Our next municipal election is Tuesday, November 7th. Are you ready to vote? One of the biggest reasons people give for not voting is their own lack of information or preparedness when it comes to what and who they are voting for — and with smaller budgets, these more local elections don’t quite get the hype of the national or state campaigns (though your daily life is more affected by these offices).
So for the next several weeks I’ll be sharing info for the upcoming election — in super easy bytes with links if you want/need more info.
*Please always refer to official city/town election information — while we try to replicate info here for easy reference, we are not an official source, an all info is subject to change and you should check official sources before making your voter plan.*
City of Portsmouth Voter Information Page — On the City’s updated website, this info page has information including:
- 👩👩👧👦 a current list of all candidates who have filed so far for each office. As of this writing, there are 18 candidates so far who have filed to run for the 9 possible seats on the Portsmouth City Council. (Mayor is the City Council candidate who gets the top number of votes.) Only 5 of the 18 council candidates are incumbents (currently in office, seeking reelection). I’ll be running candidate interviews here in the #PortsmouthLOVE Letter of those candidates who I am able to reach for comment (as an independent publisher, I reserve the right to make choices on who I approach for comment)
- 🗺 a link to find out ouch which Ward you live in (this determines your polling location, and in some elections, determines which candidates you vote for. To my knowledge, our 2017 municipal elections are all city-wide.)
- ☑️ registration info — As of this writing, New Hampshire’s proud heritage of allowing same-day voter registration is still intact, meaning you can simply show up to the polls on election day, and if you’re not already registered, you may do so same-day (Don’t have a drivers license with current address?: “Any voter who does not present an approved photo ID will be permitted to vote after executing a challenged voter affidavit. In addition, the voter shall have their photograph taken by the moderator or assistant moderator, which shall be attached to the challenged voter affidavit. “). Full info can be found on this official Voter ID Law explanation.
- 🗳 info on, and criteria that determines eligibility for, applying for an Absentee Ballott
- 🌍 State Senate districts (these vary depending on your Ward).
If you are a reader who does not live in Portsmouth, here are the voting info links for other upcoming elections, both state and municipal:
- September 26th: State Special election —Rockingham County
- October 24th: State Special election — Strafford County
- November 7th: Municipal — Dover, Rochester
- March 13, 2018: Municipal — Exeter
