HB 154 – AS AMENDED BY THE HOUSE
9Feb2005… 0149h
2005 SESSION
03/10
HOUSE BILL 154
AN ACT relative to changes of party registration on primary day.
SPONSORS: Rep. Hunter, Hills 7; Rep. Manney, Hills 7
This bill:
I. Eliminates the special provisions permitting undeclared voters to revert to undeclared status after voting in a primary election.
II. Requires undeclared voters to follow the same procedures for change of registration as voters whose party affiliations were declared prior to voting in the primary election.
III. Prohibits disaffiliation from a party during the 90 days following a state or presidential primary election.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
9Feb2005… 0149h
05-0192
03/10
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Five
AN ACT relative to changes of party registration on primary day.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Elections; Voters and Checklists; Provisions for Primary Elections; Change of Registration. Amend RSA 654:34, II-IV to read as follows:
II. Change of registration of a voter who has been registered as an undeclared voter.
(a) Any legal voter who has been registered as an undeclared voter may register as a member of the party of the voter's choice by appearing before the supervisors of the checklist for the voter's town or ward any time they meet, except as prohibited by paragraph IV, and stating to them, under oath or affirmation, if required, that the voter intends to affiliate with and generally supports the candidates of the party with which the voter offers to register, in which case the voter shall be registered as a member of such party.
(b) A voter may also register as a member of a party at any primary by requesting to be registered as a member and voting the ballot of the party of the voter's choice. [A voter may also register once again as an undeclared voter after voting in a primary as a registered member of a party by returning the card provided for in paragraph V to the person at the polls designated by the town or city clerk to accept the card. All such cards shall be in the possession of the supervisors of the checklist at the close of the polls on election day.]
III. Notwithstanding any provision of paragraphs I and II to the contrary, no person who has voted in a primary may thereafter on the day of said primary change the person's party registration[, unless, prior to voting in the primary, the person was registered as an undeclared voter, in which case the person may once again register as an undeclared voter, as provided in subparagraph II(b)].
IV. No person, who is already registered to vote, whether his or her party membership has been previously registered or not, shall affiliate with a party or disaffiliate from a party between the first Wednesday in June and the day before the state primary election. No person shall disaffiliate from a party during the 90 days following a state or presidential primary election.
2 Repeal. RSA 654:34, V, relative to change of registration cards for undeclared voters, is repealed.
3 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.