Learn About Voting with Disabilities

“The general court shall provide by law for voting by qualified voters who at the time of the biennial or state elections, or of the primary elections therefor, or of city elections, or of town elections by official ballot, are absent from the city or town of which they are inhabitants, or who by reason of physical disability are unable to vote in person, in the choice of any officer or officers to be elected or upon any question submitted at such election. Voting registration and polling places shall be easily accessible to all persons including disabled and elderly persons who are otherwise qualified to vote in the choice of any officer or officers to be elected or upon any question submitted at such election.”

New Hampshire Constitution, Part First – Bill of Rights, Article 11.

Every polling place in New Hampshire must be accessible to people with disabilities as outlined in Part 1, Article 11 of the New Hampshire Constitution – Bill of Rights.   

If a voter is unable to enter the polling place, an election official will assist the voter in casting his or her ballot from a vehicle parked curbside using the Absentee Voter procedure. Individuals can only vote absentee in this manner if an unforeseen accessibility issue arises.

The New Hampshire Attorney General enforces the state’s election laws, including requirements for accessible voting.

Each polling place is equipped with an accessible voting system to assist voters with a disability to independently and privately mark a ballot at every state election with a federal office on the ballot.  The system is called “one4all” and is available for use by any voter.

A tablet computer attached to a printer allows a voter to independently and privately produce a marked ballot using either audio or an enhanced visual interface. Local election officials provide the voter with instructions on using this system. The ballot will look the same as and be counted in the same manner as all other election-day ballots.

A voter who needs assistance marking his or her ballot at the polling place may ask the moderator to authorize assistance from an election official or a person of the voter’s choosing (RSA 659:20-a).

Voters with disabilities qualify to vote in any New Hampshire election by absentee ballot. To vote absentee, qualified voters should reach out to their local town/city clerk’s office and follow the steps listed on our “Absentee Ballots” page. 

New Hampshire provides an opportunity for individuals with print disabilities to electronically receive and mark their state election absentee ballots. This option for people with print disabilities is available for state elections. More information can be found by clicking the following link: Voters with Print Disabilities – Reasonable Accommodation Returning a Marked Absentee Ballot 

The Application for an Accessible Electronic Absentee Ballot  can be read with NVDA and JAWS screen readers using Adobe Reader, which is a free download available here. The reader will not work if you open the application in your browser.  

Check out our FAQ page for Voters with Disabilities.