The New Hampshire Union-Leader reports that there has been no unusual demand for absentee ballots for this primary:

Election officials from around New Hampshire have received an average number of requests for absentee ballots this primary season. ... “I would typify it as average,” Deputy Secretary of State David Scanlan said, regarding the number of requests for absentee ballots.

Why does this matter? Absentee ballots are immune to last-minute eruptions, even going back a week or more, as voters complete them and mail them in early to assure their acceptance. Presumably, a large number of absentee voters marked their ballots prior to Dean's meltdown in Iowa and his odd acceptance speech. Since support ran stronger for Dean in the Granite State at that point, a high number of absentee ballots would have helped Dean. As it is, he can probably count on a small boost from absentee voters when they're processed; Clark may be the other beneficiary. I'll try to keep an eye on those numbers if they're broken out separately in tonight's tallies.

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