HB 1554-FN – AS AMENDED BY THE HOUSE
12Mar2008… 0560h
2008 SESSION
03/01
HOUSE BILL 1554-FN
AN ACT relative to challenges of voters.
This bill establishes additional requirements for challenging voters and establishes penalties for prohibited challenges.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
12Mar2008… 0560h
08-2342
03/01
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Eight
AN ACT relative to challenges of voters.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Challenge of Voter; Affidavit. RSA 659:27 is repealed and reenacted to read as follows:
659:27 Challenge of Voter; Affidavit.
I. A voter offering to vote at any state election may be challenged by any other voter registered in the town or ward in which the election is held, an election official, a challenger appointed by a political committee pursuant to RSA 666:4, or a challenger appointed by the attorney general pursuant to RSA 666:5.
II. Upon receipt of a written challenge, the moderator shall determine if the challenge to the ballot is well grounded. If the moderator determines that the challenge is well grounded, the moderator shall not receive the vote of the person so challenged until the person signs and gives to the moderator an affidavit in the following form: I, ______________________, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I am the identical person whom I represent myself to be, that I am a duly qualified voter of this town (or ward), and have a legal domicile therein. If the moderator determines that the challenge is not well grounded, the moderator shall permit the voter to proceed to vote.
2 New Section; Asserting a Challenge. Amend RSA 659 by inserting after section 27 the following new section:
659:27-a Asserting a Challenge.
I. No challenge may be asserted except in the form of a signed affidavit, under oath administered by an election official, setting forth the challenger’s name, address, and party affiliation, the challenger’s qualifications to assert the challenge, the name of the voter challenged, the grounds upon which the particular individual being challenged is ineligible to vote, the specific source of the information or personal knowledge upon which the challenge of the particular individual is based, and a statement that the challenger understands that making a false statement on the affidavit is punishable under penalties of perjury. The secretary of state shall prepare and distribute to the town and ward clerks before every state election printed blanks for the affidavits required by RSA 659:27.
II. A challenge may be asserted only upon personal knowledge or other basis of probable cause that the challenged voter is ineligible to vote. No challenge may be accepted unless one of the following grounds is asserted and specific facts are offered in support of such grounds:
(a) The person seeking to vote is not the individual whose name he or she has given.
(b) The person seeking to vote has already voted in the election at the time and place specified in the challenge.
(c) The person seeking to vote is disqualified as a voter by conviction of a willful violation of the elections laws, such conviction having been for the offense, in the court, and on the date specified in the challenge.
(d) The person seeking to vote is under 18 years of age.
(e) The person seeking to vote is not a United States Citizen.
(f) The person seeking to vote is not domiciled in the town or ward where he or she is seeking to vote because the person’s true domicile is at the street address and in the town or city specified in the challenge.
(g) The person seeking to vote is a convicted felon who is currently sentenced to incarceration in the institution specified in the challenge.
(h) The person is attempting to vote in a primary and the person is not a declared member of the party with which he or she claims to be affiliated.
(i) The person is ineligible to vote pursuant to some other state or federal statute or constitutional provision specified in the challenge.
3 New Section; Prohibited Challenges; Penalties. Amend RSA 659 by inserting after section 33 the following new section:
659:33-a Prohibited Challenges; Penalties. A person shall be guilty of a class A misdemeanor if he or she:
I. Knowingly challenges a person’s right to vote without personal knowledge or other basis of probable cause or on fraudulent or spurious grounds.
II. Engages in mass, indiscriminate, and groundless challenging of voters solely for the purpose of preventing voters from voting or to delay the process of voting.
III. Fraudulently advises any person that he or she is not eligible to vote or will for any other reason not be permitted to vote or is not registered to vote when in fact that person is eligible or will be permitted to vote or is registered.
4 Challenges; Absentee Ballots. Amend RSA 659:51 to read as follows:
659:51 Challenges.
I. All absentee ballots are subject to challenge after the moderator publicly announces the name of the absentee voter but not after the ballot is removed from the envelope. [A person who makes a challenge shall state the reason for the challenge.] No challenge to an absentee ballot may be asserted except in conformity with the requirements of RSA 659:27-a.
II. If the ballot is challenged, the moderator shall write on the affidavit envelope containing the ballot the word “challenged’’ and the name and address of the person who makes the challenge and the basis of the challenge. The moderator shall also number each challenged envelope consecutively by marking, for example, the first challenged ballot “Challenged Ballot No. 1’’.
III. The moderator shall then determine if the challenge to the ballot is well grounded. If the moderator decides the challenge is well grounded, he or she shall not open the envelope but shall preserve it with the other ballots cast at the election as provided in RSA 659:101. If the moderator decides that the challenge is not well grounded, he or she shall open the affidavit envelope so the affidavit thereon is not destroyed and proceed first to mark on the reverse of the folded ballot the corresponding challenge number as previously marked on the envelope. [He] The moderator shall then proceed to deposit the ballot as provided in RSA 659:52.
5 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2009.
LBAO
08-2342
12/10/07
HB 1554-FN - FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT relative to challenges of voters.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Department of Justice, the Judicial Branch, the Judicial Council, and the New Hampshire Association of Counties state this bill may increase state and county expenditures by an indeterminable amount in FY 2009 and each year thereafter. There will be no fiscal impact on local expenditures or state, county, and local revenue.
METHODOLOGY:
The Department of Justice, the Secretary of State, the Judicial Branch, the Judicial Council, and the New Hampshire Association of Counties state this bill establishes additional guidelines for challenging voter qualifications and establishes a class A misdemeanor for individuals that engage in prohibited challenges. The Department of Justice states it will need to spend more time reviewing and investigating compliance with the law. However, the Department states it will be able to absorb any additional time needed to review compliance with current staff resulting in the bill having no fiscal impact on the Department.
The Secretary of State states this bill will have no fiscal impact on the Secretary of State. The Secretary of State recognizes there may be some fiscal impact related to the penalties contained in the bill.
The Judicial Branch states it has no information to estimate how many class A misdemeanor charges would be brought as a result of this bill. The Branch states the cost of a class A misdemeanor in the district court is $49.60 in FY 2009 and $51.14 in FY 2010 and each year thereafter. The Branch estimates it would take 202 cases in FY 2009 or 196 cases in FY 2010 and each year thereafter to have a fiscal impact that exceeds $10,000. However, if a single case were to be appealed to the New Hampshire Supreme Court, the fiscal impact would be in excess of $10,000.
The Judicial Council states this bill may result in increased general fund expenditures but is unable to determine the fiscal impact. The Council states if an individual is found to be indigent, the flat fee of $275 per misdemeanor is charged by a public defender or contract attorney. If an assigned counsel attorney is used the fee is $60 per hour with a cap of $1,400 (effective January 1, 2008). The Council also states additional costs could be incurred if an appeal is filed. The public defender, contract attorney, and assigned counsel rates for Supreme Court appeals will be $2,000 per case (effective January 1, 2008), with many assigned counsel attorneys seeking permission to exceed the fee cap. However, such motions to exceed the fee cap are seldom granted. Finally, expenditures would increase if services other than counsel are requested and approved by the court during the defense of a case or during an appeal.
The New Hampshire Association of Counties states to the extent any individual is prosecuted, convicted, and sentenced to incarceration, the counties may have increased expenditures. The Association is unable to determine the number of individuals who might be detained or incarcerated as a result of this bill. The average cost to incarcerate an individual in a county facility is $29,000 a year.