Revision: April 1, 2011, midnight
SB 129-FN – AS AMENDED BY THE SENATE
03/30/11 1219s
2011 SESSION
03/04
SENATE BILL 129-FN
AN ACT relative to presenting photo identification to vote in person and relative to the election fund.
SPONSORS: Sen. Carson, Dist 14; Sen. Barnes, Jr., Dist 17; Rep. Tucker, Rock 17
COMMITTEE: Public and Municipal Affairs
This bill requires that a voter present a valid photo identification to vote in person or have his or her photograph taken by an election official to be kept on file. This bill also reduces the balance that the secretary of state is required to maintain in the election fund.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
03/30/11 1219s
11-0420
03/04
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Eleven
AN ACT relative to presenting photo identification to vote in person and relative to the election fund.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Election Fund. Amend RSA 5:6-d, III to read as follows:
III. The secretary of state is authorized to accept, budget, and, subject to the limitations of this paragraph, expend monies in the election fund received from any party for the purposes of conducting elections, voter and election official education, the purchase or lease of voting equipment which complies with Help America Vote Act of 2002, Public Law 107-252, election law enforcement, and improvements to related information technology, including acquisition and operation of an automated election management system. The secretary of state shall not expend any monies in the election fund unless the balance in the fund following such expenditures shall be at least [15] 12 times the estimated annual cost of maintaining the programs established to comply with the Help America Vote Act of 2002, Public Law 107-252.
2 Obtaining a Ballot. Amend RSA 659:13 to read as follows:
659:13 Obtaining a Ballot.
I. A person desiring to vote shall, before being admitted to the enclosed space within the guardrail, [announce his or her name to one of the ballot clerks who shall thereupon repeat the name] approach the ballot clerk to check in. The ballot clerk shall request that the voter present a valid photo identification meeting the requirements of paragraph II. The ballot clerk shall announce the name of the voter; and, if the name is found on the checklist by the ballot clerk, the ballot clerk shall put a checkmark beside it and again repeat the name. The ballot clerk shall state the address listed on the checklist for the voter, and ask if the address is correct; if the address on the checklist is not correct, the ballot clerk shall correct the address in red on the paper checklist and the supervisors of the checklist shall cause the centralized voter registration database to reflect the correction. The voter, if still qualified to vote in the town or ward and having presented a valid photo identification verifying the voter’s identity, and unless challenged as provided for in RSA [659:27-33] 659:27 through 659:33, shall then be allowed to enter the space enclosed by the guardrail. After the voter enters the enclosed space, the ballot clerk shall give the voter one of each ballot to be voted on in that election which shall be folded as it was upon receipt from the secretary of state.
II. A valid photo identification shall satisfy all the following:
(a) The identification shows the name of the individual to whom the identification was issued, and the name substantially conforms to the name in the individual’s voter registration record.
(b) The identification shows a photograph of the individual to whom the identification was issued.
(c) The identification includes an expiration date, and the identification is not expired.
(d) The identification was issued by the United States, the state of New Hampshire, a political subdivision of the state of New Hampshire, an educational institution licensed or approved by the postsecondary education commission, or a business or institution recognized by local election officials.
III. If a voter does not have a photo identification that satisfies the requirements of paragraph II, the photo identification requirement may be satisfied by having a digital photograph of the voter taken by an election official to be kept on file.
3 New Sections; Authority of Secretary of State. Amend RSA 659 by inserting after section 13-a the following new sections:
659:13-b Emergency Authority for the Secretary of State. The secretary of state may suspend the photo identification provisions of RSA 659:13 to the extent necessary to accommodate equipment or software failure, power outages, or other unforeseen situations that prevent the provisions of RSA 659:13, III from being carried out.
659:13-c Authority to Expend Moneys From the Election Fund. The secretary of state may expend moneys from the election fund established under RSA 5:6-d for the purpose of purchasing equipment and implementing improvements to information technology that may be required by RSA 659:13, III.
4 Requesting Photo Identification. At any election prior to October 1, 2012, when issuing a ballot pursuant to RSA 659:13, the ballot clerk shall request that the voter present a valid photo identification issued by the United States, the state of New Hampshire, a political subdivision of the state of New Hampshire, an educational institution licensed or approved by the postsecondary education commission, or a business or institution recognized by local election officials. If the voter does not have a photo identification requested under this section, the ballot clerk shall inform the voter that such a photo identification will be required in future elections in order to vote.
5 Effective Date.
I. Section 2 of this act and RSA 659:13-b as inserted by section 3 of this act shall take effect October 1, 2012.
II. The remainder of this act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
LBAO
11-0420
Revised 02/04/11
SB 129 FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT relative to presenting photo identification to vote in person and relative to the election fund.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Department of Safety states this bill will decrease state highway fund revenues by $120,415, have an indeterminable fiscal impact on state highway fund expenditures, and decrease state restricted revenues by $120,415 in FY 2012 and in each year thereafter, and will decrease local revenues by $14,450 in FY 2013 and each fiscal year thereafter. The Department of State states this bill may increase state general fund expenditures by an indeterminable amount in FY 2012 and each fiscal year thereafter. The New Hampshire Municipal Association states this bill may increase local expenditures in FY 2012 and each fiscal year thereafter. There will be no fiscal impact on county and local revenues, or county expenditures.
METHODOLOGY:
The Department of Safety states this bill would require individuals to present valid photo identification to the ballot clerk to verify identity in order to vote. The Department states one of the forms of identification permitted would be a state issued non-driver picture identification card and this bill repeals the fee the Department collects for issuance of those cards. The Department states it estimates this repeal may reduce fee collections by $240,830 per year ($10 fee X approximately 24,083 non-driver identification cards issued annually). Currently, non-driver identification card fees are split in half between the Division of Motor Vehicles for the costs of issuing the cards and the highway fund ($240,830 ÷ 2 = $120,415). Pursuant to RSA 235:23, 12% of the preceding year’s highway fund revenues are to be distributed to municipalities. The Department therefore estimates a decrease state highway fund expenditures and local revenues of $14,450 ($120,415 X 12%) in FY 2013 and each fiscal year thereafter.
The Department of Safety also states this bill would require programming and form changes. The Department estimates 75 hours for programming changes at $175 per hour plus $500 for form changes to the application for a non-drivers identification card for a total of $13,625 in costs to be incurred in FY 2012 as a result of this bill. The Department also states this bill may generate additional requests for non-drivers identification cards as there would no longer be a fee. The Department states it incurs a $2.41 marquis fee per card it issues. The Department states it cannot predict the potential increase in marquis fees it could incur as a result of an increase in demand for non-driver identification cards as a result of this bill.
The Department of State states this bill would require voters to present a photo identification card issued by the state of New Hampshire, the federal government, or certain postsecondary institutions to obtain a ballot to vote, and also repeals the fee for non-driver identification cards issued by the state. The Department states this bill also requires voters showing up at the polls without valid identification to vote by provisional ballot and bring valid identification to the town clerk on a subsequent day for their vote to count. The Department states under this bill it would be required to provide provisional ballot envelopes to each polling place and will require them to provide additional staff following an election to handle the late election returns and meet certain time obligations complicated by the additional window to receive ballots after the election, including conducting recounts, preparing absentee ballots and certifying results. The Department states it is unable to determine specific staffing needs or potential costs at this time, however it predicts the following costs associated with supplying additional provisional ballot envelopes:
Number of envelopes needed |
95,000 |
Total envelope costs ($54 per thousand) |
$5,130 |
Shipping costs |
$1,000 |
Per Election Cost of Supplying Provisional Ballot Envelopes |
$6,130 |
FY 2012 |
FY 2013 |
FY 2014 |
FY 2015 | |
Cost Per Election |
$6,130 |
$6,130 |
$6,130 |
$6,130 |
# Elections |
1 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
Total Cost |
$6,130 |
$12,260 |
$0 |
$6,130 |
The New Hampshire Municipal Association states this bill requires all voters to present valid photo identification in order to vote and voters who are unable to do so would be permitted to vote by provisional ballot. The Association states this process would increase the time needed for each voter to check in and vote and municipalities may need to respond to this by appointing additional ballot clerks or extending polling locations. In either case, the Association states there would likely be an increase in local expenditures. As the effect of this bill would vary among municipalities, the Association is unable to determine the fiscal impact on local expenditures.