Revision: Jan. 14, 2020, 12:33 p.m.
SB 631-FN - AS INTRODUCED
2020 SESSION
20-2989
11/03
SENATE BILL 631-FN
AN ACT authorizing online voter registration.
SPONSORS: Sen. Levesque, Dist 12; Sen. Sherman, Dist 24; Rep. Porter, Hills. 1
COMMITTEE: Election Law and Municipal Affairs
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ANALYSIS
This bill authorizes online voter registration.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
20-2989
11/03
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty
AN ACT authorizing online voter registration.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 New Section; Online Voter Registration. Amend RSA 654 by inserting after section 7-c the following new section:
654:7-d Online Voter Registration.
I. The secretary of state shall create and maintain an online portal allowing a person to complete a voter registration online. The secretary of state shall include sufficient safeguards in the online voter registration application system to prevent unauthorized access and maintain the integrity of the voter registration database.
II. The secretary of state shall transmit the registration to the appropriate supervisors of the checklist.
III. The online voter registration shall use the person's signature from the department of safety, division of motor vehicles, and the director of the division of motor vehicles shall make appropriate provisions to facilitate the electronic transfer of the image of the signature to the statewide centralized voter registration database. The secretary of state shall enter into an agreement with the department of safety, division of motor vehicles to collect signature images pursuant to this paragraph.
IV. No electronic application for voter registration shall be considered incomplete or invalid due to lack of a signature at the time the application is submitted.
V. The secretary of state shall establish procedures to collect the signature of any applicant for whom the division of motor vehicles does not have a signature. Such procedures may include entering into agreements with other state or local agencies for the transfer of signatures, establishing a method for an applicant to provide a signature image by hand or by stylus, or printing the voter registration form and mailing or personally delivering the signed form to the supervisors of the checklist. The supervisors of the checklist shall certify the receipt of each completed voter registration form and shall notify the person of the disposition of the form.
VI. Nothing in this section shall be construed to change any registration deadline or qualification of voting. If any online application is submitted after the date the voter checklist is certified but before the date of the election, the website shall provide a clear, prominent notice that the application shall not be processed before the election and shall provide instructions on how to register to vote on election day.
VII. The online voter registration application system shall be optimized for utilization on a mobile phone, smart phone, or tablet.
VIII. The online voter registration application system shall conform to nationally accepted standards for accessibility for individuals with disabilities such as section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, section 255 of the Communications Act, and the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines of the World Wide Web Consortium to ensure equal access to voters with disabilities.
IX. The secretary of state shall permit any state, local, federal, or tribal governmental agency to submit electronic applications for voter registration without using the public-facing website established pursuant to paragraph I. The secretary of state shall provide safeguards sufficient to secure applicant data and shall allow state agency clients to apply for voter registration without duplicating the data already provided to such state agency.
X. The secretary of state shall create an application programming interface or similar technology to allow third parties to integrate an electronic application for voter registration into other websites, applications, or other technology. The secretary of state shall ensure that any users of this technology put in place sufficient safeguards to secure applicant data and shall put in places procedures to ensure the security and integrity of the voter registration database.
2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
20-2989
1/3/20
SB 631-FN- FISCAL NOTE
AS INTRODUCED
AN ACT requiring online voter registration.
FISCAL IMPACT: [ X ] State [ ] County [ X ] Local [ ] None
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| |||
| Estimated Increase / (Decrease) | |||
STATE: | FY 2020 | FY 2021 | FY 2022 | FY 2023 |
Appropriation | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Revenue | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Expenditures | $0 | Indeterminable Increase | Indeterminable Increase | Indeterminable Increase |
Funding Source: | [ X ] General [ ] Education [ ] Highway [ ] Other | |||
LOCAL:
Revenue | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Expenditures | $0 | Indeterminable Increase | Indeterminable Increase | Indeterminable Increase |
METHODOLOGY:
This bill requires the Department of State to create and maintain an online portal allowing individuals to register to vote. The Department of State shall enter into an agreement with the Department of Safety, Division of Motor Vehicles to collect signature images and transfer them to the statewide voter registration database. The Department of State may enter into agreements with other state or local agencies for the transfer of signatures and provide a registration interface to third party interests. The Department of State shall also provide safeguards to ensure secure applicant data and the integrity of the statewide voter registration database. The supervisors of the checklist shall certify the receipt of each completed voter registration form and shall notify the person of the disposition of the form. The bill is assumed to be effective in FY 2021.
The Department of State indicates the costs to develop and maintain secure software and Internet connections and training of local election officials is indeterminable.
The Department of Safety states it would require a 2-way interface with the Department of State. Reprogramming the existing VISION system for this purpose is estimated to cost $250,000 as a one-time expense.
There may be an unknown indeterminable cost to municipalities to comply with the requirement that voters be notified of the disposition of the form through the system.
AGENCIES CONTACTED:
Departments of State and Safety