A plain-language guide to county ballot access in all 10 New Hampshire counties, built around the one door that is still open. The 2026 filing period closed on June 12 and the nomination-paper route closed behind it, but New Hampshire write-ins need no advance registration and the bar is startlingly low: RSA 659:88 takes a party nomination on 35 write-in votes, or 10 percent of that party's ballots, whichever is SMALLER. The state primary is Tuesday, September 8, 2026. On the Secretary of State's own filing lists as they stood on August 14, 2026, one major party or the other had nobody filed for most county offices in most counties -- no Democrat anywhere on Carroll County's five row offices, no Republican anywhere on Cheshire's. Coos County is the exception to almost everything here and its page says why. Click the map or use the list.
All 10 New Hampshire counties. Click any county for its guide.
Alphabetical. Each links to that county’s “how to run for office” guide.
Statewide rules, filing basics and official links: how to run for office in New Hampshire.
These 2027 dates are confirmed against the state's own published calendar or statute. Anything our research could not confirm is left off this page rather than estimated.
2027 dates can move, and a municipality can change its own election date by ordinance. Which seats are on a given ballot depends on when each was last filled. Confirm anything you are relying on with the county election office before you act on it.
Motion51 does not hold a New Hampshire voter file and we do not request one on anyone's behalf. Bring the file you obtained and we will run your doors on it. New Hampshire is unusually clear about your right to it: RSA 654:31, IV says the Secretary of State SHALL, upon request, provide to a candidate for county, state or federal office a list of every registered voter in that candidate's district, with voter history and party affiliation. Shall, not may. Set your expectations on two things: the checklist carries TWO YEARS of voter history and no more, and it carries no phone number and no email address, because RSA 654:31-a makes voter contact information confidential. It is an address-and-door file, which is exactly what canvassing is. On price, do not plan around the headline: RSA 654:31, IV adds to the Secretary's own fee a passthrough of what every town and city would have charged, so ask the Elections Division for a quote for your district.
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