CHAPTER 214
HB 623 – FINAL VERSION
04Mar2009… 0368h
05/13/09 1549s
24Jun2009… 2162cofc
24Jun2009… 2345eba
2009 SESSION
03/04
HOUSE BILL 623
AN ACT making various changes to the election laws.
This bill makes various changes to the election laws.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
04Mar2009… 0368h
05/13/09 1549s
24Jun2009… 2162cofc
24Jun2009… 2345eba
09-0825
03/04
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Nine
AN ACT making various changes to the election laws.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
214:1 Election Manual. Amend RSA 652:22 to read as follows:
652:22 Authority; Format; Distribution. The secretary of state, with the advice and approval of the attorney general, shall prepare or cause to be prepared [by June 1] preceding each state general election an up-to-date manual on the New Hampshire election laws and procedures for conducting elections. The manual shall be written in nontechnical language. The manual shall be distributed free of charge to each moderator, board of selectmen, city council, and board of supervisors of the checklist and to each town, city, and ward clerk. The secretary of state may distribute the manual in either electronic or printed format. The secretary of state may distribute said manual to any other person who requests it.
214:2 Overseas Absentee Registration Affidavit. Amend RSA 654:20 to read as follows:
654:20 Overseas Absentee Registration Affidavit. Any person qualified to vote as an overseas voter in a city or town as provided in RSA 654:3, because he or she is domiciled outside the United States, may apply to the city or town clerk or to the secretary of state for an overseas citizens federal election absentee registration affidavit. Such affidavit shall be prepared by the secretary of state and shall be in substantially the following form:
Overseas Absentee Registration Affidavit
I, ____________________, do hereby swear or affirm, under the penalties for voting fraud set forth below, the following:
1) That I am a United States citizen; Place of Birth: City:__________________ State:______________ Country:__________;
2) That I have been domiciled in [Canada or Mexico or any other] a country outside the [continental] boundaries of the United States since ______________________;
(month) (year)
3) That I hold a valid passport or card of identity with Registration No. _______ issued by the United States Secretary of State;
4) That, immediately prior to my departure from the United States, I was legally domiciled in the state of New Hampshire at the following address:
____________________________________
Street and Number or Rural Route, etc.
____________________________________
City or Town
5) That I will be of the age of 18 years or older on election day, have complied with all applicable qualifications and requirements of the state of New Hampshire, and am entitled to vote in the next subsequent federal election to be held in said state; Date of Birth: ____(mm)/____(dd)/____(yyyy);
6) That I do NOT maintain a domicile, am NOT registered to vote, and am NOT voting in any other state, territory, or possession of the United States, or election district thereof;
7) That my party affiliation (if any) is ____________________
8) That my permanent address outside the [continental] boundaries of the United States is:
____________________________________
Street or Route Number
____________________________________
City, Province, Country
9) That I hereby make application for the addition of my name to the checklist of _________________________, New Hampshire, as an overseas citizen living outside the [continental] boundaries of the United States entitled to vote in any federal election held therein.
____________________________________
Signature of Applicant
____________________________________
Date
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.
214:3 Personal Filing. Amend RSA 655:16 to read as follows:
655:16 Personal Filing. Except for those who must file with a town or city clerk, any person who files [for a primary] on the last day of the filing period must do so in person before the secretary of state; provided, however, that this requirement shall not apply to the filling of vacancies by party committees.
214:4 Disqualification or Death of Candidate. Amend RSA 655:38 and RSA 655:39 to read as follows:
655:38 Disqualification of Candidate. If a candidate to be voted for at the general election shall make oath between the date of the candidate’s nomination and the day of the election that he or she does not qualify for the public office which he or she seeks because of age, domicile, or incapacitating physical disability acquired subsequent to the primary, the secretary of state may remove said person’s name from the ballot. A new candidate may be substituted by the appropriate party committee by submitting the name of the new candidate to the secretary of state within [5] 3 days of the notice of disqualification. The name of the substitute candidate shall be placed on the ballots as provided in RSA 656:21.
655:39 Death of Candidate. If any candidate to be voted for at the general election shall die between the date of nomination and the day of election, a new candidate may be substituted by the appropriate party committee by submitting the name of the new candidate to the secretary of state within [5] 3 days of the notice of death. The name of the substitute candidate shall be placed on the ballots as provided in RSA 656:21.
214:5 Nomination Papers; General Provisions. Amend RSA 655:40 to read as follows:
655:40 General Provisions. As an alternative to nomination by party primary, a candidate may have his or her name placed on the ballot for the state general election by submitting the requisite number of nomination papers. Such papers shall contain the name and domicile of the candidate, the office for which the candidate is nominated, and the political organization or principles the candidate represents. Nomination papers shall be signed by such persons only as are registered to vote at the state general election. No voter shall sign more than one nomination paper for each office to be voted for, and no nomination paper shall contain the names of more candidates than there are offices to be filled. Each voter shall sign and date an individual nomination paper. Nomination papers shall be dated in the year of the election.
214:6 Number of Nomination Papers. Amend RSA 655:42, I-II to read as follows:
I. It shall require the names of 3,000 registered voters, 1,500 from each United States congressional district in the state, to nominate by nomination papers a candidate for president, [vice-president,] United States senator, or governor.
II. It shall require the names of 1,500 [registered] voters registered in the district to nominate by nomination papers a candidate for United States representative; 750 to nominate a candidate for councilor or state senator; and 150 to nominate a candidate for state representative or county officer.
214:7 Filing Deadline. Amend RSA 655:43, II to read as follows:
II. No candidate who intends to run for any state or federal office in the state general election by means of nomination papers shall have his or her name placed on the ballot unless the candidate files a declaration of intent, as provided in RSA 655:17-a or 655:17-b, within the filing deadline required by RSA 655:14-a. Any person who files on the last day of the filing period must do so in person before the secretary of state.
214:8 Voting on Questions. Amend RSA 659:19 to read as follows:
659:19 Voting on Questions. A voter shall vote on questions submitted to voters by making [a cross (X) in the square] an appropriate mark as instructed on the ballot next to the answer he or she desires to give.
214:9 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
Approved: July 15, 2009
Effective Date: September 13, 2009