Official Results for the Municipal Primary Election, including the results of the Citywide recount of the Mayor's Race held on Friday, October 1st are available on our Election Results page. A special "thank you" is in order for all the dedicated departmental staff, election officials, members of the Board of Recount, as well as the candidates themselves and their 42 observers who all worked together to ensure a comprehensive and accurate hand count of all election day ballots. A tremendous amount of planning, resources, and time are required to conduct a successful recount. Thank you to all who participated!
Once again, the recount results affirmed the reliability and accuracy of the Accuvote Optical Scan tabulators used during every election for the past twenty years in Manchester. A common interpretation of recount results we hear when candidates pick up a a few votes during a recount is that the machines must have made a mistake on election day or the results would still be the same. The reality is much different however.
Most often, ballot tabulators perform exactly as designed and it is the voter who inadvertently makes an error on their ballot. As we saw during the October recount, fifteen ballots cast on election day scanned by the tabulator as either "over voted" or "under voted" ballots ultimately went to one of the three mayoral candidates upon closer inspection and determination of voter intent by the Board of Recount. We saw instances on those ballots where voters, instead of completely filling the oval for their candidate of choice, they: circled the candidate's name; made two selections and then crossed out one; used checkmarks for their selection; etc.
The following example shows how to properly to fill out your ballot selections and some common mistakes to avoid. Remember, if you make a mistake on your ballot on election day, immediately contact an election official at your polling place and ask for replacement ballot.
Sample Ballots for the Municipal General Election on November 2, 2021, are now available for viewing online. Absentee ballots should be arriving during the week of October 11th and available to all absentee voters. If you have already requested your absentee ballot for the upcoming election, they will be mailed to you directly as soon as we receive our ballot delivery. If you still need to request your absentee ballot, application forms are available on our Voter Registration & Elections page.
Official Election Results from the Non-Partisan Municipal Primary and Special Ward 8 Municipal Elections are available on our webpage. There were 10,584 voters, or 18% of Manchester's registered voters, who showed up on a sunny Tuesday to cast ballots for several municipal offices; pushing the top candidates forward to square off in the November 2nd General Election later this Fall.
Also on the ballot, the question posed by the Board of Mayor & Aldermen on whether to establish a charter commission to review the City's charter over the next year. Voters, for the first time in Manchester's history, soundly rejected setting up a charter commission with only 40% of voters seeing a need to seat the commission in November. The final vote was 4,284 yes; 5,015 no with another 1,285 voters who chose not to vote on the question.
For additional election information including information on registering to vote before the next election and forms to request your absentee ballot, please visit our Voter Registration and Elections webpage.
Due to COVID-19 and the Governor's Executive Order, the City of Manchester is working to accommodate outdoor restaurant seating. If you are interested in applying, you need to include a diagram in relation to your building. This diagram should show the proposed area with measurements, along with the number of tables and seats you are planning to have. Please read the 2021 Outdoor Seating Application carefully and submit all documents to licensing@manchesternh.gov.
The Office of the City Clerk will be open for ELECTION BUSINESS ONLY for the State Primary Election on Tuesday, September 8, 2020. We will resume normal activities on Wednesday, September 9th however most requests can be met through our online portal for vital records and dog license renewals.
Couples may now come to City Hall to obtain a marriage license or to get married without a ceremony between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 3 p.m., Monday through Friday. We are practicing social distancing at this time and can only help a limited amount of people at one time so you may experience longer wait times. Also, if you plan on signing the paperwork in front of the Justice of the Peace to get married, we ask that you refrain from bringing additional guests with you.
Please click here for our marriage license worksheet which can be filled out prior to coming to City Hall to save time.