Something went wrong during the state primary in Hooksett Sept. 9, and the New Hampshire Attorney General’s office is determined to get to the bottom of it.

According to three complaints received by the Attorney General’s Office, a number of Hooksett voters who thought they were unaffiliated with a political party were in fact declared as either Republican or Democratic. The computer system used by election officials during the state primary selected the designation based on the political ticket these undeclared voters chose to support during the presidential primary in January.

According to state law, undeclared voters are required to choose either a Republican or a Democratic ballot on primary election days. After indicating which ballot they select, those undeclared voters are also given the opportunity to fill out a short form expressing their desire to revert back to an undeclared status.

Although those forms were apparently filled out by about 150 Hooksett voters on Jan. 15 – the day of the New Hampshire presidential primary – the forms were not processed in the computer system correctly.

As a result, those voters were legally able to cast a ballot on Sept. 9, but they were only allowed to do so with the party they were affiliated with on the presidential primary day. Assistant Attorney General Jim Kennedy said he is not sure exactly how the problems may have occurred, but that his office will follow up with the complaints.

“It’s clear there were some problems,” Kennedy said. “We’ll be looking into it.”

Frank Gray is the local elected official responsible for overseeing the checklist of the registered voters in Hooksett. He processed the change-of-status forms in January and said he believes it was likely a computer error that failed to actually change the status of those voters. “Whether it was human error or computer error, it doesn’t really matter,” Gray said. “What matters is that we fix it.”

Gray said he would be looking carefully at the list of registered voters to make sure there will be no hiccups on Election Day in November, when the voter turnout is expected to be much higher than it was during the state primary.

Hooksett Town Clerk Leslie Nepvue, who officially sends Hooksett primary results to the state officials, said at the Hooksett Town Council meeting on Sept. 10 that she doubts it was a computer error that caused the multiple mistakes.

“It is not a software issue,” Nepvue said. “A reasonable person would have tested a few records to make sure.”

For voters who consider themselves independent, the glitch – computer generated or otherwise – threw them for a loop.

Hooksett resident Mary Farwell was one of those independent voters. She asked the town council to address what went wrong.

“I want to know what the town is going to do about the problem,” Farwell said. “I’m just looking for clarification.”