By Jacob Downey, Granite State News Collaborative
When it’s time to vote in New Hampshire, college students over 18 years old have a choice. They can vote in their home state using an absentee ballot or they can vote in person in the city or town where they attend school.
To register to vote in New Hampshire, you must be able to prove identity, age, domicile and citizenship.
To provide proof of identification and age, you can provide a valid driver's license, a non-driver’s ID, a current U.S. passport or passport card, a military ID or a valid student ID with photo, if the date of birth is listed.
To provide proof of domicile, you can provide a valid driver's license or non-driver's ID or any of the following: a valid student photo-ID; school document showing that the applicant lives in campus housing; a valid New Hampshire vehicle registration; a utility bill, bank statement or rental or lease agreement; a tax bill or medical bill; a pay stub or other monthly bill as well as postmarked mail dated within the last 30 days.
For proof of citizenship a U.S. birth certificate, passport or passport card should be provided, or naturalization papers if you are a naturalized citizen.
If the documents required are unavailable when you’re registering, you can sign an affidavit attesting to your identity, age, citizenship and domicile. If you do complete an affidavit when registering, you’ll be contacted later by the secretary of state’s office to verify the applicant’s information.
Remember: Under New Hampshire law, voting in New Hampshire is equivalent to declaring legal residency in the state. That means that students who opt to vote here become subject to other requirements for state residents, such as the obligation to register their car here and to get a New Hampshire driver’s license within 60 days of registering to vote if they drive in the state or own a vehicle.
Also, If you want to vote in New Hampshire but expect to be out of the state come Election Day, you may vote ahead of the election by obtaining an absentee ballot at your city or town clerk’s office requesting an absentee ballot by mail or online, in most cases. Disability, religious commitment, work obligation — including care for children or infirm adults — or simply being out of town on Election Day all qualify for getting an absentee ballot. For more information on obtaining an absentee ballot, click here.
The Know Your Vote, youth voter guide project was designed, reported and produced by student and young professional journalists from The Clock,The Concord Monitor, The Equinox, Granite State News Collaborative, Keene State College, The Laconia Daily Sun, The Monadnock Ledger-Transcript, Nashua Ink Link and The Presidency and the Press program at Franklin Pierce University. See the full guide at www.collaborativenh.org/know-your-vote.