DERRY — Three out of four affidavit ballots cast Nov. 5 were removed from the total on Friday due to voters not providing identification to the Secretary of State’s office.
Four members of Town Council, Town Moderator David Nelson, and Town Clerk Tina Guilford gathered at 3:30 p.m. on Friday in the Municipal Center to adjust the vote totals in Derry. They stood behind yellow caution tape, waiting for the votes to be officiated.
“No races were changed with the updated vote,” Nelson said.
Guilford agreed with him, saying the whole procedure took only a few minutes to complete.
“No write-ins were changed,” Guilford said. “That made it nice, quick, and easy-peasy.”
The adjustment was made because proof of identity was not provided to the New Hampshire Secretary of State within the seven-day grace period after the election.
Nelson said under New Hampshire law, a newly registered person is able to vote on an affidavit ballot without needing proof of identification. The ballot is specially marked and has to be hand-counted.
After the ballot is submitted, the voter receives a special envelope to mail a photocopy of their identification to the Secretary of State’s office.
“If the secretary gets the material, it’s reviewed and the person was eligible, then nothing happens,” Nelson said. “If they don’t receive the material, or if they aren’t eligible, then the secretary notifies the clerk and moderator that they need to be deducted from the totals.”
A law passed Sept. 12 updated the requirements voters need to register at the polls, including requiring them to produce a birth certificate or passport before being allowed to cast a ballot. It came into effect after the Nov. 5 election, and is being challenged in court by the American Civil Liberties Union.
Nelson said he isn’t sure how the new proof of citizenship law will affect future elections in Derry.
“The rest is to be seen if we’re under the new law, or if the courts take action,” Nelson said. “We won’t know about it until March.”