Revision: May 4, 2021, 8:51 a.m.
Election Law and Municipal Affairs
May 3, 2021
2021-1286s
11/08
Amendment to HB 285
Amend the bill by replacing section 1 with the following:
1 Vital Records Administration; Secretary of State; Duties. Amend RSA 5-C:4, IV to read as follows:
IV. The secretary of state shall compare information contained on each death record received by the division of vital records with information contained in the statewide centralized voter registration database and submit to the state registrar a list of every city or town that has a registered voter matching the decedent's information. Where there is not a full match of name, date of birth, and residence, the secretary of state shall provide information of partial matches for further review and confirmation by the town or city pursuant to paragraph V.
Amend the bill by replacing sections 4-5 with the following:
4 Centralized Voter Registration Database; Address Maintenance. Amend RSA 654:45, I to read as follows:
I.(a) The secretary of state is authorized to plan, develop, equip, establish, site, and maintain a statewide centralized voter registration database and communications system, hereinafter referred to as the voter database, connecting users throughout the state. The voter database shall include the current information on the voter registration forms, the accepted absentee ballot applications, the voter checklists, and voter actions as recorded on the marked checklist maintained by each city, ward, and town in the state. The database shall maintain addresses in accordance with United States Postal Service standardized addresses as described in the current USPS Publication 28.
(b) The secretary of state shall provide for a verification process that voters sharing a place and date of birth, along with a substantially similar name to include nicknames or likely maiden/married name changes, are unique voters. Should any voter appear to be a duplicate registration, information shall be forwarded to the supervisors of the checklist of the city or town where registered for review and confirmation. Such clerks shall notify the secretary of state of the result of such review, and should the records show that a single individual may have voted more than once in any election such information shall be forwarded to the attorney general for further investigation or prosecution.
5 New Subparagraph; Centralized Voter Registration Database; Address Verification. Amend RSA 654:45, IV by inserting after subparagraph (c) the following new subparagraph:
(d) Beginning July 1, 2022, the secretary of state shall, no less than annually, cause voter records to be checked with the United States Postal Service for changes of address. All records identified as moving shall be provided to the city or town supervisors of the checklist for verification pursuant to RSA 654:39, III.