A Visual Guide To Absentee Voting at The Voting Center at Portsmouth City Hall
Worried About Your Absentee Ballot Being Received In Time for the November 3 General Election? Here’s How to Accelerate the Process!
To assist residents with what is expected to be high demand for absentee voting due to COVID-19, the Portsmouth City Clerk’s Office has set up a Voting Center in Council Chambers at City Hall. The Voting Center will be open during regular City Hall hours (Mon, 8 am – 6 pm; Tues-Thurs, 8 am – 4:30 pm; Fri, 8 am – 1 pm) from now through November 2.
Drop By the Voting Center To Register, To Get Your Absentee Ballot, and/or to Return Your Absentee Ballot
Residents can visit the Voting Center between now and November 2 to: Register to vote; complete an application for an absentee ballot for the November 3 General Election; to receive a ballot; and to drop off a completed ballot.
2. Election Workers Will Help You Complete an Application. Then They Will Process Your Application and Give You a Package Containing Your Ballot, 2 Envelopes, and Instructions.
You can speed things up by downloading the absentee voter application, completing both sides of the form, and signing it before you come. But if you forget or don’t have a computer, that’s OK. The Voting Center will have one for you to fill out. You can also have an application mailed to you by contacting the Portsmouth City Clerk’s office at (603) 610-7245.
Make sure to complete both sides of the application.
3. Mark Your Choices on Your Ballot
Tip: Use a black or blue ballpoint pen. Felt tip pens and Sharpies can bleed through to the other side of the ballot and cause issues when the voting machine processes your ballot. If you use a Sharpie anyway and see bleed-through on your ballot, don’t worry about your ballot not being counted. Ballots that can’t be processed by the machine will be hand-counted.
In Portsmouth, you won’t be able to complete your ballot inside the Voting Center because of COVID-19 restrictions. However, you can complete it outside (for example, in your car) and walk back in and give your sealed ballot and paperwork to the clerk—or take it home, fill it out, and mail it in or come back later.
4. Complete and Sign the Affidavit on the Right Side of the Inner Envelope. Place Your Completed Ballot Inside. Then Seal the Inner Envelope.
If you are voting absentee because of COVID-19, complete the right side of the inner envelope and sign it. (Note: Because of an oversight be the Secretary of State’s Office, “concern about COVID-19” should have been listed as one of the reasons for voting absentee along with a religious observance or disability—but it wasn’t. Complete the right side anyway by adding the name of your city or town (Portsmouth!) and the ward in which you reside. Then sign.)
Several common mistakes can cause your ballot to be rejected. They include failure to sign the affidavit on the inner envelope, sending in a “naked” ballot (placing your ballot directly in the outer envelope without including the inner envelope/affidavit), and sending in or walking in your ballot too late. If your ballot doesn’t reach your city or town clerk before 5 p.m. on Election Day—or isn’t placed into a drop-off box at your polling place—your ballot will not be counted.
One way to be extra sure your ballot won’t be rejected is to write your phone number on your absentee ballot paperwork. This will make it easier for election officials to contact you and give you a chance to correct any potential mistakes before it’s too late. While pollworkers in New Hampshire aren’t required by law to give voters this kind of notice, they are encouraged to do so. See this and other tips in New To Absentee Voting in New Hampshire? Don't Make These Mistakes from NHPR.
5. Place the Inner Envelope Into the Outer Envelope (Addressed to the City Clerk’s Office), Seal It, and Make Sure Your Return Address Information is Written on the Upper Left.
6. Return Your Sealed Ballot to the Clerk Either at the Voting Center or By Mail (don’t forget the stamp!)
WARNING! Do Not Leave Your Ballot in the Sketchy-Looking Grey Receptacle in the City Hall Parking Lot. Be Sure to Either Return It By Mail or Hand It to the Clerk in the Voting Center.
“Hey you! Don’t even think about putting your ballot in this box!”
7. If You Want to Return Your Ballot to the Voting Center, Be Sure to Do It By Monday November 2.
8. What if You Forget or Procrastinate too Long?
If you forget to return your ballot Before Election Day, you or an “Authorized Agent” (typically an immediate family member) can drop it off at your polling place any time before 5 p.m. on Election Day. An election worker will verify that you are on the voter list and will place your ballot into an Absentee Voter Drop-Off Box. If an “agent” is dropping off your ballot for you, he or she will be required to complete a form.
You can get more information about absentee voting from these sources: