Election Day in Belmont starts with ballot box malfunction

BELMONT — Almost 2,000 voters had cast their ballots at Belmont High School as of noontime Tuesday, and Town Moderator Alvin Nix Jr. predicted that pace would continue throughout the day. Nix said he expected at least 4,000 of the 4,725 registered voters, and a couple hundred newly registered voters, to come to the polls. But the day of great turnout started off rocky, with the ballot count box malfunctioning.

When polls opened at 7 a.m., the machine was not counting the ballots, despite testing in the days before the election. Nix said he reached out to the Secretary of State’s Office, who advised him to reach out to LHS Associates, an election services company providing equipment to many polls throughout New England. They provided Belmont with a new machine, and by 9 a.m., it was up and running. When the original machine malfunctioned, voters were asked to leave their ballots with election officials, and told they would be tabulated by the new machine. Nix said anyone concerned with the process was welcome to watch. He also called the problem unusual.

“As they say, adapt, improvise and overcome.”

Calls placed to the Secretary of State’s Office and Office of the Attorney General for comment were not immediately returned.

Belknap 8 State Rep. Nikki McCarter is not running for reelection, so came to the poll to vote and support other candidates. She is also a poll challenger for New Hampshire GOP. She is responsible for watching the election process to make sure it is free and fair. She was concerned when she heard about the issue with the ballot box. She questioned how the election process is supposed to raise voter confidence if the machines are malfunctioning.

“If their goal was to make sure everyone that walks in and out of this building this morning is reassured that this is the gold standard, then that was a miserable fail this morning,” McCarter said. “Those people might be questioning things right now while they're at work, or wherever they are.”

With the new machine up and running, ballots were cast. Most voters were motivated primarily by the presidential election. Abortion was an important issue for voters, including Bill Petersen, who believes it is murder and believes God will ensure abortion stays restricted.

“That's a very comforting feeling that God's actually going to influence this, just because he's had it with this abortion issue,” he said.

Jennie Capalario says abortion also motivated her to vote. Her focus is on keeping reproductive rights accessible.

“I think realistically, there shouldn't be any laws surrounding the way I choose to use or not use my uterus,” she said.

Another primary issue for voters was that of rising prices and inflation. Kayla Morrison came to vote with her husband Donoven, and her three young children. She said with increased food prices, they have had to make lifestyle changes for the family.

“We’ve definitely had to change the foods we’re buying to stay in the budget,” she said. “The quality of what we can afford has definitely gone down.”

Some voters said neither presidential candidate Donald Trump nor Kamala Harris were a good choice. One voter, Amy Kimball, chose a third-party candidate. She chose Libertarian Chase Oliver. Kimball thinks to most people, the only choices are Democrat and Republican. Kimball believes its important to vote for the best candidate, whether or not their chance of winning is slim.

“I think both Trump and Kamala have had a chance to make changes for a better America while they were in office, and I feel neither did a good job. They both just love to talk,” she said. “It's time to come together as a country and get real work done.”

Donna Peters was uneasy about this election. She hoped whatever the results of the election are, both candidates respect the outcome.

“I don't want another Jan. 6,” she said. “And even if one person or the other, there might still be something like that.”

Harris became the Democratic presidential candidate after Joe Biden dropped out of the race after winning the primary. This is the first race with Harris at the top of the ticket without Biden, and state representative candidate Don House, running in Belknap 8, said Harris provided a lot of energy to the party, creating more volunteers for candidates up and down the ticket.

“I think that brought a lot of energy and enthusiasm,” he said. “We've got a lot more volunteers, canvassers and everything else.”

While polls suggest New Hampshire was leaning in favor of Harris, many Republicans are expected to do well. Capalario said while not a swing state nationally, this swing down the ticket is what makes the Granite State unique.

“I think everybody is so ‘Live Free or Die,’ and we want everybody to be able to make their own choices,” she said. “And I think that's unique about the state of New Hampshire and the way we vote, and why we're such a swing state.”