Processing, counting, and challenging absentee/mail-in ballots in New Hampshire, 2020
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In August 2020, The New York Times estimated that 80 million Americans would vote by absentee/mail-in ballot in November 2020. That would have been more than double the number who did so in November 2016.[1] The processes states use to count absentee/mail-in ballots have come under closer inspection by state officials, candidates, political parties, and the media.
This article describes the rules in New Hampshire for processing, counting, and rejecting absentee/mail-in ballots in effect for the November 2020 election. It includes:
- How ballots are processed and counted
- Whether ballots can be challenged
- Conditions for rejecting a ballot
- Whether voters can correct mistakes on a ballot
The 2020 election took place against a backdrop of uncertainty. Our readers had questions about what to expect in elections at all levels of government, from the casting of ballots to the certification of final results. Ballotpedia's 2020 Election Help Desk was designed to answer those questions.
Processing and counting ballots
Upon receiving completed absentee/mail-in ballots, election officials must first process the ballots before they can be counted. Processing generally entails verifying voter signatures and physically preparing ballots for tabulation. Processing practices can vary widely from state to state. Counting entails the actual tabulation of votes.
The table below highlights key dates and deadlines related to absentee/mail-in voting in New Hampshire for the November 2020 election.
Processing ballots
Officials in New Hampshire began processing absentee/mail-in ballots at on September 29, 2020. As of November 2020, New Hampshire law included the following provision for processing absentee/mail-in ballots:
| “ | The moderator or the moderator's designee may authorize the opening of absentee ballot outer envelopes on election day or the Thursday, Friday, Saturday, or Monday prior to the time established for processing absentee ballots in RSA 659:49, but after the corrected checklist has been posted provided that the opening of the outer envelopes occurs in public with notice of the time and place. After the outer envelope has been opened, the affidavit on the inner envelope shall be examined, the voter's name shall be announced, an opportunity for a challenge of the ballot shall be given, and a notation may be made on the checklist to help facilitate processing of the ballot on election day. Notwithstanding RSA 659:51, if absentee ballots are partially processed before election day a challenge may not be made after the notation has been made on the checklist. The ballot shall remain secure in the unopened affidavit envelope untl final processing on election day.[2] | ” |
See law: New Hampshire Statutes Section 659:49-b
Counting ballots
Officials in New Hampshire began counting absentee/mail-in ballots when polls closed on November 3, 2020. As of November 2020, New Hampshire law included the following provision for counting absentee/mail-in ballots:
| “ | 659:52 Opening Envelope; Depositing Ballot. – If the absentee ballot is not challenged, the moderator shall, after announcing the name of the voter, open the envelope containing the ballot so the affidavit is not destroyed. The moderator shall then take the ballot out of the envelope without unfolding the ballot or without permitting the ballot to be examined, and he or she shall preserve the affidavit with the ballots cast at the election as provided in RSA 659:101. The moderator shall then have a checkmark placed beside the name of the absentee voter on the checklist and write therewith the letters "A.V." in red ink and shall then deposit the ballot in the ballot box." "659:61 Votes Counted After Processing of Absentee Ballots. – After all absentee ballots have been processed, or processed and counted, as provided in RSA 659:49-55, and after the polls have closed, the election officials, except those disqualified in accordance with RSA 659:58, shall, under the supervision of the moderator, immediately begin counting the votes cast at the election. The moderator may use the assistance of a person appointed by the secretary of state or the attorney general to assist in the completion of the election return forms.[2] | ” |
See law: New Hampshire Statutes Section 659:61
New Hampshire law included the following provision for who may count absentee/mail-in ballots:
| “ | The moderator, or the moderator pro tempore if the moderator is disqualified under RSA 658:24, shall oversee the counting of votes by other election officers, including the selectmen and the town clerk, and may discharge any other duties relating to the counting of votes.[2] | ” |
See law:New Hampshire Statutes Section 659:60
New Hampshire law included the following provision for poll watchers:
| “ | The state committee of a political party may appoint a person to act as challenger of voters at any polling place in the state at a state election. A city or town committee of such a party may appoint a person to act as such challenger at any polling place in such city or town at a town election, business meeting, or city election. A statement signed by the chairman of the committee appointing him shall be sufficient evidence of the authority of any such challenger. He may be reasonably compensated for his services by the political party whose committee appointed him. He shall be assigned by the moderator or other election officer presiding at the polling place to such position within the polling place as will enable him to see and hear each voter as he offers to vote. Nothing herein contained shall deprive any other person of the right to challenge a voter as provided by law.[2] | ” |
See law: New Hampshire Statutes Section 666:4
Challenging ballots
Absentee/mail-in ballots may be challenged in an attempt to prevent the ballot from being counted. Ballots may be challenged for a variety of reasons, including: allegations that the voter is not qualified to vote in the election, the ballot was not received by the stated deadline, or that the voter had already voted in the same election. The methods and reasons for challenging ballots vary and are provided in state law. States without such provisions do not allow challenging absentee/mail-in ballots.
As of November 2020, New Hampshire law included the following provision for challenging ballots:
| “ | I. All absentee ballots are subject to challenge after the moderator publicly announces the name of the absentee voter, except for voters provided for in RSA 7:46, but not after the ballot is removed from the envelope. No challenge to an absentee ballot may be asserted except in conformity with the requirements of RSA 659:27-a.[2] | ” |
See law: New Hampshire Statutes section 659:51
As of November 2020, New Hampshire law included the following provision for handling challenged ballots:
| “ | II. If the ballot is challenged, the moderator shall write on the envelope containing the ballot the word ""challenged"" and the name and address of the person who makes the challenge and the basis of the challenge. The moderator shall also number each challenged envelope consecutively by marking, for example, the first challenged ballot ""Challenged Ballot No. 1.""
III. The moderator shall then determine if the challenge to the ballot is well grounded. If the moderator decides the challenge is well grounded, the moderator shall not open the envelope but shall preserve it with the other ballots cast at the election as provided in RSA 659:101 and shall record next to the name of the absentee voter on the clerk's list of absentee voters prepared pursuant to RSA 657:15 the word ""challenged"" and the reason for the challenge. The clerk shall record this information in the statewide centralized voter registration database. If the moderator decides that the challenge is not well grounded, he or she shall open the envelope so the affidavit is not destroyed and proceed first to mark on the reverse of the folded ballot the corresponding challenge number as previously marked on the envelope. The moderator shall then proceed to deposit the ballot as provided in RSA 659:52.[2] |
” |
See law: New Hampshire Statutes Section 659:27
Rejecting ballots
As of November 2020, New Hampshire law included the following provision for rejecting absentee/mail-in ballots:
| “ | If the moderator finds that the absentee voter is not entitled to vote, the moderator shall not open the envelope and shall mark across the face of the envelope the reason the ballot is rejected, such as "rejected as not a voter" "voted in person," "affidavit improperly executed," "not signed by proper person," or whatever the reason is and shall record next to the name of the absentee voter on the clerk's list of absentee voter applicants prepared pursuant to RSA 657:15 the word "rejected" and the reason for the rejection. The clerk shall record this information in the statewide centralized voter registration database. The moderator shall save all the unopened envelopes and shall preserve the envelopes with the ballots cast at the election as provided in RSA 659:101.[2] | ” |
See law: New Hampshire Statutes Section 659:49-b
Ballot curing
Ballot curing refers to the process by which voters can correct mistakes—such as a missing or mismatched signature—with an absentee/mail-in ballot so that the ballot can be counted. Ballot curing provisions lay out this process in state law. States without such provisions do not count absentee/mail-in ballots with errors.[3]
As of October 2020, New Hampshire did not have a ballot curing provision in state law.
Rules in other states
Click on a state below to view information on processing, counting, and challenging absentee/mail-in ballots in that state.
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
More frequently asked questions about the 2020 election
Click on a question below to read the answer:
- General election information
- Who runs elections in the United States?
- Why do states have different election rules?
- What methods do states use to prevent election fraud?
- Do you have to vote for everything on your ballot?
- What happens if you mark outside the lines or use the wrong pen/pencil?
- What is a spoiled ballot?
- What is a write-in candidate?
- How can I check the status of my ballot?
- Can I take a ballot selfie?
- Presidential election
- What happens if a presidential candidate declares victory in the 2020 election before results are final?
- Can presidential candidates win the election if they have already conceded?
- What are the steps and deadlines for electing the President of the United States?
- What happens if there is a tie in the Electoral College?
- What are faithless electors in the Electoral College?
- What happens if a presidential nominee becomes incapacitated before the election?
- Can members of Congress object to Electoral College results?
- Processing and counting absentee/mail-in ballots
- What is the life cycle of an absentee/mail-in ballot?
- What happens if I vote by mail and want to change my ballot at a later date?
- What happens if someone votes by mail and then tries to vote in person?
- How do states protect and verify absentee/mail-in ballots?
- How do election workers match signatures?
- Are results reported on election night coming from in-person or absentee/mail-in votes?
- Do states report how many mail-in/absentee ballots are outstanding on election night?
- Do absentee/mail-in ballots take longer to count than in-person ballots?
- What happens if someone votes by mail-in ballot or absentee ballot and subsequently passes away before Election Day?
- Disputing election results
- How will election recounts work?
- How close does an election have to be to trigger an automatic recount?
- Can a candidate or voter request a recount?
- Who pays for recounts and contested elections?
- What are poll watchers?
- What does it mean to challenge a voter's eligibility, and who can do it?
- What is a redo election?
- Who can file election-related lawsuits?
- What are the reasons to call a redo election?
- Who can call a redo election?
- Can a redo be held for a presidential election?
- Transitions of power and taking office
- Who is the president if election results are unknown by January 20, 2021?
- Who serves in Congress if election results are unknown by January 2021?
- Who serves in a state or local government if election results are unknown?
- What happens if the winning presidential candidate becomes incapacitated before taking office?
- Articles about potential scenarios in the 2020 election
- U.S. Supreme Court actions affecting the November 3, 2020, general election
See also
- Ballotpedia's 2020 Election Help Desk
- Ballotpedia's 2020 Election Help Desk: Processing and counting absentee/mail-in ballots
- Absentee/mail-in voting, 2020
Footnotes
- ↑ The New York Times, "Where Americans Can Vote by Mail in the 2020 Elections," August 14, 2020
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "VOPP: Table 15: States That Permit Voters to Correct Signature Discrepancies," September 21, 2020
