The 2024 Primary is coming!

New Hampshire’s Secretary of State must know that the deadline for submitting articles to the Beacon is the 15th, so he announced today, November 15, as I write this article, that the New Hampshire Presidential Primary will be on January 23, 2024.

Not only is it our civic duty to vote, but Democracy works best when everybody votes. Please make every effort to vote.

The Polling Place is the AEMS: Andover Elementary-Middle School.  The polls open at 8 AM and close at 7 PM.  Please be sure to bring your driver’s license with you to prove your identity to the ballot clerks.

Do your homework, research the issues and the candidates, and be an informed voter.

Please remember that this is a Primary Election.  If you are a registered Republican, you will receive a Republican Ballot.  If you are a registered Democrat, you will receive a Democratic Ballot. If you are registered as an Undeclared Voter, you may request either a Democratic or a Republican ballot, and you will be checked off on the Check-List as a member of that party. If you wish to return to “undeclared” status after you vote, you may do so with the Supervisors of the Check List. Please note that you will not see any “Independent” candidates on the ballot. This will be the Primary Election for the Republican and Democratic parties. “Independent” candidates will be on the ballot at the General Election.

If you cannot make it to the polls on Election Day because of work, travel, religious observance, illness, disability, child or elder care, you may vote absentee. The most reliable and timely way to vote absentee is to go to the Town Clerk’s office, request an absentee ballot application, fill it out and return it immediately to Lisa Meier, our Town Clerk. Ballots are expected to arrive at Town Hall by December 23 at the latest. If you come to Town Hall after that date, you may fill out and submit your application for an absentee ballot, and you will be handed an absentee ballot right then and there. You may vote while you are at Town Hall, and pass in your ballot in the sealed absentee ballot envelope that same day. Of course, you may take your ballot home, and vote at home, but the best way to get your ballot to the Town Clerk is to deliver it directly to her when Town Hall is open.

If you must request your absentee ballot application and vote by mail, please allow at least a month to do this. Keep in mind that all mail in Andover is sent to Manchester to be time and date stamped. You can get an absentee ballot application from the Secretary of State’s website. If you type “NH Secretary of State Absentee Ballot” into your search engine, you should find absentee ballots and instructions easily. If you do not have access to a computer and/or a printer and can’t get to Town Hall when it is open, please go to Andover Library and ask the librarian for help.

Please note: you may deliver an absentee ballot for a family member at the polling place on Election Day. However, you must hand it to an Election Official by 5 PM.    

If you plan to register to vote on Election Day, you will be asked to document your age, citizenship, and domicile. You can document your age and your citizenship with your birth certificate, passport or naturalization papers. You can document your domicile with your driver’s license. If you have moved here recently and have an out-of-state license, you will need to document your domicile with a deed, rental agreement, property tax bill, or a utility bill.

If you have mobility issues, or if you are bringing an elderly voter to the polls, or if you have sleeping children in your car; in other words, if it will be difficult for you to get from your car into AE/MS to vote, please request curbside voting from one of the greeters/volunteers who will be outside the polling station. They will bring an absentee ballot application to you, and you may vote absentee from your car.

Elections have always run smoothly in Andover. This is due to the work of our Town Clerk and Deputy Town Clerk, our Select Board, our Supervisors of the Check List, and dozens and dozens of volunteers. Please show them the kindness and respect that they deserve.

If you have any questions, please feel free to get in touch with me.

Lee Wells
Deputy Moderator
603-735-5756
leewells.locustfarm@nullgmail.com