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    How New Hampshire Counts Votes
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    How New Hampshire Counts Votes

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    CONCORD – On Tuesday, Nov. 5, votes cast in New Hampshire's presidential election will be counted by voting machines, election officials and volunteers.

    Read on to learn more about how votes are counted in New Hampshire, with information from the Secretary of State.

    How are votes counted in New Hampshire?

    In New Hampshire, communities can choose whether to count ballots by machine or by hand. Most people use machine counting because it is faster and more accurate. One hundred ten cities and 67 counties, including most coastal communities such as Exeter, Hampton and Portsmouth, use AccuVote ballot counting machines. Fifteen cities and six counties use VotingWorks ballot counting machines. On the coast, Rochester uses both types of machines. Ballot counting machines count all properly marked races (i.e. the oval is filled), except for write-in votes.

    However, 122 towns in New Hampshire, including the coastal towns of New Castle and South Hampton, have not switched to machines and are still counting their ballots by hand.

    Not all votes can be counted by machine: write-in votes and ballots where the voter has marked their choice in some way other than filling in the oval, e.g. B. by circling the name of his chosen candidate, must be counted by hand. In such situations, the city's election official, who is elected by vote every two years, decides how those ballots are counted by hand.

    Voter's Guide to the 2024 Seacoast NH Election: Read more about candidates, election times and how to register

    However, regardless of how the ballots are counted, all votes are cast on paper ballots. None of the machines can connect to the internet.

    How are votes counted by hand in New Hampshire?

    The most common, accurate and simple method of hand counting is the “sort and stack” method. This method sorts ballots into piles: one for each candidate, ballots with more than one choice marked, ballots with skipped choices, write-ins, and verdicts. Then counters and observers look at each pile and make sure only one candidate or question is in view on the ballot at a time. Each ballot paper is then checked three times and when the vote counters have agreed on the number of votes for each candidate, they enter this into the counting list.

    Another manual counting method is the “read and mark” method, in which counting teams count all races and questions in a batch of 50 ballots each, marking a tally sheet.

    For more details on these manual counting methods, see the “Counting and Recounting” section of the New Hampshire Election Procedure Manual 2022-23.

    How are mail-in ballots processed and counted?

    Election officials may begin processing mail-in ballots at 1:00 p.m. on Election Day or at any other time no sooner than two hours after polls open, as long as they are properly mailed 24 hours in advance.

    Election officials process mail-in ballots at polling stations. To do this, they take ballots and affidavits from their envelopes and compare names against the voter checklist to make sure they are registered and have not already voted in person. The ballot papers are then removed from the envelope and placed into the ballot counting machine or ballot box. They will be counted along with the remaining ballot papers after the polls close.

    What happens during a recount?

    Automatic recounts are not required in New Hampshire, and election officials are instructed to avoid errors that would require a recount. However, a candidate may request a recount if the difference between the votes cast for the requesting candidate and the candidate declared elected is less than 20% of the total number of votes cast.

    If a request for a recount is granted, election night ballots will be counted by the Secretary of State's team, a Democratic volunteer counter, and a Republican volunteer counter. They are recounted by hand and each ballot paper is viewed under a camera by election opponents and observers.

    State officials say the recount process should be open and transparent. Anyone interested in the process can attend the recount.

    When will all votes be counted?

    The results will be counted at the polling stations immediately after completion. As a continuous process, the moderator publicly announces the results after they have been counted and compared. Every citizen can observe this process.

    Secretary of State David Scanlan expects polling stations to announce the results on election night or into the early hours of the morning.

    However, it is possible that the nationwide presidential election result will not be announced on election night. Polls show the election between Harris and Trump is very close, and in some states counting votes and certifying results could take days or even weeks.

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