CONCORD, NH — At every primary election, many local election officials encounter voters who are upset because they are not registered in the party in which they would like to vote. The Secretary of State’s Office and the Attorney General’s Office are alerting voters that Tuesday, May 31 is the last day for voters registered as Republicans or Democrats to change their party registration before the state Primary Election in September.
The Secretary of State and Attorney General encourage all voters to review their registrations to make sure they are registered in the party in which they intend to vote or as an undeclared voter. Voters can confirm their party affiliation on the Secretary of State website at sos.nh.gov by clicking on the “Check Your Party Registration” link or by checking with their town or city clerk.
Undeclared voters have the option of deciding which party primary they would like to participate in on the day of the election. However, if these voters do not return to undeclared status after voting in a primary election, they will remain a member of the party in which they voted during the last primary. For example, if an undeclared voter chose to vote in the Republican Presidential Primary in February 2016 but failed to change back to undeclared status after voting, that voter must change his/her registration back to undeclared before May 31 or he/she will only be able to vote in the Republican Primary in September 2016.
Changes to party affiliation may be made with the town or city clerk prior to May 31st or with the supervisors of the checklist at their advertised session held on May 31st . The filing period for candidates running for state, federal and county offices opens on Wednesday, June 1st and runs through Friday, June 10. Candidates running in a party primary must be registered as a member of that party by May 31st .
