Revision: Dec. 22, 2011, midnight
HB 1595 – AS INTRODUCED
2012 SESSION
03/04
HOUSE BILL 1595
AN ACT relative to voting in primary elections.
SPONSORS: Rep. Comerford, Rock 9; Rep. Sorg, Graf 3
This bill limits voting at primary elections to persons registered as members of the party.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
12-2467
03/04
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twelve
AN ACT relative to voting in primary elections.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Reference Deleted. Amend RSA 654:34-a, III to read as follows:
III. No application for a change of party affiliation shall be accepted on the day of a primary election, except as provided in RSA 654:34, I [and II].
2 Absentee Ballot Application. Amend RSA 657:4, I to read as follows:
I. Prior to any state election, the secretary of state shall prepare the appropriate application forms for absentee ballots worded in substantially the following form. The secretary of state shall insert the names of all parties qualified as set forth in RSA 652:11 in the list of parties on the application form. The secretary of state shall prepare the application forms in such quantity as he or she deems necessary:
Absence (Excluding Absence Due to Residence Outside the United States),
Religious Observance, and Disability:
I hereby declare that (check one):
___ I am a duly qualified voter who is currently registered to vote in this town/ward.
___ I am absent from the town/city where I am domiciled and will be until after the next election, or I am unable to register in person due to a disability, and request that the forms necessary for absentee voter registration be sent to me with the absentee ballot.
I will be entitled to vote by absentee ballot because (check one):
___ I plan to be absent on the day of the election from the city, town, or unincorporated place where I am domiciled.
___ I am requesting a ballot for the presidential primary election and I may be absent on the day of the election from the city, town, or unincorporated place where I am domiciled, but the date of the election has not been announced. I understand that I may only make such a request 14 days after the filing period for candidates has closed, and that if I will not be absent on the date of the election I am not eligible to vote by absentee ballot.
___ I cannot appear in public on election day because of observance of a religious commitment.
___ I am unable to vote in person due to a disability.
___ I cannot appear at any time during polling hours at my polling place because an employment obligation requires me to remain physically at work or to be in transit to or from work from the time the polls open until after the time the polls close.
Any person who votes or attempts to vote using an absentee ballot who is not entitled to vote by absentee ballot shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. RSA 657:24.
I am requesting an official absentee ballot for the following election (check one):
___ Presidential Primary to be held on ______________
(MM/DD/YYYY)
(The date may appear as blank when the date is not known.)
___ State Primary to be held on ____________
(MM/DD/YYYY)
___ General Election
For primary elections, I am a member of [or I am now declaring my affiliation with] the (check one):
___ Republican Party
___ Democratic Party
and am requesting a ballot for that party’s primary.
Please print:
Applicant’s Name:
__________________________________________________
(Last) (First) (Middle) (Sr., Jr., II., III)
Applicant’s Voting Domicile (home address):
___________________________________________________________________
(Street Number) (Street Name) (Apt/Unit) (City/Town) (Ward) (Zip Code)
Mail the ballot to me at this address (if different than the home address):
___________________________________________________________________
(Street Number) (Street Name) (Apt/Unit) (City/Town) (Ward) (Zip Code)
Applicant’s Signature: ______________________________
The applicant must sign this form to receive an absentee ballot.
Date Signed: _____________
(MM/DD/YYYY)
3 Absentee Voting Procedure. Amend RSA 657:13 to read as follows:
657:13 Provisions for State or Presidential Primary Elections. Upon receipt of a properly executed application for an official absentee ballot for a state or presidential primary election, whether the form supplied by the secretary of state or a written statement containing the information required by RSA 657:4, I, a town or city clerk shall forthwith ascertain if the person is on the checklist of the town or city and is properly registered as to party designation. If such person is found to be on the checklist and to be properly registered [or if such person is found to be on the checklist but is not registered as a member of any party, but the information supplied states he or she is applying for a ballot of a political party, the person shall be registered as a member of said party; and, in either case], the clerk shall send the materials provided for in RSA 657:15. If the person is not on the checklist or is not registered as a member of any party or is registered as a member of a party different from the one whose ballot he or she is applying for, the clerk shall refuse to certify as provided in RSA 657:16. An application may be transmitted by facsimile to a town or city clerk.
4 Absentee Voting Procedure. Amend RSA 657:16 to read as follows:
657:16 Refusal to Certify; Procedure. If he or she refuses to certify the application, the town or city clerk shall notify the applicant in writing within 7 days to that effect. The town or city clerk shall provide the applicant with an absentee ballot and a notice that the ballot will not be counted unless the applicant submits the documents necessary to complete an absentee registration. The applicant shall be advised in writing what documents, if any, have been received in proper form and which the applicant must submit in the outer envelope that contains the absentee ballot envelope. The town or city clerk shall mark the absentee ballot application and the absentee ballot affidavit with the words “Not Registered.” If the applicant returns the required documents in proper form with the absentee ballot and if the applicant is found to be qualified, the town or city clerk[,] shall forward the registration forms to the supervisor of the checklist and the applicant shall be registered and his or her absentee ballot shall be processed in the same manner as the absentee ballot of a previously registered voter. If the ballot is returned without the required documents in proper form, the ballot shall be marked in the manner set forth by law for successfully challenged absentee ballots and preserved in accordance with RSA 33-A:3-a. The clerk shall preserve the application of any applicant who is not registered as a voter until the time set by law for the destruction of the ballots after the election at which time the application shall be destroyed. Any justice of the superior court has jurisdiction in equity upon such notice as he or she may order to require that the name of the person making application for an absentee ballot be placed upon the checklist [or registered as a member of any party] and be sent an absentee ballot.
5 Primary Election Procedure. Amend RSA 659:14 to read as follows:
659:14 Special Provisions for State and Presidential Primary Elections.
[I.] A person desiring to vote at a state or presidential primary election shall, at the time of announcing the person’s name, also announce the name of the party to which the person belongs [or whether the person is registered as an undeclared voter]. If the person’s party membership has been registered before, the person shall be given only the ballot of the party with which the person is registered[, unless the person desires to vote the ballot of a party not having official existence at the time the person’s party membership was previously registered, in which case the person may vote the ballot of such a party in the state primary election immediately following the political organization’s official existence as a party, and not in any subsequent state primary election. A person may also vote the ballot of such a party in the presidential primary election only if the presidential primary election precedes the state primary election to be held in that same year. If the rules of a party permit a person who is registered as an undeclared voter to vote in the party’s primary, any person desiring to vote in that party’s primary shall also announce the name of that party at the time of announcing the person’s name. No person shall be permitted to vote in any more than one party primary during any primary election.
II. The secretary of state shall include on the voter instruction cards required by RSA 658:28 whether a party rule has been adopted which permits a person who is registered as an undeclared voter to vote in the party’s primary. The party chairman shall notify the secretary of state in writing prior to the filing period for state offices whether the party has adopted such a rule. This rule shall not be changed or rescinded by a party until the results of the primary have been announced, and any change or rescission shall be mailed to the secretary of state by the party chairman].
6 Primary Election Procedure. Amend RSA 659:29 to read as follows:
659:29 Special Provisions for State and Presidential Primary Elections. Any voter at any state or presidential primary election may challenge any other voter offering [to declare himself as a member of a party or] to vote the ballot of a party. Such challenged voter shall not be allowed to [so declare or] so vote until he or she makes an oath or affirmation that he or she affiliates with and generally supports the candidates of the party.
7 Repeal. The following are repealed:
I. RSA 33-A:3-a, CXLI(b), relative to same day return to undeclared status forms.
II. RSA 654:34, II(b), relative to voting by undeclared voter at primary.
III. RSA 654:34, III, relative to change of party registration at primary.
IV. RSA 654:34, V, relative to primary day return to undeclared status.
V. RSA 659:73, V(c) and (d), relative to report of undeclared voters at primary.
8 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.