Revision: Jan. 12, 2009, midnight
HB 265 – AS INTRODUCED
2009 SESSION
03/01
HOUSE BILL 265
AN ACT relative to proving qualifications to vote.
This bill establishes an age affidavit for persons registering to vote and modifies the affidavit of a challenged voter.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
09-0793
03/01
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Nine
AN ACT relative to proving qualifications to vote.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Qualifications of Voter Registration Applicant; Age. Amend RSA 654:12, I(b) to read as follows:
(b) AGE. Any reasonable documentation indicating the applicant is 18 years of age or older[.], or, if the applicant does not have reasonable documentation in his or her possession at the place and time of voter registration, an affidavit in the following form:
AGE AFFIDAVIT
Date: ____________________
Name: ____________________
Date of birth: ____________________
I hereby swear and affirm, under the penalties for voting fraud set forth below, that my date of birth is as I have entered above and that to the best of my knowledge and belief the information above is true and correct.
____________________
(Signature of applicant)
In accordance with RSA 659:34, the penalty for knowingly or purposefully providing false information when registering to vote or voting is a class A misdemeanor with a maximum sentence of imprisonment not to exceed one year and a fine not to exceed $2,000. Fraudulently registering to vote or voting is subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $5,000.
On the date shown above, before me, __________ (print name of notary public, justice of the peace, election officer), appeared __________ ( print name of person whose signature is being notarized), (known to me or satisfactorily proven (circle one)) to be the person whose name appears above, and he or she subscribed his or her name to the foregoing affidavit and swore that the facts contained in this affidavit are true to the best of his or her knowledge and belief.
____________________
Notary Public/Justice of the
Peace/Official Authorized by RSA 659:30
2 Reference Added. Amend RSA 654:31-a to read as follows:
654:31-a Right to Know Exemption. The information contained on the checklist of a town or city, specifically, the name, street address, mailing address, town or city, and party affiliation, if any, of registered voters, except as otherwise provided by statute, is public information subject to RSA 91-A. All other information on the voter registration form, absentee registration affidavit, citizenship, age, and domicile affidavits, and application for absentee ballot shall be treated as confidential information and the records containing this information shall be exempt from the public disclosure provisions of RSA 91-A, except as provided by statutes other than RSA 91-A. Notwithstanding the foregoing, citizenship, age, and domicile affidavits are public records subject to RSA 91-A for the sole purpose of challenging an individual registering to vote or voting, challenging ballots to be recounted, to the extent that such ballot challenges are specifically authorized by law, or determining the accuracy of any citizenship, age, or domicile affidavit. Election officials and law enforcement personnel in furtherance of their official duties may access and may disclose information from the voter registration form, citizenship, age, and domicile affidavits, absentee registration affidavits, and applications for absentee ballots, if necessary to resolve a challenge to an individual registering to vote or voting, or if necessary to investigate or prosecute election law violations or any crime. Law enforcement access and use of such records for the investigation or prosecution of crimes unrelated to election law violations shall be limited to the records of the specific individuals who are the subject of the investigation or prosecution.
3 Challenge of Voter; Affidavit. Amend RSA 659:27 to read as follows:
659:27 Challenge of Voter; Affidavit. Any voter at any state election may challenge any other voter offering to vote at such election, and the moderator shall not receive the vote of the person so challenged until he or she shall sign and give 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] in this town (or ward), that I am a United States citizen, and that I am 18 years of age or older.
4 Reference Added. Amend RSA 659:30 to read as follows:
659:30 Affidavit. The affidavit of a challenged voter, a voter citizenship affidavit, a voter age affidavit, a voter domicile affidavit, or any other affidavit required by the election statutes may be sworn before any person authorized by law to administer oaths or before any election officer.
5 Reference Added. Amend RSA 659:34, I(a) to read as follows:
(a) When registering to vote; when obtaining an official ballot; or when casting a vote by official ballot, makes a false material statement regarding his or her qualifications as a voter to an election officer or submits a voter registration form, an election day registration affidavit, a citizenship affidavit, an age affidavit, a domicile affidavit, or an absentee registration affidavit containing false material information regarding his or her qualifications as a voter;
6 Reference Added. Amend RSA 659:101 to read as follows:
659:101 Preservation of Absentee Voting Materials, Election Day Affidavits, and Domicile Affidavits. The affidavit envelopes and application forms processed by the moderator as provided in RSA 659:50, and the citizenship affidavits, age affidavits, and domicile affidavits as provided in RSA 654:12 and any other documentary proof of qualifications retained by the town or city clerk, the supervisors of the checklist, or other election official may be preserved in the same manner that ballots are preserved. Citizenship, age, voter registration, and domicile affidavits shall be retained for 3 years after the election in which they are used, and other materials may be destroyed one year after the first state general election at which the individual may vote.
7 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2010.