Peterborough residents will head to the polls for town elections on Tuesday, May 12, on the second floor of the Town House. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Voting will not take place at the Peterborough Community Center due to construction on the new Fire Station campus.
A 2026 sample ballot is available at www.peterboroughnh.gov.
Accessible voting will be available on the lower level of the Town House. For information, contact the Peterborough Town Clerk at lguyette@peterboroughnh.gov or (603) 784-5605.
Peterborough will not hold an Open Session of Town Meeting this year, which is typically held the Wednesday evening following the Tuesday ballot session, as there are no bond votes. According to Town Administrator Nicole MacStay, a vote was held at the deliberative session to cancel the Open Session as long as the budget passes on the ballot.
The 2026 warrant proposes a budget of $20, 475, 996. The budget is unanimously supported by the Peterborough Select Board and the Peterborough Budget Committee.
The town’s warrant articles include funding and support for roads, bridges and infrastructure, police, fire, and ambulance departments, town vehicles, and recreation facilities, including Adams Pool.
Warrant Article 21 recommends that Peterborough prohibit Keno, a fast-paced bingo game. According to the New Hampshire State Lottery, 60% of the funds raised by Keno go to payout for players, and 28% goes to New Hampshire public schools.
The Select Board does not recommend that Peterborough allow Keno.
Warrant Article 22, submitted by petition, was initiated by Shen Bolun, a self-described political performer from Shanghai, China, who was an artist-in-residence at MacDowell between January and February. More than 25 town residents signed the petition, which was submitted by Peterborough voter Josephine Chu.
The article’s language proposes the town allot two minutes of “Blank Time” during deliberative sessions and town meetings as a symbolic acknowledgement of people who live within, contribute to, or are affected by the democratic process of Peterborough, especially those not eligible to vote.
According to the language of the article, beginning with the next Annual Town Meeting, the moderator would designate two minutes of “Blank Time” during each deliberative session and town meeting in Peterborough.
At the town’s deliberative session in April, Select Board chair Tyler Ward spoke against the proposed article, stating he did not want the meetings to become a venue for political performance. Other residents at the deliberative session stated concerns that Bolun, a Chinese national, was involved in Peterborough’s political process.
Warrant Article 23, submitted by petition, calls for local education spending decisions to “stay with local voters rather than being restricted by a statewide, one-size-fits-all budget cap.”
According to NPR, similar warrant articles have passed in communities around the state.
Warrant Article 24, also submitted by petition, “Calls on the New Hampshire Legislature to protect local taxpayers by ensuring adequate state revenue for essential services, and by avoiding policies that shift costs onto local taxpayers.”
The Select Board supports both petition warrant articles.
Peterborough’s 2026 warrant articles include zoning amendments aimed at making Peterborough’s village zoning more equitable and easy to understand, as well as limiting the scale of development in the downtown.