure that the voter was legitimate; if not, the voter can be charged with a Class B felony.
Absentee ballots can be obtained from the town or city clerk and until 5 p.m. the day before election day. If you’re applying by mail, the request must be received by the town or city clerk by noon of the day before the election so they can mail out the ballot. Realistically, the chances that you’ll get this ballot in time for it to be postmarked before the close of polling on election day are not great, so earlier application is recommended.
People can register to vote up until a week or two before the election – the timeline depends on your municipality – and at the polling place on Election Day itself. Bring a photo ID, proof that you’re a citizen such as a passport or birth certificate, and some proof of residence such as a bill. You can vote without this material but will need to fill out a challenge affidavit and provide the information within seven days.
These articles are being shared by partners in The Granite State News Collaborative as part of its What to Expect When You’re Electing Series. For more information visit collaborativenh.org.