Revision: Dec. 20, 2017, 12:09 p.m.
SB 438 - AS INTRODUCED
2018 SESSION
18-2876
06/03
SENATE BILL 438
AN ACT relative to the postponement of local elections.
SPONSORS: Sen. Birdsell, Dist 19; Sen. Woodburn, Dist 1; Rep. Hoelzel, Rock. 3; Rep. B. Griffin, Hills. 6
COMMITTEE: Election Law and Internal Affairs
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ANALYSIS
This bill provides for the postponement of local elections.
This bill was requested by the committee to study the rescheduling of elections established by 2017, 216.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
18-2876
06/03
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Eighteen
AN ACT relative to the postponement of local elections.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
I. The general court recognizes that existing law prescribes the dates for annual town elections and meetings, and gives town moderators the authority to postpone a meeting in the event of a weather emergency. The general court further recognizes that in most towns, school districts, and village districts the annual vote occurs in 2 sessions.
II. Most towns have a voting session where voters use an official ballot to elect officers and vote on warrant articles. This voting session is an election. A voter needs to either vote in person at the polling place or, if qualified, vote by absentee ballot. Full participation typically requires only a few minutes at the polls and the voter can vote at any time during the hours when the polls are open.
III. Towns, school districts, and village districts also have a deliberative session or business meeting at which warrant articles to be voted on are debated and may be amended. In some jurisdictions final votes on the warrant articles are taken by voice, division, or unofficial ballot votes at the business meeting. Where official ballot referenda form of meeting under RSA 40:13 has been adopted, the warrant articles are voted on by official ballot at the election held on a different date. This deliberative or business session is a meeting. Throughout much of New Hampshire's early history all voting occurred at a single gathering of the voters, originally in March of each year. Voting for state, county, and federal offices as well as local offices occurred as part of this annual business meeting. Some articles of our constitution and some remaining laws were adopted when this voting system was in effect and at that time applied equally to all voting. The purpose of this act is to clarify and improve the law regarding the process for postponement of a town, school district, or village district election and the authority of the moderator to postpone the annual deliberative session or business meeting only in extraordinary circumstances where postponement is essential to public safety.
IV. New Hampshire's voting system has evolved over the past 2 centuries to separate the election of state, county, and federal officers from the town meeting to an election held biennially in the fall. State law sets the day for voters in towns to vote to choose officers and vote on certain warrant articles or, by local choice, all warrant articles by official ballot at an election. Towns, school districts, and village districts have limited options for choosing their election day. State law provides towns, school districts, and village districts with limited flexibility to hold the deliberative or business session at a date and time most convenient to local voters.
V. This act is intended to protect the right to vote at an election by requiring uniform election dates, notice to voters, availability of absentee voting, and voting procedures. The general court recognizes that advance notice and certainty of the date of an election has great value to our democracy. Meetings, for full participation, typically require a voter to be present for many hours. Elections, for full participation, require only a few minutes of the voter's time, at a moment most convenient to the voter over the course of several hours. The general court finds that the circumstances that justify postponing an election are more limited than those that justify postponing a meeting. The postponement of elections in New Hampshire has been and should remain extraordinarily rare. The cancellation of classes at public schools due to weather or the routine issuance of storm travel advisories by highway and safety officials alone shall not justify the postponement of election. Elections should be postponed only in extraordinary circumstances where there is a clear, imminent, and serious threat to public health or safety.
2 New Paragraphs; Town Election Dates. Amend RSA 669:1 by inserting after paragraph IV the following new paragraphs:
V. The secretary of state may postpone a town election if he or she believes that an emergency exists that will prevent voters from reaching the polls or where an imminent serious threat to public health or safety makes conducting the election when and where it is scheduled impossible, if one of the following occurs:
(a) The governor declares a state of emergency pursuant to RSA 4:45 that will be in effect on the date of a town election in a town that uses official ballots for the election of officers. If less than the entire state is subject to the state of emergency, the secretary of state shall ensure that the region in which elections are postponed either includes or excludes all towns that are part of the same cooperative school district or which otherwise will be voting by official ballot for the same office or on a question where the outcome will be determined by the cumulative vote.
(b)(1) The moderator, or if the moderator is unavailable, the clerk, notifies the secretary of state that an extreme weather emergency or an imminent serious threat to public health or safety makes conducting the election when and where scheduled impossible. Prior to deciding to notify the secretary of state, to the extent practical, the moderator shall consult, with the jurisdiction's governing body, clerk, and as appropriate for the circumstances the fire chief, police chief, and emergency management director.
(2) If the weather event or threat to public health or safety extends to multiple jurisdictions, the secretary of state shall notify the governor and request a determination of whether a regional state of emergency will be declared.
(3) The secretary of state may consult with state public safety and transportation officials, the national weather service or other meteorologists, and such other officials as he or she deems warranted.
(4) If the secretary of state fails to respond to a request to postpone within 4 hours of notification, the moderator may postpone the election.
VI. Postponed elections shall be subject to the following:
(a) Any election postponed under this section shall be rescheduled to the Tuesday 2 weeks later.
(b) All other statutory provisions associated with a postponed election under this section shall also be extended the same 2 weeks, except that supervisors of the checklist shall not be required to meet again until the postponed town election day. Any school district election coordinated with a town under RSA 671:26-a or otherwise held in conjunction with the town election shall also be subject to the provisions of this section.
(c) The secretary of state and the moderator of each town where an election is postponed shall employ all reasonable means to provide voters with notice of the postponement, the date on which the postponed election shall be conducted, and information on obtaining absentee ballots for those voters who qualify to vote by absentee ballot at the postponed election. To the extent practical given the circumstances of the emergency, notice shall be posted at the location of the scheduled election, at the municipal offices, and on the website of each town, school district, and village district whose election is postponed.
(d) All ballots prepared for the original date of the election shall be used for the postponed election. A notice explaining the deadline for returning an absentee ballot shall be issued to voters who request and are sent an absentee ballot during the period between the original date and the postponed date of the election. All absentee ballots submitted to be counted on the date of the original election, all absentee ballots submitted for the original date of the election which arrive after that date, but before 5:00 p.m. on the date of the postponed election, and all absentee ballots submitted to be counted at the postponed election shall be submitted to the moderator to be counted. The absentee ballot of a voter who qualified to vote by absentee ballot because he or she expected to be absent or unable to appear at the polls on the original date of the election and who submitted an absentee ballot which otherwise satisfies the requirements for voting by absentee ballot, shall be counted even if the voter is present in the town or able to appear at the polls. To ensure voters who submitted an absentee ballot for the original election but are able to vote in person at the postponed election have the opportunity to vote in person, absentee voters shall not be marked on the checklist and their ballots deposited until after 1:00 p.m.
VII.(a) In the event of a fire or other disaster on or immediately before election day that prevents voters from reaching the polls, or an imminent serious threat to public health or safety that makes conducting or continuing to conduct the election when and where it is scheduled impossible, the moderator shall immediately notify the secretary of state and the attorney general.
(b) If evacuation of the polling place is necessary and provided it is possible to do so safely, the moderator shall, in the presence of at least one witness, secure all ballots which have been cast and which have been prepared for use at the polling place but not yet used, and the checklist in use at the polling place. If removed from the polling place, the ballots and checklist shall be maintained in the custody of at least 2 witnesses at all times and shall be kept secured in the presence of witnesses until the attorney general or a court approves a plan for reconvening and continuing the election or postponing and conducting a new election.
(c) If the polling place becomes unusable due to fire or other disaster occurring after notice of the date and location for the election has been posted, the secretary of state, with the advice and approval of the attorney general may approve a plan for relocation of the polling place to another suitable facility in the town or, if no suitable facility is available, to the closest available suitable facility. The plan shall address whether public transportation shall be provided from the original site to the relocated polling place.
(1) The moderator or, in a city, the clerk, with assistance from the clerk, selectmen, and other appropriate public officials shall employ all reasonable means to provide voters with notice of the new polling place.
(2) The governing body shall provide one or more staff throughout the hours when the polls are open for voting at the site where the election was originally scheduled to occur, or as close to that site as is safe, to inform voters arriving there to vote of the location of the new poling place.
3 Local Elections; Times. Amend RSA 44:11 to read as follows:
44:11 Times. [The meeting of the voters of each ward for the election of] Elections for choosing city and ward officers shall be held on such day as may be fixed by law or by ordinance of the city council but in no event shall it be held in conjunction with a biennial election; and all ward and city officers who are chosen by the people shall hold their respective offices for the term and from the day fixed by law or ordinance, and until others are appointed in their stead. The prohibitions in this section shall not apply to a special election held to fill a vacancy for the office of a city or a ward officer. A city election may be postponed in the same manner as provided for a town election in RSA 669:1, V and VI, except that all references to the moderator shall be deemed to refer to the city clerk.
4 New Section; Meetings and Elections; Definitions. Amend RSA 21 by inserting after section 28-a the following new section:
21:28-b Postponement of Elections; Definitions. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, for the purposes of all statutes pertaining to annual and special meetings of towns, school districts, and village districts:
I. "Meeting" means the discussion of business of the towns, school districts, or village districts and voting on warrant articles only by voice, division, or secret "yes-no" ballot vote. Meeting shall include the deliberative session of an annual meeting in towns, school districts, and village districts that have adopted the official ballot referenda form of meeting under RSA 40:13. Meetings are governed by RSA 39 and RSA 40.
II. "Election" means the choosing of officers by official ballot and in towns, school districts, and village districts that have adopted the official ballot referenda form of meeting under RSA 40:13, voting on warrant articles by use of official ballot. "Election" shall include any voting where a voter has a right to vote by absentee ballot as established by the New Hampshire constitution part I, article 11 and RSA 669, RSA 670, and RSA 671. Elections are governed by RSA 669, RSA 670, and RSA 671 and the election provisions of RSA 40:13.
5 New Section; Postponement of Election. Amend RSA 670 by inserting after section 1 the following new section:
670:1-a Postponing a Village District Election When There is a State of Emergency. A village district election that is held in conjunction with a town election shall be postponed when the town election is postponed as authorized by RSA 669:1, V. A village district election that is not held in conjunction with town elections, may be postponed in the same manner as provided for a town election in RSA 669:1, V and VI.
6 New Section; Postponement of Election. Amend RSA 671 by inserting after section 1 the following new section:
671:1-a Postponing a School District Election When There is a State of Emergency. A school district election that is held in conjunction with a town election shall be postponed when the town election is postponed as authorized by RSA 669:1, V. A school district election that is not held in conjunction with town elections, may be postponed in the same manner as provided for a town election in RSA 669:1, V and VI.
7 Town Meeting; Moderator; Duties. Amend RSA 40:4, II to read as follows:
II. In the event a weather emergency occurs on or before the date of a deliberative session or [voting day of a] meeting in a town, which the moderator reasonably believes may cause the roads to be hazardous or unsafe, the moderator may, up to 2 hours, but not more than 4 hours, prior to the scheduled session, postpone and reschedule the deliberative session or [voting day of the] meeting to another reasonable date, place, and time certain. The date originally scheduled shall continue to be deemed the date of the deliberative session or [voting day of the] meeting for purposes of satisfying statutory meeting date requirements; provided, that in towns or districts that have adopted RSA 40:13, the postponement shall not delay the deliberative session more than 72 hours. The moderator shall employ whatever means are available to inform citizens of the postponement and the rescheduled deliberative session or [voting day] meeting.
8 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.