LONDONDERRY — The last day to register to vote in the Sept. 9 state primary is Tuesday, Sept. 2.
The Londonderry Supervisors of the Checklist will be in session at the Town Hall from 6 to 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 2 to register voters and correct the checklist. No party changes will be accepted.
You may also register to vote on the day of the election. If you are registering to vote on the day of the election, you should first go to the Supervisors of the Checklist (at the tables on the right side of the gym) to complete a voter registration form.
When registering to vote, you must be 18 years of age, by or on the day of the election. Bring proof of U.S. citizenship (birth certificate, passport, marriage certificate, baptismal certificate or naturalization papers.) You must also have proof of Londonderry residency (driver's license with imprinted Londonderry address, photo ID or document with Londonderry address.)
No one may register to vote within 10 days prior to any election or meeting, to allow time for the Supervisors of the Checklist to correct and print the checklist for the election. Because of Labor Day, the time is shorter for this election. Therefore, no one can register between Sept. 2 and the day of the election.
The Supervisors of the Checklist can be reached for more information by calling Gerry VanGrevenhoff, 603-432-5235; Debbie Currier, 603-434-6996; or Anne Warner, 603-432-8949.
Election Day vote procedure
Voting in Londonderry takes place in the high school gym from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. At 7 a.m., the voting boxes are shown to be empty and a zeroed tape for each machine is run and posted. The polls are then declared open.
If you are already a registered voter, enter the gym and proceed straight ahead to the table having the portion of the voter list containing the first letter of your last name. If you need to register, proceed to the Supervisors of the Checklist.
A person desiring to vote shall announce his or her name to the ballot clerk, who will repeat the name and address. If the address is incorrect, the ballot clerk will make a correction on the checklist and hand the voter a correction slip to be filled out and given, by the voter, to the Supervisors of the Checklist prior to leaving the building.
If you are registered as an undeclared voter, you will be asked which party you wish to be affiliated with for voting purposes. You will now be registered as a member of that party.
You may return to being an undeclared voter before leaving the building by going to the Supervisors of the Checklist. All other voters will be given the ballot belonging to the party in which they registered and/or voted at the last primary.
Once you have obtained a ballot, you will proceed to a voting booth to cast your vote. Take any materials with you that you may have taken into the booth. After voting, you will follow the ropes to the ballot boxes and place your ballot into the scanner, which will read your ballot and count your votes, and exit the building.
Your ballot is stored in the base of the box until the end of the evening, when it is removed, under police supervision, and sorted to remove any ballots that need to be handcounted. Once all the ballots have been counted, they are placed in boxes, which are taped and sealed, all under police supervision, and moved to the vault in the town clerk's office.
For more information, contact Cindi Rice Conley, town moderator, at Conleycr@aol.com.
Absentee ballots
You must be a registered voter to obtain an absentee ballot. You must be unable to make it to the polls on the day of the election to request an absentee ballot (out of state, ill, working out of town and gone before 7 a.m. and not home before 8 p.m.)
The request form and instructions are found on the town Web site, www.londonderrynh.org, under town clerk. If you are an undeclared voter, you must declare a party affiliation (Democrat or Republican). Once you have declared a party, you are now affiliated with that party until you change back to undeclared, should you so choose. That can only be done after the election. You may also call the town clerk's office at 603-432-1100, ext.118 for more information.
Derry voter registration
According to Nip Lewis, the Supervisors of the Checklist will be in session on Tuesdsay, Sept. 2, from 7 to 7:30 p.m. at the Derry Municipal Center to accept voter registrations or changes prior to the state primary election on Tuesday, Sept. 9. No party changes can be made at this session.
