HB 1530-FN-LOCAL - AS INTRODUCED
2016 SESSION
\t16-2555
\t03/05
HOUSE BILL\t1530-FN-LOCAL
AN ACT\trelative to mail-in voting.
SPONSORS:\tRep. Rogers, Merr. 28; Rep. Moody, Rock. 17; Rep. P. Brown, Hills. 31; Rep. O'Neil, Hills. 9
COMMITTEE:\tElection Law
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ANALYSIS
\tThis bill authorizes mail-in voting.
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Explanation:\tMatter added to current law appears in bold italics.
\t\tMatter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
\t\tMatter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
\t16-2555
\t03/05
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Sixteen
AN ACT\trelative to mail-in voting.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
\t1 New Chapter; Mail-In Voting. Amend RSA by inserting after chapter 657 the following new chapter:
CHAPTER 657-A
Mail-In Voting
\t657-A:1 Mailing of Ballots.
\t\tI. The town or city clerk shall mail by nonforwardable mail an official ballot with a return identification envelope and a secrecy envelope not sooner than the 20th day before the date of an election and not later than the 14th day before the date of the election, to each voter of the city or town who has requested a mail ballot as of the 21st day before the date of the election.
\t\tII. In the case of ballots to be mailed to addresses outside this state to voters who are not UOCAVA voters, the clerk may mail the ballots not sooner than the 29th day before the date of the election.
\t\tIII. For a primary election, the clerk shall mail the ballot of a party to a voter who is registered as a member of the party as of the 21st day before the date of the election.
\t657-A:2 Procedure by Voter.
\t\tI. Upon receipt of any ballot described in this chapter, the voter shall mark the ballot, sign the return identification envelope supplied with the ballot, and comply with the instructions provided with the ballot.
\t\tII. The voter may return the marked ballot to the town or city clerk by United States mail or by depositing the ballot at the office of the clerk or at any place of deposit designated by the clerk. At each place of deposit designated under this section, the clerk shall prominently display a sign stating that the location is an official ballot drop site.
\t\tIII. The voter shall return the mail-in ballot in the return identification envelope. If the voter returns the ballot by mail, the voter shall provide the postage.
\t\tIV. A ballot must be received at the office of the town or city clerk or at the designated place of deposit not later than 8:00 p.m. on the date of the election.
\t657-A:3 Replacement Ballots.
\t\tI. A voter may obtain a replacement ballot if the ballot is destroyed, spoiled, lost, or not received by the voter. The town or city clerk shall keep a record of each replacement ballot provided under this section. A replacement ballot may be mailed, made available in the office of the town or city clerk, or made available at one central location in the town or city designated by the clerk.
\t\tII. To vote a replacement ballot, the voter shall complete and sign a replacement ballot request form. The request for a replacement ballot may be made electronically, by telephone, in writing, or in person. The replacement ballot request form shall be mailed or made available to the voter along with the replacement ballot.
\t\tIII. Upon receiving a request for a replacement ballot, the town or city clerk shall:
\t\t\t(a) Verify the registration of the voter and ensure that another ballot has not been returned by the voter.
\t\t\t(b) Notify the moderator that the voter has requested a replacement mail-in ballot.
\t\t\t(c) Mark the return identification envelope clearly so that it may be readily identified as a replacement ballot.
\t\t\t(d) Issue the replacement ballot by mail or other means.
\t\tIV. Upon receiving a voted replacement ballot, the clerk shall verify that a completed and signed replacement ballot request form has been received by the clerk or is included with the voted replacement ballot. If a request form has been completed and signed by the voter and received by the clerk, the clerk shall accept the ballot. If the request form is not completed or signed by the voter or received by the clerk, the clerk may not accept the ballot.
\t657-A:4 Processing of Mail-In Ballots.
\t\tI. Except as provided in this chapter, mail ballots shall be processed and counted in the same manner as absentee ballots.
\t\tII. A mail-in ballot shall be counted only if:
\t\t\t(a) It is returned in the return identification envelope;
\t\t\t(b) The envelope is signed by the voter to whom the ballot is issued; and
\t\t\t(c) The signature is verified as provided in paragraph III.
\t\tIII. The town or city clerk shall verify the signature of each voter on the return identification envelope with the signature on the voter's registration card. If the clerk determines that a voter to whom a replacement ballot has been issued has voted more than once, the clerk shall forward only one ballot cast by that voter to the moderator.
\t657-A:5 Permanent Mail-In Ballot Request. A voter may request that he or she be designated on the checklist as a permanent mail-in ballot voter. The town or city clerk shall forward a ballot to such voter in accordance with RSA 657-A:1 at each election at which the voter is eligible to vote, provided that if the voter is not registered as a member of a party, the voter shall not vote by mail in any partisan primary election.
\t2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t16-2555
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t11/20/15
HB 1530-FN-LOCAL- FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT\trelative to mail-in voting.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Department of State and New Hampshire Municipal Association state this bill, as introduced, may increase state and local expenditures by indeterminable amounts in FY 2017 and each year thereafter. There will be no fiscal impact to state, county, and local revenue or county expenditures.
METHODOLOGY:
The Department of State states this bill would permit mail-in voting. Before each municipal election, each municipality would need to mail an official ballot with return envelopes to any voter requesting a mail-in ballot. Such ballots must be delivered to the designated place of deposit no later than 8:00 pm on the date of the election. This bill does not specify whether the Department of State or municipalities will pay for the envelopes, shipping, and postage charges. The Department assumes it would pay for the additional envelopes and shipping charges at cost of approximately 40 cents per voter. The Department assumes municipalities would need to pay for the postage for mail-in voters which would increase local costs. Further, municipalities may experience increased labor costs related to processing mail-in ballots. The Department states most polls close by 7:00 pm, which is an hour later than the 8:00 pm delivery requirement for mail-in ballots specified in this bill.
The New Hampshire Municipal Association states that to the extent municipalities need to purchase envelopes and mailing materials and devote staff time to sending out mail-in ballots to voters, local expenditures will increase by an indeterminable amount. The Association states it is unable to estimate the extent of the related costs because it cannot predict how many voters would use this process.