2009 SESSION
03/10
HOUSE BILL 404
AN ACT relative to the procedure for listing candidates on election ballots.
SPONSORS: Rep. Winters, Hills 17; Rep. B. Browne, Straf 4
This bill establishes a procedure for the ordering of names on ballots.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
09-0279
03/10
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Nine
AN ACT relative to the procedure for listing candidates on election ballots.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Municipal Elections; City Charters; Preparation of Ballots. Amend RSA 49-C:6 to read as follows:
49-C:6 Preparation of Ballots. The city clerk shall prepare the ballots to be used at the municipal elections. Under charters providing for election by the Australian ballot system, the ballots shall be prepared in accordance with the procedure provided for in general election laws governing such system. Under charters providing for non-partisan elections, the ballot shall contain the names in alphabetical order by surname according to the alphabetization procedure established in RSA 656:5-a, II, without party designation, of all who file with the city clerk as candidates for elective office. In the alternative, the charter may provide for a random selection of the order of names on the ballot. The charter shall specify a filing period, the filing fee to be paid for each office, and, as an alternative method of becoming a candidate on the ballot, the number of qualified voters which may be subscribed to a nominating petition in such form as the charter may set out.
2 Nominations for Special State Elections; Order of Names on Ballot. Amend RSA 655:81, IX to read as follows:
IX. The names of all candidates for a party nomination at a special election primary shall be printed in alphabetical order on the ballot according to the alphabetization procedure established in RSA 656:5-a, II, and the same ballot listing shall be used at all polling places where the special primary election is held; and
3 New Section; Preparation of State General Election Voting Materials; Order of Candidates. Amend RSA 656 by inserting after section 5 the following new section:
656:5-a Order of Candidates.
I. On the Thursday following the expiration of the period for filing declarations of candidacy as provided in RSA 655:14, the secretary of state or designee shall hold a public drawing in the secretary of state’s office to choose randomly a seed number greater than zero but less than one, carried to four decimal places. This seed number shall remain in effect for two years. The drawing shall be attended by the governor, the chairmen of the parties, the speaker of the house of representatives, the president of the senate, and the minority leaders of both houses of the general court, or their designees.
II. To determine which candidate is first in each party column, the candidates for each office shall be temporarily listed alphabetically according to their surnames within each party column and temporarily numbered in ascending order. The seed number picked under paragraph I for that election year shall be multiplied by the number of candidates, and if the product is not a whole number it shall be rounded up to the next whole number; the candidate who was temporarily assigned the same number shall be first on the ballot. The order of candidates shall follow alphabetically from the picked candidate's name forward to the candidate's name immediately preceding the candidate's name picked. For example, if the seed number .6789 is chosen, when there are 5 candidates alphabetization shall proceed from the fourth candidate's name (.6789 x 5 = 3.3945, rounded up to 4) to the last candidate's name, and then from the first candidate's name to the third candidate's name.
4 Primary Election Voting Materials; Order of Names. Amend RSA 656:24 to read as follows:
656:24 Order of Names. With the exception of the office of state representative, whenever there are 2 or more candidates for nomination to the same office, the names of such candidates shall be alternated on the state primary election ballots used so that each name shall appear thereon as nearly as may be an equal number of times at the top, at the bottom, and in each intermediate place, if any, of the list in which it belongs. Names of candidates for nomination to the office of state representative shall be arranged in the alphabetical order of their surnames according to the alphabetization procedure established in RSA 656:5-a, II.
5 Presidential Primary Election Voting Materials; Order of Names. Amend RSA 656:32 to read as follows:
656:32 Other Provisions. The provisions of RSA 656:24-656:28 relating to state primary election ballots shall apply to presidential primary ballots, except that candidates on the presidential primary ballot shall be listed in the alphabetical order of their surnames according to the alphabetization procedure established in RSA 656:5-a, II.
6 Constitutional Convention Ballots; Form. Amend RSA 667:12 to read as follows:
667:12 Form. Every ballot for the election shall contain the name and domicile of each candidate who has filed a declaration of candidacy for delegate. The names of candidates upon the ballot shall be arranged in perpendicular columns under the title “For Delegate to the Constitutional Convention.” Below the title shall be printed in easily legible type the words “Vote for” followed by a spelled number designating the number of persons to be elected to such office. At the right of the name of each candidate and on the same line, there shall be a square. Following the names there shall be as many blank lines as there are persons to be elected. Whenever there are 2 or more candidates, the names shall be printed upon the ballot in alphabetical order of their surnames according to the alphabetization procedure established in RSA 656:5-a, II.
7 Town Elections; Official Ballot; Voting Materials. Amend RSA 669:23 to read as follows:
669:23 Preparation of Voting Materials. The town clerk shall prepare the official ballots for the town and shall arrange the names of candidates upon said ballots in parallel columns. Immediately above the names of each block of candidates shall be printed the title of the office for which they are candidates, such as “For Selectman.” Below the title of each office shall be printed in small but easily legible type the words “Vote for not more than (here insert a number designating how many persons are to be voted for).” Directly to the right of the name of each candidate there shall be a square. Whenever there are 2 or more candidates for the same office the names shall be printed upon the ballot in the alphabetical order of their surnames according to the alphabetization procedure established in RSA 656:5-a, II. In the alternative, the governing body may provide for a random selection of the order of names on the ballot. Following the names printed on the ballot under the title of each office, there shall be as many blank lines as there are persons to be elected to that office.
8 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.