Voting by Absentee Ballot During State of Emergency - Covid 19

From the Town Clerk’s Office:

The information below, is, in part, a joint memo received on April 10, 2020, from the Secretary of State and the Attorney General.

This memo explains the new process and procedure in Absentee Voting due to the COVID 19 Virus for the September 2020 Primary Election and the November 2020 General Election.  I have highlighted the pertinent information but please refer to this link to see the full memo.

Cannot vote in-person by reason of disability.

• This would include any medical condition where medical advice is that the voter not go out in public. 
• This includes a voter who is quarantined, including self-quarantine, for any reason due to COVID-19.  Compliance with general medical advice issued to the public by health officials is sufficient, individualized advice from the voter’s personal physician is not required.  Current general medical advice is that all household members of a person self-quarantined for cause, also self-quarantine.

Given this broad interpretation of the term “disability” with respect to absentee voting, it is worth noting that the term’s above-described application can occur outside emergencies as well.  Absentee voting is permitted in any circumstance where the voter is under medical advice – whether it is individualized advice or general advice to the public – to avoid being in places like a polling place.

In light of the current public health advisories related to COVID-19, any voter who in the voter’s judgment is being advised by medical authorities to avoid going out in public, or to self-quarantine, would qualify to vote by absentee ballot.  This applies equally to voters who are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 or any other severe communicable flu, and those who are self-quarantining as a preventative measure.  As the law does not define the term “disability” for the purpose of absentee voting, particularly in light of this guidance, any voter’s reasonable determination that he or she qualifies satisfies the law.

Please follow this link to read the full memo from the Secretary of State and Attorney General.

Joyce L. Charbonneau
Certified Town Clerk/Tax Collector, Stratham
10 Bunker Hill Ave
Stratham, NH   03885
603-772-4741, ext 140