HB 1608 – AS INTRODUCED
2010 SESSION
03/04
HOUSE BILL 1608
AN ACT relative to general election candidates for offices that elect more than one person.
This bill specifies the order of names of candidates for offices that elect more than one person on general election ballots and limits the ability of voters to vote for such candidates.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
10-2385
03/04
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Ten
AN ACT relative to general election candidates for offices that elect more than one person.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Party Columns. Amend RSA 656:5 to read as follows:
656:5 Party Columns. The names of all candidates nominated in accordance with the election laws shall be arranged upon the state general election ballot in successive party columns. Each separate column shall contain the names of the candidates of one party; except that, if only a part of a full list of candidates is nominated by a political party, 2 or more such lists may be arranged whenever practicable in the same column. [The party columns that list the names of candidates for offices that elect more than one person shall stagger the names of the candidates so that they do not line up evenly in a horizontal direction. The left-most column shall begin one line below the column to its right. The secretary of state shall determine the location of any additional columns that may appear on the ballot.] For offices that elect more than one person, the candidates for the party in the left-most column shall be listed with the person receiving the most votes at the primary listed first and the other candidates following in descending order of their primary votes; for the party in the next column, candidates shall be listed with the person receiving the fewest votes at the primary listed first and the other candidates following in ascending order of their primary votes; subsequent columns shall alternate the ordering of candidates in like manner. Candidates for offices electing more than one person shall be separated by horizontal lines running across the ballot.
2 Designation of Office. Amend RSA 656:6 to read as follows:
656:6 Designation of Office. Immediately to the left of the set of party columns shall be an offices column which shall list the offices, each preceded by the word “For,” for which the candidates whose names are listed in the party columns have been nominated, as in “For Governor.” Below each such phrase shall be printed in small but easily legible letters “Vote for not more than [____ (here insert a number designating how many persons are to be voted for)] one candidate on each horizontal line.”
3 Marking the Ballot; Instructions to Voters. Amend RSA 659:17 to read as follows:
659:17 Marking the Ballot; Instructions to Voters. The secretary of state shall provide on the top of the general election ballot the following voting instructions. The secretary of state is authorized to replace the phrase “Make the appropriate mark” with an appropriate description and example of the mark to be made for the type of ballot in use, such as “Make a cross (X) in the box,” “Completely fill in the oval,” or “Complete the arrow”:
1) To Vote
Make the appropriate mark to the right of your choice. For each office vote for not more than [the number of candidates stated in the sentence: “Vote for not more than ___.”] one candidate on each horizontal line. If you vote for more than [the stated number of candidates] one candidate on any horizontal line, your vote for that [office] line will not be counted.
2) To Vote by Write-In
To vote for a person whose name is not printed on the ballot, write in the name of the person in the “write-in” space. Make the appropriate mark to the right of your choice.
4 Determining Intention of Voter. Amend RSA 659:64 to read as follows:
659:64 Determining Intention of Voter. If a ballot is marked for any office or horizontal line in a way which does not readily admit of counting or if a disagreement over how to count the ballot for any office or horizontal line occurs among the election officers present and counting votes, then the ballot shall be counted for that office or horizontal line in accordance with the majority vote of the election officials present and counting votes; provided that, if no alternative count receives a majority vote, the ballot shall be regarded as defective for that office or horizontal line as provided in RSA 659:65.
5 Defective Ballots. Amend RSA 659:65, I(b) to read as follows:
(b) No count of the ballot for any office or horizontal line received a majority vote of the election officials as provided in RSA 659:64.
6 Defective Ballots. Amend RSA 659:65, II(a) to read as follows:
(a) No count of the ballot for one or more (but less than all) offices or horizontal lines received a majority vote of the election officials as provided in RSA 659:64, but the count of the ballot for the other offices and horizontal lines results in no disagreement or can be agreed on by majority vote as provided in RSA 659:64.
7 Write-in Votes. Amend RSA 659:67 to read as follows:
659:67 Write-in Votes. In the case of a write-in vote for a candidate whose name appears on the ballot as the nominee of a party for the same office, said write-in vote shall be counted as an additional vote for said candidate; but the said individual ballot shall be counted as only one vote for the same person for the same office. If a voter writes in the name of a candidate whose name appears on the ballot as the nominee of a party for the same office but in a different horizontal line than that in which the voter has entered the name as a write-in candidate, such write-in vote shall only be counted if the voter did not also vote for the candidate on the horizontal line in which his or her name appears.
8 Canvass and Declaration. Amend RSA 659:81 to read as follows:
659:81 Canvass and Declaration Generally. Except as provided in RSA 659:82, when the secretary of state has received the returns for an office from all towns or wards comprising the elective district for that office, he or she shall examine, record, and total such returns and shall declare elected to the office the same number of persons as the number of officers to which the district is entitled; provided that those persons declared officers-elect shall be those persons who received the highest number of votes cast for said office or horizontal lines.
9 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.