Student Voter Registration Event to Be Held on Campus Nov. 13

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U.S. citizens 18 years or older and living in New Hampshire have a right to vote in the state.

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Donia Tung '22 shows off her "I Voted" sticker after casting her ballot in the 2018 midterm election.
Donia Tung ’22 shows off her “I Voted” sticker after casting her ballot in the 2018 midterm election. (Eli Burakian ’00)
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The town of Hanover’s supervisors of the checklist will hold a voter-registration session from 3 to 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 13, in the Nelson A. Rockefeller Center for Public Policy’s Class of 1930 Room. All students who are U.S. citizens, live in New Hampshire, and will be at least 18 years old on election day have the right to vote in the state.

According to Hanover Town Clerk Betsy McClain, students will be asked for proof of domicile—in other words, where they live on campus—as well as a Dartmouth ID, a driver’s license, or any other nondriver ID from any state to verify their age and identity. Students living in residence halls can request documentation of their physical address from the Office of Residential Life. A post office box will not be accepted as proof of domicile.

“The Housing Office is able to provide a proof of residency letter for those students living on campus,” says Michael Wooten, associate dean of residential life and director of residential education. “The letter contains their building, room number, the physical street address, and it notes when the student first lived on campus. It also lists their mailing address.”

Students can request a residency letter by emailing the Office of Residential Life at Residential.Life@Dartmouth.edu. Naturalized citizens can present a U.S. passport or naturalization papers as proof of citizenship.

The New Hampshire Secretary of State website states, “There is no minimum period of time you are required to have lived in the state before being allowed to register. You may register as soon as you move into your new community.”

In addition to the registration session on Wednesday, citizens can register to vote at the town clerk’s office in town hall from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday until two weeks before an election. Eligible voters who have not registered before that time can register at the polls at the time of the election, but registering at the polls could take some time, depending on turnout, McClain says.

U.S. citizens who do not have a form of ID or proof of domicile or citizenship at the time of registration can sign appropriate affidavits and, if registering by affidavit at the polls, will be permitted to cast a ballot that will be counted on election day. Voters wishing to cast ballots in primary elections can participate in either the Republican or Democratic race. If the voter registers with either party, they will only be given that party’s ballot; if they register as undeclared, they must affiliate with one party when they check in with the ballot clerk on election day.

Currently enrolled Dartmouth students who will not be in New Hampshire at the time of the election can register to vote and receive an absentee ballot by contacting the Hanover town clerk’s office at (603) 640-3201. Voter registration in New Hampshire is designed to take place in person; absentee voter registration requires a counter-signed affidavit and copies of proof of identity and domicile to be submitted by postal delivery.

Student who have already registered to vote in Hanover should bring a Dartmouth ID to verify identity at the polls. The name on the ID presented must match the name on the voting rolls.

The date of the New Hampshire presidential primary has not yet been set by the secretary of state but is expected to be sometime in the first two weeks of February 2020.

For information about documentation of domicile, call the Office of Residential Life at (603) 646-3093 or email Residential.Life@Dartmouth.edu. For more information about registering to vote, visit the New Hampshire Secretary of State’s website or the Hanover town clerk’s office website.

William Platt can be reached at william.c.platt@dartmouth.edu.

Bill Platt