Thousands of New Hampshire residents risk being purged from voter rolls right before an election simply because they haven’t checked their mail.
A new law took effect this year requiring Supervisors of the Checklist in each town in New Hampshire to review and verify registered voters annually, rather than every decade, and to remove voters who have not voted in the past five years.
Senate Bill 221, signed by Gov. Kelly Ayotte in August 2025, mandates an annual verification process to reduce bloat in voting rolls and improve accuracy by removing voters who have since moved.
With state primaries weeks away, local supervisors face tight deadlines to clean voter rolls under new statewide rules, leaving clerks with piles of returned mail and voters unaware their registration is in jeopardy.
Voting rights activists are urging voters to check their voter status online through the Secretary of State’s website in preparation for the state primaries on Sept. 8.
Between April 1 and Aug. 1, the Supervisors of the Checklist met in each town to go through the list name by name. The supervisors were required to notify voters who had not voted in the past five years by letter, unless the resident had been added to the checklist since the last state general election.
Sometime between April and August, letters were sent to the addresses listed for the corresponding registered voter to inform them of this verification process. All recipients are required to re-register with their town clerk’s office within 30 days.
The supervisors are required to meet again before Sept. 1 to remove names from the voting rolls.
While Peterborough plans to meet later this month to remove names, towns like Jaffrey and Mason notified voters earlier in the summer and have already removed names in preparation for the Sept. 1 deadline. According to a public notice from the Town of Jaffrey, the supervisors met on June 3 to verify the voting rolls and held the sequential meeting on July 14 to officially update the checklist.
Carol Lenox, a member of the Peterborough supervisors of the checklist, said these letters are often left unopened.
“People tend to ignore these letters and they really need to pay attention now with everything changing,” she said.
She explained that confusion is expected given how much has changed in elections in New Hampshire.
“The laws have changed so drastically in the past two years,” Lenox said.
Peterborough’s town clerk, Linda Guyette, said she has “stacks” of returned letters sent to wrong addresses.
Lenox pointed out residents can register on election days, “which is a good thing in New Hampshire.”
To register at the polls, you need proof of identity, residence and citizenship. Starting this year, government-issued identification is required, meaning students can no longer use school IDs.
Liz Tentarelli, president of the League of Women Voters NH, said, “If you get the letter, take it seriously.”
While this is a long and difficult project for the first year, Tentarelli pointed out the following years will weed out people who have not voted, making it easier for the supervisors.
“I’m hoping it will move more smoothly in the future,” she said.
Upcoming Supervisors of the Checklist Meetings:
- Dublin: Tuesday, Sept. 1 from 7 to 7:30 p.m. in the Town Hall
- Francestown: Saturday, Aug. 22 at 10 a.m. in the Town Offices
- Peterborough: Thursday, Aug. from 8 to 9 a.m. in the Town Hall
- Sharon: Thursday, Aug. 27 at 5:30 p.m. in the Sharon Meeting House
- Temple: Saturday, Aug. 29 from 9 to 9:30 a.m. in the Municipal Building
- Wilton: Friday, Aug. 26 from 7 to 7:30 p.m. in the Town Offices