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Elections & Voting

  • Election Volunteers Needed

    Click here to sign up!  Election Day is November 8, 2022, and our polls are open from 8am to 7pm. You need not commit to the entire day, a few hours is all that is needed to support the voting process in Keene!

  • ELECTION RESULTS

    Election Results for the November 8, 2022 State General are available here

    Please note, the statistics related to voter turn-out by party will be posted as soon as the data has been compiled and reviewed.  Please contact us with any questions.  Thank you!

  • State Election Information

    In 2022 the City of Keene will conduct the following elections:

    State Primary, September 13, 2022.  The last day for currently registered voters to change or declare a party affiliation prior to the State Primary is May 31, 2022.  A session of the Supervisors of the Checklist will be held the evening of May 31 at Keene City Hall from 7:00PM to 7:30PM to accept change of party registrations.

    State General Election, November 8, 2022.

     

  • View Sample Ballots

    State General Election Ballots:

    Ward 1

    Ward 2

    Ward 3

    Ward 4

    Ward 5

  • Voter Registration

    The City Clerk’s Office accepts voter registrations from Keene residents Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM up to 6 to 13 days before an election. To register you must be able to prove identity, age, residency and citizenship. A New Hampshire Driver’s License with your current Keene address will provide proof of identity, age and residency. An affidavit is available to prove identity, citizenship and domicile. Any questions regarding needed documentation can be directed to the City Clerk’s Office.

    If you are unable to stop by during open registration, there are other registration opportunities such as voter drives, at a Checklist Supervisor’s session or on election day at the polls. Please contact us with any questions.

    Looking for more information about voting in the State of New Hampshire and how recent laws affect you, please visit the  State of New Hampshire Secretary of State's website for further details.

    To view your voter information (party registration, polling place location and absentee ballot status), please visit the State of New Hampshire Secretary of State's website

  • Where Do I Vote?

    The City of Keene is broken into five seperate Wards. To view what streets are assigned to each Ward, click on the link below: City of Keene Street Index

    Please click here to view a City Ward Map.

    Where do I Vote?

    Ward 1: Michael E.J. Blastos Community Room
    400 Marlboro Street
    (adjacent to Keene Police Department)

    Ward 2: Keene Parks & Rec. Dept.
    312 Washington Street

    Ward 3: Keene Middle School
    167 Maple Avenue

    Ward 4: Symonds School
    79 Park Avenue

    Ward 5: Monadnock Covenant Church
    90 Base Hill Road

    *Polls are open 8:00 AM to 7:00 PM

    Please click here to view a map of the polling locations in Keene.

  • Absentee Voting

    Please click on the applicable link below to download an absentee ballot request form which can be printed and mailed to your City or Town Clerk to request a ballot:

    State Elections Absentee Ballot Request

    Federal Postcard Application for an Absentee Ballot
    (For Uniformed Service Members, their families, and citizens residing outside the U.S.)

    Municipal Elections Absentee Ballot Request - to be posted when available

    Eligibility to vote Absentee

    You may vote by Absentee ballot based on one of the following qualifiers:

    1. You plan to be absent on the day of the election from the city, town, or unincorporated place where you are domiciled.
       
    2. You cannot appear in public on election day because of observance of a religious commitment.
       
    3. You are confined in a penal institution for a misdemeanor or while awaiting trial.
       
    4. You are unable to vote in person due to a disability.  
       
    5. You cannot appear at any time during polling hours at your polling place because of an employment obligation. For the purposes of this application, the term “employment” shall include the care of children and infirm adults, with or without compensation.
       

    Application for an Absentee Ballot

    Application for an Absentee Ballot may be obtained by either calling or appearing in person at your city or town clerk's office. Once the Absentee Ballots have been received by the Clerk a voter appearing in person shall be given their Ballot in hand, all other requests shall be fulfilled by mailing the Ballot to the voter.

    As an alternative to completing the request form the voter may write a letter of request for an Absentee Ballot and submit by mail or via fax to the city or town clerk's office.

    If you are a Keene voter, mail your request to:

    3 Washington Street
    Keene, NH 03431

    Or fax it to the following number: (603) 283-5653

    PLEASE NOTE: If you are requesting an Absentee Ballot for a partisan election, please be sure to indicate whether you want a Republican or Democratic Ballot. Please contact your city or town clerk to confirm your party affiliation.

    Follow this link to view the status of your pending absentee ballot request.

    Returning your Ballot

    Make your vote count! Carefully follow the instructions enclosed with your Ballot. After marking your Ballot place it in the small envelope and seal said envelope, then sign the affidavit which fits your particular situation. After you have signed the proper affidavit with your full name, place the envelope containing the ballot into the mailing envelope. Affix the proper postage and mail the envelope, or personally deliver it to the city or town clerk so that it is received before 5:00 p.m. on the day before the election. Ballots may only be hand delivered to the city clerk's office by the voter, or the voter's designated delivery agent*.  If a ballot is returned by a delivery agent, they will be asked to show photo identification and sign an Absentee Ballot Return Form as required by state law (RSA 657:17).

    PLEASE NOTE: Absentee ballots delivered by mail shall be accepted by the town or city clerk up to 5:00 p.m. election day.

    *AUTHORIZED DELIVERY AGENTS:

    1. The voter's spouse, parent, sibling, child, grandchild, father-in-law, mother-in-law, son in-law, daughter-in-law, stepparent, stepchild; or
    2. The 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; or
    3. The residential care facility administrator, or a residential care facility staff member designated in writing by the administrator to deliver ballots,; or
    4. **The person assisting a blind voter or a voter with a disability who has signed a statement on the affidavit envelope acknowledging the assistance. **Cannot deliver more than 4 absentee ballots.

    All delivery agents will be required to complete an Absentee Ballot Return Form and present photo identification.  Any person who votes or attempts to vote using an absentee ballot who is not entitled to vote by absentee ballot shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. RSA 657:24

The Clerks office is open from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm, Monday thru Friday and can be reached by phone at 603-352-0133, option #2.

2022 Election - What's Changed?

  1. If you haven't voted in the past four years, your name was purged from the voter checklist.  Please register at City Hall prior to the Election through October 27th or on election day at the voting location. (more info below)
     
  2. Your voting location may not be the same place as it was the last time you voted - please check your ward or your street address and be sure to go to the correct location. 1,273 voters were moved to a different ward in recent redistricting. (more info below)

Election Dates:
State Primary,
September 13, 2022.
State General Election, November 8, 2022.

More Info:

Every ten years there is a ten-year purge of the voter checklist.  This occurred in Keene in the spring of 2021.  If a voter did not vote in any of the elections in the preceding four years, they were removed from the checklist.  6,394 voters were identified for removal.  All of these voters received notice of the pending removal and their opportunity to inform the office of their desire to remain.  Less than a dozen voters asked to remain on the checklist.  

Election Day voter registration will be available at all polling locations.   All voters should bring a photo identification and proof of domicile.  Affidavits are available if the voter cannot prove their identity or domicile.

There is also a redistricting effort every ten years for which the purpose is to equalize the population of each voting district.  In Keene, this effort was completed following the purging of the checklist.  1,273 voters were moved between the wards to equalize the population.  All of these voters received notice of their change in ward along with the address of their new polling location.

As part of the required redistricting effort, new legislative districts were drawn for Representatives to the General Court.  Previously, Keene’s ward lines and the State District lines were contiguous.  Keene elected one State Representative from each of the City’s five wards.  Another 5 Representatives were elected at large from the City’s five wards.   The new plan reduces Keene’s representation to the General Court from 10 Representatives to 8 Representatives.  One Representative will continue to be elected from each ward, but the other 3 Representatives will be shared with neighboring communities surrounding Keene.

Since the 2020 election, there has been a concerted effort to provide greater transparency in the election process.  The State of New Hampshire has adopted several new voting laws to increase the transparency of the voting process, the accuracy of the vote count, and the chain of custody of the ballots and voting equipment.  In addition, the State is requiring enhanced testing of the voting equipment intended to detect any hacks of the counting device that would count a vote for one candidate as a vote for their opponent.

New Hampshire’s elections are run by citizens who take time out of their lives for this important civic responsibility.  They take an oath of office to impartially discharge their duties with the goal of providing an environment where all voters are treated with respect and have confidence that their votes will be accurately counted.  Any Keene voter is welcome and encouraged to learn more about Keene’s elections and consider being part of the election team.

For detailed election information, please visit our Elections and Voting page.

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