Ballot access requirements for political parties in New Hampshire

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Although there are hundreds of political parties in the United States, only certain parties qualify to have the names of their candidates for office printed on election ballots. In order to qualify for ballot placement, a party must meet certain requirements that vary from state to state. For example, in some states, a party may have to file a petition in order to qualify for ballot placement. In other states, a party must organize around a candidate for a specific office; that candidate must, in turn, win a percentage of the vote in order for the party to be granted ballot status. In still other states, an aspiring political party must register a certain number of voters.

HIGHLIGHTS
  • As of May 2024, New Hampshire officially recognized two political parties: the Democratic and Republican parties.
  • In some states, a candidate may choose to have a label other than that of an officially recognized party appear alongside his or her name on the ballot. Such labels are called political party designations. New Hampshire allows candidates to use political party designations.

    • To learn more about ballot access requirements for political candidates in New Hampshire, see this article.

    DocumentIcon.jpg See state election laws

    Process for a political party to obtain ballot status

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    DocumentIcon.jpg See statutes: New Hampshire Revised Statutes, Title LXIII, Section 652:11; New Hampshire Revised Statutes, Title LXIII, Section 655:40-a

    Recognition requirements

    In New Hampshire, a recognized political party is defined as any political organization that, at the last state general election, won at least 4 percent of the total number of votes cast for either governor or United States Senator. In 2012, for example, a total of 693,877 votes were cast for governor, meaning that a political organization would have had to win at least 27,756 votes in order to be recognized by the state as a political party.[1][2]

    Any political organization may petition to have its name printed on the general election ballot. Petition papers must include the name of the political organization and must be signed by individuals who are registered to vote at the general election. No one can sign more than one nomination paper that grants a political organization access to the state's general election ballot. The organization must collect valid signatures equal to at least 3 percent of the total votes cast at the previous state general election. In 2014, for example, a political organization needed to submit 27,179 valid signatures in order to qualify for placement on the general election ballot.[3][4][5]

    The chairman of the political organization must file a declaration of intent within the filing period (i.e., between the first Wednesday in June and the Friday of the following week). Petition papers must be submitted by 5:00 p.m. on the Wednesday one week prior to the primary election.[6][7]

    Selecting candidates

    Recognized political parties are required to nominate their candidates by primary elections. The chairman of a political organization must, at the time a declaration of intent is filed, submit a list of the offices for which the organization intends to field candidates and the names of the candidates for those offices. Each candidate must also file a declaration of candidacy. In the event that the organization does not qualify to have its name printed on the general election ballot, any accompanying declarations of candidacy will be deemed void.[8][9]

    Procedural requirements

    No earlier than the third Tuesday of September following a primary election and no later than the last Tuesday of October, the party must hold a state convention for the purpose of adopting a party platform, nominating presidential electors, and establishing a party organization for the succeeding two-year period.[10]

    The chairman and clerk of the convention must submit a certified list of the presidential electors nominated by the convention to the secretary of state.[10]

    Notwithstanding the provisions noted above, a party may provide for an alternative method for determining the date, call, or purpose of the state convention and the selection of delegates and the composition thereof, in accordance with the party's constitution or bylaws.[10]

    Maintaining party status

    In order for a political party to maintain recognized status, it must have won at least 4 percent of the total number of votes cast for either governor or United States Senator at the last state general election.[1][2][11]

    Political parties

    See also: List of political parties in the United States

    As of May 2024, there were two recognized political parties in New Hampshire. These are listed in the table below.[12]

    Party Website link By-laws/platform link
    Democratic Party of New Hampshire Link Party platform
    Republican Party of New Hampshire Link Party platform

    Historical events

    2014

    On April 17, 2014, the New Hampshire State Senate defeated HB 1322, a bill that would have lowered the number of votes required for a political party to retain qualified status from 4 percent of the total number of votes cast for governor or United States Senator to 3 percent of the total number of votes cast for those offices. On the same day, the state legislature passed HB 1542. Introduced at the request of Secretary of State William Gardner, the bill stipulated that nomination papers for the establishment of a political organization must be signed and dated in the year of the election for which the organization seeks ballot access. According to Ballot Access News, similar provisions have been deemed unconstitutional by federal courts in Rhode Island and Arkansas.[13][14]

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    See also

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    Footnotes

    1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 New Hampshire Revised Statutes, "Title LXIII, Section 652:11," accessed March 24, 2014
    2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 New Hampshire Secretary of State, "Governor - 2012 General Election," accessed March 24, 2014
    3. ↑ New Hampshire Revised Statutes, "Title LXIII, Section 655:40-a," accessed March 24, 2014
    4. ↑ New Hampshire Revised Statutes, "Title LXIII, Section 655:42," accessed March 24, 2014
    5. ↑ New Hampshire Secretary of State, "New Hampshire - Filing Period," accessed March 24, 2014
    6. ↑ New Hampshire Revised Statutes, "Title LXIII, Section 655:43," accessed March 24, 2014
    7. ↑ New Hampshire Revised Statutes, "Title LXIII, Section 655:14," accessed March 24, 2014
    8. ↑ New Hampshire Revised Statutes, "Title LXIII, Section 655:14," accessed March 24, 2014
    9. ↑ New Hampshire Revised Statutes, "Title LXIII, Section 655:17-c," accessed March 24, 2014
    10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 New Hampshire Revised Statutes, "Title LXIII, Section 667:21," accessed March 24, 2014
    11. ↑ New Hampshire Secretary of State, "United States Senate - 2010 General Election," accessed March 24, 2014
    12. ↑ New Hampshire Secretary of State, "Voting in Party Primaries," accessed May 2, 2024
    13. ↑ Ballot Access News, "New Hampshire Legislature Defeats Bill to Ease Ballot Access, and Instead Passes Bill Making It More Difficult," April 18, 2014
    14. ↑ New Hampshire General Court, "HB 1542 - Version Adopted by Both Houses," accessed April 21, 2014
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