NEWS

NH absentee voting promoted in car rally

Karen Dandurant
Volunteers stand along Route 108 in Rochester on Sunday. They were out in support of absentee voting, especially this year with COVID-19.

On Sunday, Democrats from Rochester, Dover, Somersworth and Rollinsford took part in a car rally, traveling through each of the three Tri-Cities to educate the public about voting by absentee ballot, this year especially, because of the coronavirus.

For this year only in New Hampshire, registered voters have the option of checking a box that allows them to say COVID-19 is the reason they want an absentee ballot rather than voting in person, in addition to the usual reasons for absentee voting. Republican Gov. Chris Sununu signed into law the temporary measure in July, in time for the primary in September and general election in November.

Open Democracy NH has adopted the Burma Shave style of rows of signs to promote absentee ballot voting.

In light of that, Jim Verschueren, chair of the Dover Democrats, placed a series of four signs along Route 108 in Somersworth. They say “Don’t Dilly,” “Don’t Dally," ”Vote with Glee,“ ”Vote Absentee.”

“The Burma Shave ad campaign was very clever,” said Verschueren. “We want to place these little poems in high-visibility places, so voters see them and think about them.

“Democrats feel you should be able to vote absentee ballot anytime you want to,” Verschueren said. “Now COVID-19 is added as a reason but for this year only. But there are a lot of reasons people can ask for a ballot, and we want to make sure voters know that. For example, you can ask to vote absentee if you have to work, if you are caring for an elderly relative, if small children at home will prevent you from going to the polls, or if you will be away on Election Day.”

“We want to promote getting the vote out,” said Walter King, a member of the Dover Democrats, who organized the car rally along with other local Democratic committees. “So, because we know many people will be nervous about going to the polls (due to the virus), we are supporting absentee ballot voting. And, we wanted a creative way to do that and to introduce our candidates. In the age of COVID, we cannot be going out knocking on doors as we would normally do.”

Chris Rice, who is running for state senator in Rochester, said he knows this effort is one way the candidates can help stop the spread of the coronavirus.

“We have staging points along the route,” said Rice. “We will stop at each, introduce people and help voters get educated about applying for an absentee ballot. I think it’s a great opportunity to help everyone get the message out.”

There were stops at the former Care Pharmacy in Rochester, in front of the high school entrance in Somersworth, and at the parking lot of Walgreens in Dover.

State Rep. Gerri Cannon, D-Somersworth, said she has used absentee ballots when she was not in town on election days.

“You will never know who at the polls might have COVID-19,” said Cannon. “If you are worried about yourself, or about bringing this home to a family member, then absentee ballot is the way to go. The last thing we want to see is someone going out to make their voice heard and getting this coronavirus. Absentee voting is something we can do here in New Hampshire and we will make sure people know about it.”

State Sen. David Watters, D-Dover, said it is simply about keeping people safe.

“We want to keep us all safe,” said Watters. “We want those who stand at the polls safe. We want voters to be safe and we want poll workers to be safe. I think voting should be as easy as possible and we know how important it is to get the vote out, to make our voices heard. People can be confident in this process and know that every vote will be counted.”

State Rep. Peg Higgins, D-Rochester, said she is worried about the poll workers, who could be exposed to many people while working a full day.

City officials say they are seeing a definite increase in the number of requests for an absentee ballot.

Rochester Mayor Caroline McCarley said she will be working the polls.

“We are seeing a significant rise in the requests for an absentee ballot,” McCarley said. “I think voting should always be as easy as possible anyway. I think anything we can do to encourage people to vote, we should be doing. People are afraid of this virus, but they still want to vote.”

Portsmouth City Clerk Kelli Barnaby said she is seeing a larger than usual number of requests for absentee ballots. On Friday, she said she had already sent out 1,109 ballots.

Absentee ballot applications can be obtained at all town and city clerk’s offices, or they can be printed off the New Hampshire Secretary of State website at https://sos.nh.gov.

“People can complete the application and return it to their clerk, in person or by mail,” said Barnaby. “We will mail them a ballot. The ballot must be back by 5 p.m. the day of an election if mailed, or if in person the day before by 5 p.m.”

Any voter may request an absentee ballot for both the Sept. 8, 2020 primary and the Nov. 3 2020 general election based on concerns regarding COVID-19.

Walter King and his wife Cora Quisum-King, both members of the Dover Democrats, proudly show off their decorated car on Sunday. The couple took part in a car rally in support of voting by absentee ballot this year due to COVID-19 [Karen Dandurant/Seacoastonline]