ATKINSON, N.H. — Every four years poll workers in New Hampshire gear up for the first-in-the-nation primary. In Atkinson, a town of about five thousand voters, ballot clerks are trained weeks in advance and meet the night before.
Town Moderator Jim Garrity oversees all elections in the town. During the training, he highlighted the significance of their training.
“One of the reasons New Hampshire has a huge rating as one of the most trusted states is because of you people, because of the training we do,” said Garrity.
But this wasn’t a typical election cycle.
President Biden was not listed on the Democratic ballot on Tuesday and ballot clerks across the state had to prepare for a wave of write-in votes, posing a challenge never seen before.
Undeclared voters also played a pivotal role. After voting they had the choice to participate in a party’s primary and then disaffiliate afterwards.
“We have the pink and blue slips because anyone who’s undeclared can choose which ballot they want,” said Catherine Zerba, Supervisor of the Checklist.
