How to Apply for Absentee Ballots & Request Forms

ABSENTEE BALLOTS

Any Exeter voter wishing to complete an absentee ballot application, please print off the application for the election you are applying for. You may mail, email or fax your application to the Exeter Town Clerk's Office at the following:

Exeter Town Clerk
10 Front St.
Exeter, NH 03833
Fax:  603-418-6424
Email: akohler@exeternh.gov

Please make sure you sign the application before submitting it to our office. Any incomplete applications will be rejected. If you have any questions, please contact our office at 603-778-0591 ext. 403.

QUALIFICATIONS
Any registered voter who is absent from the city on the day of an election, who cannot appear in public because of an observance of a religious commitment, or who is unable to vote in person by reasons of a physical disability, may vote by absentee ballot. A person who is unable to appear at any time during polling hours at his or her polling place because an employment obligation requires the person to remain physically at work or to be in transit to or from work from the time the polls open until after the time the polls close shall be considered absent from the city. (NH RSA 657:1)

REQUEST
An Exeter voter's request for an absentee ballot must be made in writing and mailed to the Exeter Town Clerk's Office, faxed to 603-418-6424 or scanned and emailed. The request must be signed by the person requesting the ballot and needs to include that person's legal residence (not a post office box) and an address where the voter would like to have the ballot mailed. The request forms are located at the bottom of this page.  Absentee ballots will be available approximately 30 days prior to the date of an election.  

PARTY AFFILIATION
For State party primaries, an absentee voter needs to designate which party he or she is affiliated with so that the Town Clerk can mail the primary ballot, for that party, to the voter. If the voter is Undeclared, he or she needs to specify which party's ballot he or she would like to receive otherwise the application will be rejected.

Municipal Elections are non-partisan, so party registration has no bearing on voter eligibility to participate in any municipal elections. 

ALLOW ENOUGH TIME
Voters who wish to cast absentee ballots should allow enough time for the Clerk to receive the written request, for the post office to deliver the ballot, and for the voter to mail that ballot back to the Town Clerk in time for the election.  

PLEASE NOTE:
It is important to note the following in regards to absentee voting:

Make sure you carefully follow the instructions enclosed with your ballot.  After marking your ballot, place it in the small envelope and seal said envelope, then sign the affidavit which fits your particular situation  WE HAVE NO WARD.  After you have signed the proper affidavit with your full name, place this envelope into the mailing envelope.  If this envelope is not returned in the mailing envelope, your ballot will not be counted. If mailing, affix the proper postage and place in the mail. It has to be received, in the mail, no later than 5:00 p.m. on election day. 
An absentee voter can deliver his or her own ballot in person to the Town Clerk, during regular business hours, until the day before an election. 
Hand-delivered ballots may be dropped off by the voter or delivered by the voter's spouse, parent, sibling or child to the Town Clerk from whom it was sent. The Town Clerk shall not accept an absentee ballot from a family member unless the family member completes a form, provided by the Secretary of State, and the family member presents a government issued photo identification or has his or her identity verified by the Town Clerk.
Hand-delivered absentee ballots will not be accepted at the Town Clerk's Office on election day. Voters who are present in the Town on election day must go to the polls to vote. The absentee ballot should be disposed of since ward election officials are not authorized to accept absentee ballots at the polls. Instead, a regular ballot will be issued at the checklist table.
Ballots received by mail after 5 p.m. on election day will not be counted (per RSA 657:22), except for those issued to emergency service workers under limited circumstances.

Voters can track the status of their absentee ballot by visiting the Secretary of State's, State of New Hampshire, Voter Information Look-up Page and selecting the Absentee Ballot Search.