Revision: April 27, 2017, 2:38 p.m.
HB 247 - AS AMENDED BY THE SENATE
04/27/2017 1435s
2017 SESSION
17-0491
03/01
HOUSE BILL 247
AN ACT relative to retention of voter registration forms.
SPONSORS: Rep. Hoelzel, Rock. 3; Rep. J. Belanger, Hills. 27; Rep. Dean-Bailey, Rock. 32; Sen. Birdsell, Dist 19; Sen. Reagan, Dist 17; Sen. Gannon, Dist 23
COMMITTEE: Election Law
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This bill requires the city or town clerk to retain voter registration forms.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
04/27/2017 1435s 17-0491
03/01
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Seventeen
AN ACT relative to retention of voter registration forms.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Voter Registration; Action by Supervisors. Amend RSA 654:13 to read as follows:
654:13 Action by Supervisors.
I. If the supervisors decide to add the name of the applicant to the checklist, then they shall [retain] forward the original of the registration form [for their own file, which] to the clerk of their town or city, who shall [be retained] retain it in accordance with RSA 33-A:3-a, and forward one copy to the supervisors of the checklist of the city or town of the applicant's last voting address if said address is in the state of Vermont, Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut, or Rhode Island[, and send another copy to the clerk of their town or city]. Upon entry of the voter record in the statewide centralized voter registration database, the supervisors of the checklist in another New Hampshire city or town will receive notice through the statewide centralized voter registration database that the voter has moved.
II. If the supervisors decide not to add the name of the applicant to the checklist, they shall send notification in writing to the applicant within 7 days stating the reason for the denial. They shall write the word "REJECTED'' and the date of rejection across the registration form. They shall [retain] forward the original registration form and a copy of the denial notification to the clerk of their town or city, who shall retain them in accordance with RSA 33-A:3-a.
2 Federal Post Card Application. Amend RSA 654:23 to read as follows:
654:23 Effect. Unless the supervisors of the checklist shall be of the opinion that the federal post card applicant does not qualify as a UOCAVA voter in the city or town as provided in RSA 654:3, they shall, at their next session for the correction of the checklist subsequent to their receipt of such federal post card application properly executed, cause his or her name to be added to the checklist and, if the applicant is domiciled outside the United States, a mark or sign clearly indicating that the application has been entered on the checklist for the purpose of voting in federal elections only. Thereafter, if the person is domiciled outside the United States, he or she shall be entitled to vote by federal offices only absentee ballot at both federal primary and general elections. The supervisors shall [retain] forward the registration form to the clerk of their town or city, who shall retain it in accordance with RSA 33-A:3-a [and forward a copy of the form to the clerk]. If the supervisors decide not to add the name of the applicant to the checklist, they shall send notification to the applicant in writing within 7 days stating the reason for that denial. The supervisors of the checklist shall write the word "REJECTED'' and the date of rejection across the registration form. They shall [retain] forward the registration form and a copy of the denial notification to the clerk of their town or city, who shall retain them in accordance with RSA 33-A:3-a.
3 New Section; Retention of Voter Registration Forms. Amend RSA 654 by inserting after section 13 the following new section:
654:13-a Retention of Voter Registration Forms. All voter registration forms and other records relating to voter registration shall be retained in the office of the town or city clerk. Such records shall be equally accessible to the supervisors of the checklist and the town or city clerk. Any voter registration document submitted at a meeting of the supervisors of the checklist or at the polling place shall be filed at the office of the town or city clerk within 10 days of the meeting or election at which it was submitted.
4 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.