HB1577 (2006) Detail

Relative to the eligibility of persons with nontraditional domicile to vote.


HB 1577 – AS INTRODUCED

2006 SESSION

06-2943

03/01

HOUSE BILL 1577

AN ACT relative to the eligibility of persons with nontraditional domicile to vote.

SPONSORS: Rep. J. Tilton, Merr 6; Rep. C. Chase, Hills 2; Rep. Clemons, Hills 24

COMMITTEE: Election Law

ANALYSIS

This bill clarifies that persons with nontraditional domicile are eligible to vote.

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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

06-2943

03/01

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Six

AN ACT relative to the eligibility of persons with nontraditional domicile to vote.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

1 Voter; Domicile; Nontraditional Residence. Amend RSA 654:1, I to read as follows:

I. Every inhabitant of the state, having a single established domicile for voting purposes, being a citizen of the United States, of the age provided for in Article 11 of Part First of the Constitution of New Hampshire, shall have a right at any meeting or election, to vote in the town, ward, or unincorporated place in which he or she is domiciled. An inhabitant’s domicile for voting purposes is that one place where a person, more than any other place, has established a physical presence and manifests an intent to maintain a single continuous presence for domestic, social, and civil purposes relevant to participating in democratic self-government. A person may have a nontraditional domicile, including, but not limited to, a shelter, park, or underpass. A person’s domicile is not subject to challenge on the sole basis that the person has a nontraditional domicile or that the person’s domicile does not have a street address. A person has the right to change domicile at any time, however a mere intention to change domicile in the future does not, of itself, terminate an established domicile before the person actually moves.

2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.