|
KNOW BEFORE YOU VOTE
Coffee and Conversation
Hosted by the Educational Ministries Committee
Twenty curious civic-minded people, including several from beyond the church
community, gathered in the church hall on Tuesday, September 1 to make sure they
were ready to vote in both the September 8 NH Primary and the November general
election. The highly engaged attendees reported that it was time well spent; there was
a lot to learn.
Olivia Zink, Executive Director of the nonpartisan group Open Democracy, described
changes affecting voting in New Hampshire, from registering for the first time as a new
voter to changing one’s registration after a move or a name change. Absentee voting,
she explained, is a complicated process with critical time considerations. The changes
are not kept secret, but neither are they necessarily well disseminated by the state.
As Jean Clarke put it, “So many things I didn't know about the 'NH way' of voter
registration rules and paperwork. It says something when you have to have a
spreadsheet to explain all the documents needed to register.”
John Walker also attended the presentation. His take away: The most important thing
to do is to scan the QR code that Open Democracy provides (or go the website for the
NH Secretary of State https://www.sos.nh.gov) to check if your voter registration status
is labeled ACTIVE. Even if you have voted in the past your status could have changed.
More than 350 people have been erroneously removed recently from voter rolls across
the state. No notification of this action is iprovided to the voter. Checking one’s
registration status in advance of election day can avoid confusion and lost time.
The September Coffee and Conversation event accomplished the objective of informing the audience about important voter information.
The QR code John mentioned is included below.
| 
