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Clerks and moderates back move to accept absentee ballots through close of polls; clerks ask for short buffer
Summary
Representative Jim Maggiore proposed HB 136 to let clerks accept absentee ballots at polling places until polls close instead of a 5 p.m. statutory cutoff. Town clerks and municipal officials generally supported extension but asked for a short 'buffer' before closing to allow final processing.
Representative Jim Maggiore introduced HB 136 to extend the deadline for accepting hand‑delivered absentee ballots from 5:00 p.m. to the official close of polls. Maggiore said his bill responds to real‑world situations in which ballots handed to a family member or a friend arrive after the arbitrary 5:00 p.m. cutoff and thus cannot be accepted.
Town clerks and moderators endorsed the idea but urged a short administrative buffer. Tina Guilfoyle, Derry town clerk, described a voter who missed a 5:00 p.m. cutoff after arriving at the polls late and said extending to the close of polls would have preserved that voter’s ballot. Joan Darje of the New Hampshire City & Town Clerks Association supported extension but proposed an amendment to allow a modest buffer (for example, 30 minutes) before polls close so clerks can redistribute ballots and prepare for secure counting. Nashua City Clerk Dan Healy also supported more time but said a short buffer would be helpful to handle logistics such as misdelivered mail and distribution to the correct ward.
Open Democracy and other voter advocates testified for HB 136, calling the 5:00 p.m. rule arbitrary and noting examples of working parents and caregivers who rely on a later, practical opportunity to deliver ballots.
Clerks described current practices (absentee ballot instructions included with mailed ballots, city procedures for drop‑offs) and reported that late hand deliveries are relatively few. Most clerks said relocation or redistribution of a small number of late ballots can be handled with a buffer before closing. The committee did not record a final vote in the transcript.
