Revision: June 11, 2018, 10:56 a.m.
CHAPTER 165
HB 390 - FINAL VERSION
01/03/2018 2540s
2018 SESSION
17-0690
03/09
HOUSE BILL 390
AN ACT relative to parties on certain election forms and ballots.
SPONSORS: Rep. Fields, Belk. 4; Rep. Phinney, Straf. 24
COMMITTEE: Election Law
-----------------------------------------------------------------
This bill authorizes the inclusion of additional parties on election forms used to request an absentee ballot and to change party registration on the day of the primary.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
01/03/2018 2540s 17-0690
03/09
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Eighteen
AN ACT relative to parties on certain election forms and ballots.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
165:1 Change of Registration. Amend RSA 654:34, V(a) to read as follows:
V.(a) At any primary, the supervisors of the checklist shall make available within the polling place a card or list of undeclared voters from the statewide centralized voter registration database to enable a voter who was registered as an undeclared voter but who changed registration on the day of the primary in order to vote as a registered member of a party to change registration so that the voter is registered once again as an undeclared voter. The card or list shall be in substantially the following form:
Name __________________________
(Print)
Address ____________________
_____________________________
_____________________________
I hereby request that my political party registration be changed as follows:
From: Democrat [ ], or Republican [ ], or (name of any party determined by the secretary of state to have achieved official status under RSA 652:11) []
To: Undeclared [ ]
Signed under the pains and penalties of perjury.
____________________________________
Date__________
165:2 Absentee Voting; Forms. 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 of an employment obligation. For the purposes of this application, the term "employment shall include the care of children and infirm adults, with or without compensation.
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
___ (name of any party determined by the secretary of state to have achieved official status under RSA 652:11)
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 Phone Number (optional): __________________
Applicant's Email Address (optional): ___________________
Applicant's Signature: _________________________________
Date Signed: _________________
(MM/DD/YYYY)
The applicant must sign this form to receive an absentee ballot. The signature on this form must match the signature on the affidavit envelope in which the absentee ballot is returned, or the ballot may be rejected. Any person who assists a voter with a disability in executing this form shall make a statement acknowledging the assistance on the application form to assist the moderator when comparing signatures on election day.
165:3 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
Approved: June 08, 2018
Effective Date: August 07, 2018