CHAPTER 196
HB 389 - FINAL VERSION
04/20/2017 1367s
2017 SESSION
17-0689
03/10
HOUSE BILL 389
AN ACT relative to voters with physical disabilities.
SPONSORS: Rep. Fields, Belk. 4
COMMITTEE: Election Law
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This bill modifies procedures for assisting a disabled voter who is unable to access the polling place.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
04/20/2017 1367s 17-0689
03/10
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Seventeen
AN ACT relative to voters with physical disabilities.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
196:1 Cutoff. Amend RSA 657:22 to read as follows:
657:22 Cutoff. In any state election, a town or city clerk shall not accept any completed absentee ballots delivered to the clerk after 5:00 p.m. on election day except as provided in RSA 657:21-a, V and RSA 659:20-a. The clerk shall record absentee ballots received after such time in the statewide centralized voter registration database with the return date and shall mark the ballot as rejected due to absentee ballot receipt after election day. The clerk shall retain the unopened ballot until the time set for the destruction of other state election ballots as provided in RSA 659:100 at which time the envelopes shall likewise be destroyed, unopened and unexamined.
196:2 Assistance in Voting; Disabled Voter. Amend RSA 659:20-a to read as follows:
659:20-a Assistance in Voting; Disabled Voter. Any voter, after appearing at the polling place location prior to the closing of the polls to vote in person, who declares to the moderator under oath that said voter is unable to access a polling place due to [physical] disability[, after appearing at the polling place location to vote in person] shall, upon the voter's request, have [an absentee ballot] the required documents delivered to the voter outside the guardrail by the town or ward clerk or one of his or her assistants. The absentee ballot delivered by the town or ward clerk shall be [delivered and] processed using the same procedures as any other absentee ballot except that the [voter shall be treated on the marked checklist as having voted in person] cutoff time listed in RSA 657:22 shall not apply.
196:3 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
Approved: July 05, 2017
Effective Date: September 03, 2017
| Date | Body | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Jan. 25, 2017 | House | Hearing |
| Feb. 1, 2017 | House | Exec Session |
| Feb. 15, 2017 | House | Floor Vote |
| Feb. 16, 2017 | House | Floor Vote |
| March 28, 2017 | Senate | Hearing |
| April 20, 2017 | Senate | Floor Vote |
July 5, 2017: Signed by Governor Sununu 07/05/2017; Chapter 196; Eff. 9/3/2017
June 22, 2017: Enrolled (In recess 06/22/2017); SJ 20
June 22, 2017: Enrolled 06/22/2017 HJ 19 P. 23
June 8, 2017: House Concurs with Senate Amendment 1367s (Rep. B. Griffin): MA VV 06/08/2017 HJ 18 P. 3
April 20, 2017: Ought to Pass with Amendment 2017-1367s, MA, VV; OT3rdg; 04/20/2017; SJ 14
April 20, 2017: Committee Amendment # 2017-1367s, AA, VV; 04/20/2017; SJ 14
April 20, 2017: Committee Report: Ought to Pass with Amendment # 2017-1367s, 04/20/2017; SC 19
March 28, 2017: Hearing: 03/28/2017, Room 102, LOB, 09:00 am; SC 16
Feb. 16, 2017: Introduced 02/16/2017 and Referred to Election Law and Internal Affairs; SJ 7
Feb. 16, 2017: Ought to Pass: MA RC 312-62 02/16/2017 HJ 8 P. 9
: Special Order to 2/16/2017 Without Objection HJ 7 P. 57
: Minority Committee Report: Inexpedient to Legislate
Feb. 15, 2017: Majority Committee Report: Ought to Pass for 02/15/2017 (Vote 12-8; RC) HC 11 P. 25
Feb. 1, 2017: Executive Session: 02/01/2017 11:30 AM LOB 308
Jan. 25, 2017: Public Hearing: 01/25/2017 10:00 AM LOB 308
Jan. 5, 2017: Introduced 01/05/2017 and referred to Election Law HJ 3 P. 12