656:5 Party Columns. –
I. The names of all candidates nominated in accordance with the election laws shall be arranged upon the state general election ballot in successive party columns. Each separate column shall contain the names of the candidates of one party; except that, if only a part of a full list of candidates is nominated by a political party, 2 or more such lists may be arranged whenever practicable in the same column. The party columns that list the names of candidates for offices that elect more than one person shall stagger the names of the candidates so that they do not line up evenly in a horizontal direction. The left-most column shall begin one line below the column to its right. The secretary of state shall determine the vertical location of any additional columns that may appear on the ballot.
II. The position of party columns shall be rotated on the ballots used so that each party column shall appear thereon, to the extent practicable, an approximately equal number of times in the first, last, and each intermediate column position across the state, without requiring more than one unique column order or ballot format for each town, ward, or unincorporated place. Before the close of the period during which a person may accept the nomination of a party committee pursuant to RSA 655:32, the secretary of state shall develop as many generic column rotation plans for use in general elections as he or she might reasonably expect to be needed for different possible numbers of party columns on the general election ballot. If the number of party columns expected on the general election ballot changes such that one or more additional generic column rotation plans are needed, the secretary of state shall, from time to time, prepare such additional plans as are needed for any general election.
III. Party column rotation on the general election ballot shall be determined by randomly selecting state senate districts for each column required to be on the ballot. Senate district numbers 1 through 24 reflecting each of the 24 senate districts shall be randomly drawn for each party column. If there are not enough senate districts left to be evenly divided by the number of columns, the secretary of state shall assign the towns and city wards of the remaining senate districts to the party columns so as to achieve as equal a population representation for each party column as is reasonably possible.
IV. Immediately following the close of the period during which a person may accept the nomination of a party committee pursuant to RSA 655:32, the secretary of state or designee shall publicly select by lot the actual party columns to be positioned according to the generic column rotation plan established pursuant to paragraphs II and III.