The Trail Less Traveled

Concord, N.H., Jan. 7 — It’s relatively quiet in the secretary of state’s second-floor Capitol office today. But come tomorrow, when a 25 percent increase over previous record turnout is expected, this modest suite full of political memorabilia will be buzzing with the business of ensuring a smooth election.

The office is equipped to handle a variety of Election Day challenges, according to Deputy Secretary of State David Scanlan, a former state House majority leader who sat down with CQ Politics on Monday. For example, if any of the 330 polling stations around the state run out of ballots, a courier will be dispatched to deliver new ballots.

“We are prepared for things that may go wrong tomorrow,” Scanlan said.

Secretary of State William Gardner is projecting a turnout of 500,000, up from the record of 396,000 set in 2000. Officials expect 260,000 Democratic ballots and 240,000 Republican ballots to be cast, a reflection in part of shifts of Republican voters to independent status and of independent voters toward Democratic candidates in recent elections. In addition, it’s the first contest since 1928 that neither party has had a sitting president or vice-president seeking the nomination.

“This turnout is more along the lines of a general election,” Scanlan said.

New Hampshire’s uniquely open voter registration system has already elicited complaints that prospective voters are listing political campaign headquarters as their home addresses.

Residents, no matter how long they have lived in the state, can sign up to vote at their polling place on the day of the election by proving their identity, their age, their citizenship and where they live. But in lieu of documents, they can sign affidavits — under penalty of voting-fraud prosecution if they lie — attesting to their own qualifications.

He’s sanguine about the possibility of tight races on both sides of the ballot, saying New Hampshire has plenty of experience with close elections. There are 400 members of the state House, making it the largest state legislative body in the country, and each represents fewer than 3,000 people.

Contested election results are a fact of life here, where Ralph Nader requested a recount after garnering less than 1 percent of the vote in the 2004 election. More commonly, state legislative races decided by narrow margins are retallied at a nominal cost to the candidate seeking the second count.

“This state conducts more recounts than any other state in the country,” Scanlan said.

But even disputed registrations cause little concern here.

“Those situations are dealt with at the local level,” Scanlan said.

The calmness belies what is sure to be a frenetic Election Day. But for now there is so little to worry about that the office will be closed when the first ballots are cast in Dixville Notch, a small town near the Canadian border, at 12:01 a.m.