How to Work at the Polls on Election Day

Serving as an election officer at your polling place in New Hampshire: who runs an election, how each officer is chosen, how to take part, and how the count is checked.

Checked against its sources October 26, 2026.

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BibTeX: @misc{guides-election-worker, title = {How to Work at the Polls on Election Day}, howpublished = {Granite Record}, url = {https://graniterecord.org/guides/election-worker}, note = {Accessed 2 Nov. 2026} }

At a Glance

Every polling place is run by local election officers. The moderator, elected by the voters, runs the polling place and oversees the count. The clerk handles the ballots and the official return, the supervisors of the checklist keep the list of voters, and the inspectors of election, appointed through the two largest parties, hand out ballots and help voters. The moderator may also appoint assistants for the day. The count is public, every election is held on paper ballots that are sealed and kept afterward, and recounts and a state audit check the count against the paper.

How would you like to serve?
- As an inspector of electionAppointed through your party’s state committee, or by your selectmen; you must be registered to vote at that polling place.
- As an assistant for the dayThe moderator may appoint election officials, at least 17 years old.
- In an elected officeRun for moderator, town clerk or supervisor of the checklist.
Take the oath, and serve from the opening of the polls until the ballots are sealed.
After the polls close, the votes are counted in public, the moderator announces the result, and the ballots are sealed and kept for a recount or an audit.

Step by Step

Learn who runs the polling place

The law calls them election officers: the moderator and the moderator’s deputy or assistant, the town, city or ward clerk and their deputies, the selectmen, and the supervisors of the checklist. The inspectors of election work beside them.

Who runs a polling place
Officer	How chosen	What they do	The law
Moderator	Elected by the voters by ballot, for 2 or 3 years as the town decides; in a city, each ward’s moderator is elected at every other city election	Oversees the voting and the counting of votes, appoints the assistants, and announces the result	RSA 40:1, 659:9, 659:60, 659:70
Town or ward clerk	A town’s clerk is chosen by ballot at the annual town meeting	Opens the sealed ballots and counts them with the officers, gives the ballot clerks a copy of the checklist, prepares and signs the election return, and keeps the sealed ballots afterward	RSA 41:16, 658:25, 658:31, 659:74, 659:98
Supervisors of the checklist	Three voters of the town, one elected by ballot every even-numbered year for 6 years, or for a 3-year term where the town adopts it	Bring the corrected checklist of voters and stay all day; may appoint assistant supervisors to register voters on election day	RSA 41:46-a, 658:7, 659:10
Selectmen	The town’s or ward’s selectmen	Provide and equip the polling place, appoint inspectors where the parties do not, and are present when the ballots are sealed	RSA 658:2, 658:9, 658:22, 659:95
Inspectors of election	Appointed by the state committees of the two parties that received the most votes for governor at the last general election, or by the selectmen in equal numbers from those two parties; registered to vote at that polling place	Two, one from each party, are the ballot clerks who hand out the ballots; the others do what the moderator assigns, including helping a voter who asks for help	RSA 658:2, 658:3, 658:25, 659:20
Assistant moderator and other officials	Appointed by the moderator for that election, at least 17 years old	What the moderator delegates to them, except declaring the vote	RSA 658:7, 658:7-a, 658:8

The law: RSA 652:14, RSA 652:23, RSA 41:1-a, RSA 656:1

Ask to be appointed
Inspectors of election are appointed for each polling place by the state committees of the two parties that received the most votes for governor at the last general election, through their chairs. Where a party does not appoint them, the selectmen do, in equal numbers from the two parties. An inspector must be registered to vote at the polling place where they serve, is sworn, and holds the office for 2 years. The committees, or the selectmen with the moderator, may also name alternates, who are called in order when an inspector cannot serve.
Assistants for the day. The moderator may appoint an assistant moderator and the other election officials the moderator thinks necessary, and the supervisors may appoint assistant supervisors to register voters on election day. An assistant must be at least 17 years old, takes the oath, and serves only for that election.
So to serve, ask your town’s moderator, your party’s state committee, or your selectmen.
The manual and training. Before each state general election the Secretary of State, with the Attorney General’s approval, prepares a manual on New Hampshire’s election laws and how to conduct an election, written in nontechnical language. It goes free to every moderator, board of selectmen, city council, board of supervisors of the checklist and town, city and ward clerk, and the Secretary of State may send it to anyone else who asks. The law also refers to the online training on the Secretary of State’s website, and has the Secretary of State train the supervisors of the checklist in using the state’s voter database to confirm a voter’s identity.
The law: RSA 658:2, RSA 658:3, RSA 658:4, RSA 658:5, RSA 658:7, RSA 658:7-a, RSA 658:8, RSA 652:22, RSA 659:13, RSA 659:77
Know what an election officer may not do
A person whose name is on the ballot for an office other than an election office may not work as an election official in that election. A moderator, clerk, selectman, inspector or supervisor who is on the ballot may keep their place, but may not handle marked ballots or count votes; the moderator appoints someone to count in their place.
No election officer may electioneer while on duty, that is, act in any way meant to influence how someone votes. Doing so is a misdemeanor.
The law: RSA 658:24, RSA 659:58, RSA 659:44
How the count is checked on election day
Before the polls open. Every election is held on paper ballots, so that the votes can be examined and recounted. The clerk breaks the seal on the ballots in public, and the officers count them in front of the clerk, the moderator and at least one other voter. The ballot box is opened in public and shown to be empty.
Counting machines. A town may use only a counting device the Ballot Law Commission has approved, and only one that reads the voter’s choice from a paper ballot. Each device is tested after it is installed and before every election. The clerk gives public notice of the test and marks the test ballots “TEST”. The device is sealed, no seal may be broken without 2 witnesses, and every break is logged. If a seal looks tampered with, the moderator does not use the device and reports it to the Attorney General and the Secretary of State.
After the polls close. The votes are counted in public and the count is not stopped until it is finished. Where officers disagree on how to count a mark, the majority of those counting decides; if no count has a majority, the ballot is not counted for that office. The counting documents are open for public review when the results are announced, and a machine’s printed results are posted within 60 minutes of the last ballot. The moderator announces the final count, and the clerk prepares the election return in front of the other officials, signs it, and sends a copy to the Secretary of State by 8:00 AM the next day. The other copy is kept by the clerk, open to the public.
Sealing the ballots. The moderator, with the selectmen, seals every ballot in containers from the Secretary of State, writes the number of ballots on each seal, and both sign it. The clerk stores the sealed containers and keeps a log of where they are, and only those working for the clerk, a recount or the Secretary of State may reach them.
The law: RSA 656:1-a, RSA 658:31, RSA 658:36, RSA 656:41, RSA 656:42, RSA 659:63, RSA 659:64, RSA 659:70, RSA 659:75, RSA 659:95, RSA 659:98
Recounts and the state audit
A recount. A candidate who lost by less than 20 percent of the ballots cast may ask the Secretary of State in writing for a recount, no later than the Friday after the election, and pays a fee that depends on the office and the margin: a candidate for state representative pays $10 when the margin is under one percent, and a candidate for governor $500. The Secretary of State and assistants recount the ballots in Concord, looking at each one; no machine may be used. The candidates may inspect the ballots and protest how any one is counted.
How a recount runs. The Secretary of State publishes its recount procedures; those for state primaries describe it this way. Every recount is open to the public, and its time and place are posted on the Secretary of State’s website. At least one team of two people counts each race. Across the table from them sits each candidate, or one person for the candidate, with other observers standing behind; cameras show every ballot and the tally sheet on screens facing the candidates, and do not record. Each box is opened in front of them and shown empty. The ballots are sorted into piles, in a race for one seat one for each candidate and piles for undervotes, overvotes and write-ins, and counted out loud in sets of 25, each set checked by the second counter. A candidate may challenge how any ballot is counted, without giving a reason; the Secretary of State rules on it, and a ballot still disputed is kept with a memo of the ruling in case of an appeal. The Secretary of State compares the recount with the election night results and declares the result, which is final unless changed on an appeal to the Ballot Law Commission within 10 days.
The top-of-the-ticket audit. When state representative races are recounted after a general election, the Secretary of State also audits the votes on those same ballots for President, United States Senate, United States House or Governor, choosing the office, for 10 of the recounted races picked at random (or all of them, if fewer than 10 are recounted). A discrepancy of more than one percent from the reported results allows a full recount of that race. The audit follows the general election recount procedures, and its results are published on the Secretary of State’s website.
The audit. After each state primary, general election and presidential primary, the Secretary of State audits the counting devices. At least 8 devices are chosen at random, and which ones is not announced until the polls open. A team of at least 2 people runs the paper ballots through separate audit equipment and compares its results with the device’s, and examines a random sample of the paper ballots by hand. The audit is open to the public. If there are significant differences, the Secretary of State may look at more ballots or order a full hand recount. The results are published before noon on the Friday after the election.
Recount procedures (Secretary of State)Top-of-the-ticket audit procedures (Secretary of State)
The law: RSA 660:1, RSA 660:2, RSA 660:4, RSA 660:5, RSA 660:17-b, RSA 660:17-c, RSA 660:33, RSA 660:35

Common Questions

Do I have to belong to a party?

For an inspector of election, the law looks to the parties: inspectors are appointed from the two parties that received the most votes for governor, by their state committees or by the selectmen in equal numbers from the two, and the two ballot clerks are one from each. The law does not tie the assistants the moderator appoints to a party.

Can I work at the polls if I am on the ballot?

Not as an election official, if you are running for an office other than an election office. A moderator, clerk, selectman, inspector or supervisor who is on the ballot keeps their place but may not handle marked ballots or count votes.

Is there training?

The Secretary of State prepares a manual on the election laws and procedures before each state general election, sends it free to moderators, clerks, selectmen and supervisors of the checklist, and may send it to anyone who asks. The law also refers to online training on the Secretary of State’s website.

Are election workers paid?

The sections that create inspectors of election and the moderator’s assistants (RSA 658:2 to 658:8) say nothing about pay. One election law does: when the Ballot Law Commission orders a checklist re-verified, the supervisors and their assistants are paid what the town or city votes (RSA 654:38).

Who decides a ballot whose mark is unclear?

The election officers counting the votes, by majority. If no way of counting it wins a majority, the ballot is not counted for that office.

Can I watch the count?

Yes. The law makes the counting public, and its documents are open for public review when the results are announced. The state audit of counting machines is open to the public too.

Who oversees elections across the state?

The Secretary of State, the state’s chief election officer, who prepares the ballots, receives every town’s return, and runs recounts and the audit.