Absentee Ballots and Voting

The following page contains information about absentee voting. 

Topics found on this page: 

Current Availability

Absentee Ballots for March 14, 2023, Municipal Election are now available. 

About Absentee Voting

There is no early voting in New Hampshire, however, qualified voters can vote by absentee ballots. To qualify, you must not be able to appear in person on Election Day due to:

  • Physical disability
  • Religious observance
  •  Voters with symptoms of a communicable disease or illness *** PLEASE CHECK THE "PHYSICAL DISABILITY" BOX
  • Voters who, due to their own health circumstances, limit public exposure in their day-to-day life as a preventative measure.  ***PLEASE CHECK THE "PHYSICAL DISABILITY" BOX
  • Confinement in a penal institution for a misdemeanor or while awaiting trial. 
  • Absence from City on day of an election 
  • Employment obligations. For the purpose of absentee voting, the term "employment" shall include the care of children and infirm adults, with or without compensation.

Due to an update in NH RSA 657:1, when the National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning, blizzard warning, or ice storm warning for election day certain individuals will be permitted to vote by absentee ballot on Monday immediately prior to the election for the following circumstances: 

  • A person who is elderly, infirm, or has a physical disability and would otherwise vote in person but has concerns for their safety traveling in the storm.
  • A person who anticipates that school, child care, or adult care will be canceled and would otherwise vote in person but will need to care for children or infirm adults.

An absentee ballot needs to be completed for each election. 

Requesting an Absentee Ballot

Requests for absentee ballots must be made in writing and contain your signature. An official Absentee Ballot Request Application may be obtained by: 

  • downloading/printing it from your computer or device. 
  • visiting City Hall during our new regular business hours of Monday through Thursday from 7:00AM to 5:00PM; we are closed Fridays.
  • requesting the application be mailed to you. Please call or email our office and an application will be mailed to you. Try to plan enough time for the application to be mailed to you and for you to return your ballot to us.

As an alternative to completing the form, voters may write a letter of request for an Absentee Ballot and submit it in-person, by mail, or by email to the City Clerk’s office. The letter needs to include all of the following information:

  • Voter’s Full Name
  • Residential Address
  • Mailing Address where the ballot should be sent
  • Election Date 
  • Voter Signature 
  • In the event the voter has a disability and requires assistance in completing the request for an absentee ballot, the assistant must include the following statement, with his or her signature and the date: "I attest that I assisted the applicant in executing this form because he/she has a disability." 

If you are a Lebanon voter, please mail your request to:

City Clerk’s Office
51 N Park Street
Lebanon, NH 03766

Or email your request as an attachment to cityclerk@lebanonnh.gov 

Or fax your request to 603-874-1269.

While anyone may return another voter’s absentee ballot application to our office, it’s important to know that absentee ballots can only be handed to the voter or mailed to voters. We are unable to hand your ballot to anyone else, regardless of their relation to you. Why only you? New Hampshire Law 657:15 specifies that it must either be mailed to or personally delivered to the applicant.

Completing Your Ballot

Your absentee ballot will come with a set of instructions as well as 2 envelopes: an affidavit envelope and a return envelope. Please carefully read and follow those instructions to complete your ballot.

  1. Completing the Ballot
    Vote for no more than the number specified for each race. For example, you can only vote for one person for Governor and therefore, you should only fill in the oval for the candidate you want to vote for on the ballot or as a write-in. If you fill-in multiple ovals for Governor, your vote will not count. In an instance where there is no candidate's name for a race, that simply means no one filed for that position. You can either leave this blank OR write in a candidate's name.

  2. Affidavit Envelope
    Once you complete your ballot, you will place it in the Affidavit Envelope and seal it. If you have a disability and received assistance in completing your ballot, please have your assistant sign the Affidavit Envelope as well. The person who assisted you does not have to be the same person who assisted you in completing your request for an absentee ballot. If your signature is missing, the ballot will be challenged, which means it does not get counted. Voters whose ballots are challenged are notified shortly after the election.

  3. Return Envelope
    The Affidavit Envelope is then placed inside the Return Envelope. If you have any documents which need to be returned, such as voter registration material, please place those in the Return Envelope as well (do not place them in the affidavit envelope with your ballot). Seal your Return Envelope and if mailing, affix postage.

Returning Absentee Ballots

An absentee ballot can only be returned by mail, in-person by the voter, or by a delivery agent.  

Mail: Please mail to City Clerk’s Office, 51 North Park Street, Lebanon, NH 03766

In-Person: You may now return your completed ballot in-person during regular business hours, Monday through Thursday from 7:00AM to 5:00PM. Staff will ask for your photo identification (see NH RSA 657:17-a). If you are a delivery agent you will also be asked to complete a return form.

Your ballot may be returned in-person at your polling location on Election Day. If you do not wish to enter the building, please locate a greeter for assistance.

Delivery Agent: The following people are considered to be a delivery agent, per NH RSA 657:17: 

  • The voter’s spouse, parent, sibling, child, grandchild, father-in-law, mother-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, stepparent or stepchild; 
  • Nursing home administrator licensed pursuant to RSA 151-A:2, or a nursing home staff member designated in writing by the administrator to deliver ballots; 
  • The residential care facility administrator, or residential care facility staff member designated in writing by the administrator to deliver ballots; 
  • The person* assisting a blind voter a voter with a disability who has signed a statement on the affidavit envelope acknowledging assistance. *This person cannot deliver more than 4 absentee ballots.

**Important** Please do not return your absentee ballot by placing it in the green drop box next to the side entrance to City Hall. Any ballots left in that box will not be counted. This warning appears on our dropbox as a reminder, and also on the directions enclosed with the absentee ballot. 

Important Deadlines

There is not a deadline for requesting absentee ballots, but it is important to understand that unless you obtain your ballot in-person, we must mail your ballot to you. Please try to plan enough time for the ballot to be mailed to you and for the ballot to be returned to us. If you plan to return by mail, you can use shipping companies like FedEx or UPS in addition to the U.S. Postal Service. If you obtain your absentee ballot in-person, you can complete it in our office and then hand it back to us. (Please remember to have your photo ID.)  

Day before Election Day: Absentee ballots will be accepted by mail, in-person by the voter, or by a delivery agent through 5 p.m. that day at the City Clerk’s office.

Election Day: Absentee ballots will be accepted by mail or by a delivery agent until 5:00 p.m. on Election Day at the absentee voter’s polling location or at the City Clerk’s office.

Overseas Citizens & Uniformed Service Members & Their Dependents

If you are temporarily out-of-the-country or serving in the military or you are the dependent of someone who is in the military, you can obtain an absentee ballot using the Federal Post Card Application (FPCA). The FPCA application serves as both an absentee ballot request and a voter registration document. The application can be returned to our office by mail or email: cityclerk@lebanonnh.gov.

Voters who complete this form have the choice of receiving their ballots by email, mail, or fax. Depending on your circumstances, you will receive a full Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) ballot or a Federal Office Only UOCAVA ballot. 

  • Requesting Emailed or Faxed Ballot
    If you receive your ballot by email or fax, you will also be sent a UOCAVA oath and directions for completing and returning your ballot. You must return your ballot by mail, even if you received it by fax or email. Please be sure to print "Absentee Ballot Enclosed" on your outer envelope. Shipping providers such as FedEx and UPS can be utilized.
  • Requesting Mailed Ballot
    You will receive your ballot by mail along with instructions and 2 envelopes: UOCAVA Affidavit Envelope and Return Envelope. The ballot must be returned by mail by 5 p.m. on Election Day. Shipping providers such as FedEx and UPS can be utilized. For More Information, view the Federal Post Card Application (PDF).

Track the Status of Your Ballot

Any absentee voter can use the State of New Hampshire Voter Information Look-up website to check on the status of their absentee ballot. The website will show the date the City Clerk’s office received your application, the date your absentee ballot was mailed to you, and the date the absentee ballot was received back by the Clerk’s Office. Information on the site is updated every 24 hours.