In Wilton, Eric Byrne arrived at the Town Hall midafternoon Tuesday and registered to vote, having turned 18 last November.

“I missed that election by four days,” he said, referring to his birthday coming just after the presidential contest. 

“My parents wanted to get me interested in the process, and I’ve read the ballots,” said Byrne. 

Under a new state law, documents proving citizenship and demonstrating reasons for a name change are required to register to vote. Upon learning this, Byrne had to retrieve a birth certificate from home to complete the registration process. Same-day registration to vote is allowed in New Hampshire, and in addition to a birth certificate, a passport can also be used to demonstrate citizenship. 

In Lyndeborough, Supervisor of the Checklist Jessie Salisbury said that two or three new voters presented themselves to the polls. People looking to register to vote had no problem retrieving the necessary documents when told that they were required, said Salisbury.

“Everyone who didn’t have them went home and got them,” said Salisbury. 

Wilton Town Clerk Jane Farrell said that the new documentation requirements for voter registration are squarely unfair to women.

“If they’re married, they need to produce a birth certificate and marriage certificate to explain their name change. If divorced, they need those papers, too. They’re really making women jump through a lot of hoops to vote,” said Farrell.

Farrell added that her office has tried to engage young people in the electoral process even before they’re eligible to vote. 

“We’ve let it be known that students who are 17 can come and volunteer here at the polls even before they can vote themselves, but we haven’t had any takers,” said Farrell. 

Lori Rolke, supervisor of the checklist, agreed with Farrell that there is a greater burden on women to document their eligibility to vote. Asked whether the increased requirements for all, such as a birth certificate or passport, have created issues at the polls, Rolke said no. 

“People are pretty understanding in a small town. Any refusal to show ID in order to vote had pretty much gone away,” she said.