Revision: Dec. 14, 2011, midnight
HB 1136 – AS INTRODUCED
2012 SESSION
03/09
HOUSE BILL 1136
AN ACT relative to special state elections.
SPONSORS: Rep. Horrigan, Straf 7
This bill changes scheduling requirements for certain special elections.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
12-2170
03/09
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twelve
AN ACT relative to special state elections.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Nominations for Special State Elections. Amend RSA 655:81 to read as follows:
655:81 Nomination of U.S. Representative, Executive Councilor, State Senator and Representative to the General Court. The nomination of candidates for the U.S. House of Representatives or for the executive council or for the state senate or for representative to the general court for special elections shall be accomplished through the holding of special election primaries. The filing of candidates for such primaries and all other matters connected with such primaries shall be the same as for primaries before a state general election except that:
I. The special election shall be held on [a] the Tuesday not less than [131] 80 nor more than [145] 87 days following the day that the governor and council declare that there shall be a special election; provided, however, that if one or more municipalities where a special election for state representative will be held have a regularly-scheduled election occurring between [131] 80 and 180 days following the day that the governor and council declare that there shall be a special election, the governor and council shall set the date of the election to coincide with the regularly-scheduled election if a majority of the towns or wards, as represented by the city, jointly request that day; if towns or wards, as represented by the city, request that the special election coincide with regularly-scheduled elections occurring on different dates, the election shall be held on [a] the Tuesday not less than [131] 80 nor more than [145] 87 days following the day that the governor and council declare that there shall be a special election; and
II. [The filing period shall start on the Monday following the date on which the governor and council declare that there shall be a special election and shall end at 5:00 p.m. on the Friday of that week] The time limits in RSA 655:14 shall be changed to not more than 43 days nor less than 36 days prior to the primary; and
III. Under RSA 655:15, the official with whom state representative candidates shall file shall be the secretary of state, except that a state representative candidate may file with the appropriate town or city clerk under RSA 655:15 or with the secretary of state during the first Monday and Tuesday only of the filing period in towns and cities in which the clerk's office is open on one or both of those days, in which case the town or city clerk shall forward each declaration of candidacy to the secretary of state on the same day on which the declaration is filed; and
IV. The primary shall be held [63] 34 days prior to the special election; and
V. Supplementary primary petitions may be filed as needed [no later than 5:00 p.m. on the last day of the filing period] not less than 36 days before the primary; and
VI. The deadline for filing nomination papers shall be no [later than 5:00 p.m. on the day set for the primary] more than 34 days prior to the special election; and
VII. The notice of the primary in RSA 655:11 shall be prepared by the secretary of state and distributed to the town and city clerks as soon as practicable after the setting of the date for the special election; and
VIII. Under RSA 655:12, clerks shall post notices of special election primaries as soon as possible after they are received; and
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; and
X. The publication of the result provided in RSA 659:89 shall not be required; and
XI. The deadline for any candidate to request a recount pursuant to RSA 660:7 shall be [5:00 p.m. on the day after the election] 3 days from the day of the primary.
2 Uncontested Primary. Amend RSA 655:82 to read as follows:
655:82 Uncontested Primary. In the event that no party has more than one candidate file, the primary election shall not be conducted. In such a case, the special election shall be held on the day previously fixed as the day for the holding of the special primary election. The deadline for candidates to file nomination papers pursuant to RSA 655:40 through RSA 655:45 shall be 32 days prior to the rescheduled special election date.
3 Vacancies; State Representative. Amend RSA 661:8, III to read as follows:
III. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph II, if a vacancy occurs in the office of state representative in a district comprised of a city ward or wards, a request to hold the primary and special elections on the same dates as the city's biennial primary and regular elections may be submitted to the governor and council by the governing body of the city. If so requested, the governor and council shall declare the vacancy not less than [63] 50 days prior to the date of the city's primary election. The filing period shall be held not more than [57] 41 days nor less than [50] 34 days prior to the primary election. The provisions of RSA 655:81, III, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, and XI shall apply to elections held pursuant to this paragraph.
4 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.