Revision: Jan. 28, 2021, 1:25 p.m.
Election Law and Municipal Affairs
January 28, 2021
2021-0159s
11/05
Amendment to SB 31
Amend RSA 654:13, III as inserted by section 1 of the bill by replacing it with the following:
III. The secretary of state shall provide information on individuals who report being previously registered to vote out of state to the chief elections officer of that state. The secretary of state may use secure electronic information transfer. The secretary of state shall pursue establishing routine secure electronic transfers of this information between states. When electronic information transfer from another state occurs the supervisors of the checklist where the person is registered in New Hampshire will receive notice through the statewide centralized voter registration database that the voter has registered in another state. Unless the supervisors possess evidence that the notice is inaccurate, they shall remove the voter from the checklist as provided in RSA 654:36.
Amend the bill by replacing section 2 with the following:
2 Absentee Affidavit Envelopes. Amend RSA 657:7, II to read as follows:
II. Affidavit envelopes of sufficient size to contain the ballots on which shall be printed the following:
[(a) Absence from City or Town. A person voting by absentee ballot because of absence from the city or town in which he or she is entitled to vote shall fill out and sign the following certificate:
I do hereby certify under the penalties for voting fraud set forth below that I am a voter in the city or town of _______________, New Hampshire, in ward __________; that I will be unable to appear at any time during polling hours at my polling place because I will be working on election day, or I am voting on the Monday immediately prior to the election, the National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning, blizzard warning, or ice storm warning, and I am elderly or infirm, have a physical disability, or have to care for children or infirm adults, or I will be otherwise absent on election day from said city or town and will be unable to vote in person; that I have carefully read (or had read to me because I am blind) the instructions forwarded to me with the ballot herein enclosed, and that I personally marked the ballot within and sealed it in this envelope (or had assistance in marking the ballot and sealing it in this envelope because I am blind). For the purposes of this certification, the term "working" shall include the care of children and infirm adults, with or without compensation.
(Signature) ____________________
In accordance with RSA 659:34, the penalty for knowingly or purposefully providing false information when registering to vote or voting is a class A misdemeanor with a maximum sentence of imprisonment not to exceed one year and a fine not to exceed $2,000. Fraudulently registering to vote or voting is subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $5,000.
(b) Absence Because of Religious Observance or Physical Disability. A person voting by absentee ballot because of religious observance or physical disability shall fill out and sign the following certificate:
I do hereby certify under the penalties for voting fraud set forth below that I am a voter in the city or town of ____________, New Hampshire, in ward ____________; that I will be observing a religious commitment which prevents me from voting in person or that on account of physical disability I am unable to vote in person; that I have carefully read (or had read to me because I am blind) the instructions forwarded to me with the ballot herein enclosed, and that I personally marked the ballot within and sealed it in this envelope (or had assistance in marking the ballot and sealing it in this envelope because I am blind).
(Signature) ____________________
The signature on this affidavit must appear to be executed by the same person who signed the absentee ballot application.]
YOUR COMPLTED ABSENTEE BALLOT MUST BE SEALED IN THIS ENVELOPE
I do hereby certify under the penalties for voting fraud set forth below that:
I am a voter in the city or town of ___________, New Hampshire.
One of the following applies to me:
1) I will be absent on election day. Absence includes:
a) I will be out-of-town on election day.
b) I will be unable to vote in person because I will be working.
c) I will be unable to vote in person because I will be caring for children or infirm adults, with or without compensation.
d) I am voting absentee on the Monday immediately before the election, the National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning, blizzard warning, or ice storm warning that applies to my town/ward, and I have concerns for traveling in the storm.
2) I am unable to vote in person due to disability. Disability includes medical conditions that pose a risk of infection to others or where infection from others carries significant health risk.
3) I am unable to vote in person due to observance of a religious commitment, which prevents me from voting in person.
I have carefully read or had read to me the absentee voting instructions. I personally marked the absentee ballot enclosed in this envelope or, due to a disability, I had assistance in marking the absentee ballot.
Voter Signature__________________
A person assisting a [disabled or blind] voter with a disability shall [make and] sign [a] this statement on this envelope [in the space provided] acknowledging the assistance. [The moderator will not compare the voter's signature on this affidavit with the signature on the absentee ballot application when a person assisting the voter has signed the statement on the affidavit that assistance was provided.]
I attest that I assisted (print voter name) ________________________ because the voter is a person with a disability. I marked the ballot and/or this form as instructed by the voter.
In accordance with RSA 659:34, the penalty for knowingly or purposefully providing false information when registering to vote or voting is a class A misdemeanor with a maximum sentence of imprisonment not to exceed one year and a fine not to exceed $2,000. Fraudulently registering to vote or voting is subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $5,000.