Over 70 NH towns postpone elections due to storm
Mar. 13—Residents across New Hampshire are slated to cast ballots in municipal elections Tuesday, but voters in nearly 80 communities will have to wait a couple more weeks to vote thanks to concerns over a major snowstorm forecast to hit the state.
The New Hampshire Secretary of State's Office posted an advisory on its website Monday saying local moderators have the authority to make the call whether to postpone elections in areas where a weather warning has been issued by the National Weather Service.
The Secretary of State's Office also posted a list of postponed town elections originally scheduled for Tuesday.
As of 6 p.m. Monday, the list included Acworth, Alstead, Alton, Amherst, Andover, Antrim, Barrington, Bedford, Bennington, Bow, Bradford, Brookline, Charlestown, Chester, Chesterfield, Conval School District, Conway Village Fire District, Deerfield, Deering, Durham, Effingham, Farmington, Francestown, Gilford, Gilmanton, Goffstown, Grantham, Greenfield, Greenville, Hancock, Harrisville, Hart's Location, Hillsborough, Hollis, Hooksett, Hopkinton, Hudson, Jaffrey, Keene School District, Langdon, Lee, Lempster, Lyme, Lyndeborough, Madbury, Marlborough, Marlow, Mason, Milford, Milton, Mont Vernon, Nelson, Newbury, New Boston, New Ipswich, New London, Northwood, Nottingham, Raymond, Rindge, Salisbury, Sharon, South Hampton, Springfield, Sullivan, Sutton, Tamworth, Temple, Wakefield, Walpole, Warner, Washington, Westmoreland, Wilmot, Wilton, Winchester, Windsor.
Elections in those communities are postponed until March 28, officials said.
An up-to-date list of postponed elections is available at sos.nh.gov.
The offices of the secretary of state and the attorney general issued an advisory Monday afternoon reminding voters that under state law they could vote absentee in the March 14 municipal elections if they live in a town or city under a National Weather Service winter storm warning.
Any voter choosing to vote absentee had to obtain an absentee ballot from their local town clerk and physically return it to their town clerk by 5 p.m. Monday or through the mail by 5 p.m. on Tuesday.
Moderators whose communities are under a storm warning are required to notify the secretary of state by phone or email within two hours of making the decision to postpone.
In Allenstown, officials announced by email the town plans to go ahead with the elections.
The notice said, "The moderator, road agent, and clerk have been conferring since the weekend and believe that the roads can be properly maintained."
A winter storm warning was posted for central and southern New Hampshire, with a winter weather advisory in effect for Coos County.
Forecasters said the storm would begin as light rain Monday evening, but it should be snowing in most of the state by daybreak Tuesday.
More than a foot of snow is possible in the higher elevations of Hillsborough County and across the Monadnock Region.
