State Codes and Statutes
Statutes > New-hampshire > TITLELXIII > CHAPTER655 > 655-81The nomination of candidates for the U.S. House of Representatives or for the executive council or for the state senate or for representative to the general court for special elections shall be accomplished through the holding of special election primaries. The filing of candidates for such primaries and all other matters connected with such primaries shall be the same as for primaries before a state general election except that:
I. The special election shall be held on the Tuesday not less than 80 nor more than 87 days following the day that the governor and council declare that there shall be a special election; provided, however, that if one or more municipalities where a special election for state representative will be held have a regularly-scheduled election occurring between 80 and 180 days following the day that the governor and council declare that there shall be a special election, the governor and council shall set the date of the election to coincide with the regularly-scheduled election if a majority of the towns or wards, as represented by the city, jointly request that day; if towns or wards, as represented by the city, request that the special election coincide with regularly-scheduled elections occurring on different dates, the election shall be held on the Tuesday not less than 80 nor more than 87 days following the day that the governor and council declare that there shall be a special election; and
II. The time limits in RSA 655:14 shall be changed to not more than 43 days nor less than 36 days prior to the primary; and
III. Under RSA 655:15, the official with whom state representative candidates shall file shall be the secretary of state, except that a state representative candidate may file with the appropriate town or city clerk under RSA 655:15 or with the secretary of state during the first Monday and Tuesday only of the filing period in towns and cities in which the clerk's office is open on one or both of those days, in which case the town or city clerk shall forward each declaration of candidacy to the secretary of state on the same day on which the declaration is filed; and
IV. The primary shall be held 34 days prior to the special election; and
V. Supplementary primary petitions may be filed as needed not less than 36 days before the primary; and
VI. The deadline for filing nomination papers shall be no more than 34 days prior to the special election; and
VII. The notice of the primary in RSA 655:11 shall be prepared by the secretary of state and distributed to the town and city clerks as soon as practicable after the setting of the date for the special election; and
VIII. Under RSA 655:12, clerks shall post notices of special election primaries as soon as possible after they are received; and
IX. The names of all candidates for a party nomination at a special election primary shall be printed in alphabetical order on the ballot, and the same ballot listing shall be used at all polling places where the special primary election is held; and
X. The publication of the result provided in RSA 659:89 shall not be required; and
XI. The deadline for any candidate to request a recount pursuant to RSA 660:7 shall be 3 days from the day of the primary.
Source. 1981, 512:1. 1994, 381:6. 1996, 36:7. 2006, 32:1, eff. June 3, 2006.
