Bill Text - HB308 (2013)

Relative to technical changes to election laws.


Revision: Dec. 31, 2013, midnight

CHAPTER 209

HB 308 – FINAL VERSION

04/18/13 1223s

2013 SESSION

13-0682

03/01

HOUSE BILL 308

AN ACT relative to technical changes to election laws.

SPONSORS: Rep. Fields, Belk 4

COMMITTEE: Election Law

ANALYSIS

This bill:

I. Authorizes city and town clerks to provide copies of the checklist.

II. Requires printing of sample ballots on tinted paper.

III. Clarifies reporting obligations of political committees.

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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

04/18/13 1223s

13-0682

03/01

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Thirteen

AN ACT relative to technical changes to election laws.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

209:1 Availability of Checklist. Amend RSA 654:31, II to read as follows:

II. In towns and cities, the public checklist as corrected by the supervisors shall be open for the examination of any person at all times before the opening of a meeting or election at which the list is to be used. The supervisors of the checklist or city or town clerk shall furnish one or more copies of the most recent public checklist of their town or city to any person requesting such copies. The supervisors of the checklist or city or town clerk may only provide checklist information for their town or city. The supervisors of the checklist or city or town clerk shall charge a fee of $25 for each copy of the public checklist for a town or ward. For public checklists containing more than 2,500 names, the supervisors of the checklist or city or town clerk shall charge a fee of $25, plus $0.50 per thousand names or portion thereof in excess of 2,500, plus any shipping costs. The supervisors of the checklist or city or town clerk may provide public checklist information on paper, computer disk, computer tape, electronic transfer, or any other form.

209:2 Availability of Checklist. Amend RSA 654:31, VI to read as follows:

VI. No person shall use or permit the use of checklist or voter information provided by any supervisors of the checklist or city or town clerk or by the secretary of state for commercial purposes. Whoever knowingly violates any of the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor if a natural person or guilty of a felony if any other person. The secretary of state may insert inauthentic entries into copies of the public checklist provided under this section for purposes of facilitating enforcement of this paragraph.

209:3 Sample Ballots. Amend RSA 656:28 to read as follows:

656:28 Sample Ballots. The secretary of state shall furnish 10 sample state primary election ballots of each political party printed on [white] tinted paper to each town or ward clerk and, upon request, a reasonable number of such sample ballots to each person whose name appears upon the ballot as a candidate. Each town or ward clerk shall post one sample ballot of each political party in each of 2 public places in the clerk's town or ward within one day of receiving such sample ballots and save the remainder to be posted on the day of the primary as provided in RSA 658:26.

209:4 Reporting by Political Committee. Amend RSA 664:6, IV to read as follows:

IV. Any political committee whose receipts or expenditures do not exceed $500 for a reporting period need not file. However, when a committee’s accumulated receipts or expenditures for an election exceed $500 the committee shall file a statement at the next reporting deadline, and shall continue to file at each reporting deadline.

209:5 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.

Approved: July 10, 2013

Effective Date: September 8, 2013