N.H. prepares for turnout inspired by Biden write-in campaign
CONCORD, N.H. — While the lead-up to Tuesday’s presidential primary has been anything but normal, election officials say they’re anticipating business as usual on primary day.
Some towns have recruited additional election volunteers to help count ballots as they prepare for a massive write-in campaign for President Biden, whose name won’t appear on the Democratic ballot.
And it’s not the only organized write-in campaign targeting Democratic voters. Activists are urging voters to write in “ceasefire” to send a message to Biden about the Israel-Hamas war.
In the Republican contest, former president Donald Trump has alternated between campaign stops and the courtroom as he faces a slew of legal troubles. The once-crowded Republican field has turned into a twoperson race between Trump and Nikki Haley, who faces an uphill battle in New Hampshire on Tuesday.
Secretary of State David Scanlan predicted a recordbreaking turnout in the contested Republican race, which he believes could draw 322,000 voters. Scanlan anticipates a much smaller showing on the Democratic side, predicting a meager 88,000 votes cast.
Scanlan also told local election officials that they are allowed to release Republican results ahead of Democratic results, which could take longer to finalize since write-in ballots need to be hand-counted.
The town of Bow has recruited extra volunteers, according to the town moderator Peter Imse. The town normally has two teams, with two people per team. This year, Imse said there are five teams. He expects it will take around two hours after the polls close at 7 p.m. to deliver results.
“Normally if there’s an incumbent, there would be less people voting in that primary,” Imse said. “This year could be different because of the write-in effort.”
Some election officials said they’re unfazed about a higher than-normal number of write-in votes. In most towns, people are only voting for one candidate, which makes tallying votes easier at the end of the night.
Olivia Zink, the executive director of Open Democracy, tracked towns in need of election volunteers and helped with recruitment. She said most towns have been able to fill their vacancies.
Even so, she warned, “results may be later” because of the write-in efforts.
She’s expecting large towns like Bedford and Derry to take longer, as they have only one polling place responsible for counting a lot of voters, unlike cities which are split into wards that are each responsible for a portion of voters. She said results from larger towns might not be available until 3 a.m. or 4 a.m.