Revision: Dec. 2, 2019, 1:57 p.m.
HB 1288 - AS INTRODUCED
2020 SESSION
20-2089
11/10
HOUSE BILL 1288
AN ACT relative to the form of a candidate's name on the official ballot in nonpartisan town elections.
SPONSORS: Rep. Cushing, Rock. 21; Rep. Edgar, Rock. 21; Rep. Bushway, Rock. 21; Rep. Janvrin, Rock. 37; Rep. Maggiore, Rock. 22; Sen. Levesque, Dist 12
COMMITTEE: Municipal and County Government
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ANALYSIS
This bill specifies the form that a candidate's name may take on a town election ballot when the town in which the candidate intends to run for office has adopted the nonpartisan ballot system.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
20-2089
11/10
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty
AN ACT relative to the form of a candidate's name on the official ballot in nonpartisan town elections.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 New Section; Form of Candidate's Name on Ballot; Nonpartisan Ballot System. Amend RSA 669 by inserting after section 19 the following new section:
669:19-a Form of Candidate's Name on Ballot; Nonpartisan Ballot System. Every candidate for town officer who intends to have his or her name printed upon the ballot shall designate in the declaration of candidacy the form in which the candidate's name shall be printed on the ballot. The designated name may include the candidate's given name or a shortened form of the candidate's given name or a one-word nickname customarily related to the candidate, and by which the candidate is commonly recognized. The designated name may also include an initial for the first or middle name, or both. No candidate may designate a nickname that implies that the candidate is some other person, that constitutes a slogan or otherwise associates the candidate with a cause or issue, that has an offensive or profane meaning, or that creates a perception of a professional or vocational affiliation, such as "Doc" or "Coach." No candidate may designate a name or nickname that includes characters other than the 26-letter English alphabet, a dash, an apostrophe, a period, or a comma. A candidate shall include his or her surname in the designation of the form in which the candidate's name shall be printed on the ballot.
2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.