Revision: Feb. 18, 2021, 3:54 p.m.
SB 43 - AS AMENDED BY THE SENATE
02/18/2021 0432s
2021 SESSION
21-0405
11/08
SENATE BILL 43
AN ACT authorizing an audit of the Rockingham County district 7 state representative race.
SPONSORS: Sen. Gannon, Dist 23; Sen. Avard, Dist 12; Sen. Bradley, Dist 3; Sen. Ricciardi, Dist 9; Sen. Giuda, Dist 2; Rep. Piemonte, Rock. 4; Rep. Baldasaro, Rock. 5; Rep. Welch, Rock. 13
COMMITTEE: Election Law and Municipal Affairs
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AMENDED ANALYSIS
This bill authorizes an audit of the Rockingham county district 7 state representative race.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
02/18/2021 0432s 21-0405
11/08
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty One
AN ACT authorizing an audit of the Rockingham County district 7 state representative race.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Findings. Rockingham County district 7 state representative election night results and the results of a state recount declared the same candidates elected. On appeal, the recount was upheld by the ballot law commission. Those results were certified to the New Hampshire house of representatives. The house of representatives have seated those winners of the election. The election results are therefore final; however, questions have been raised regarding the variance between the election night results and the recount results. This act authorizes an audit which will respond to those questions.
2 Applicability. This act is limited to authorizing an audit of the Rockingham County state representative district 7 race from the November 3, 2020 general election.
I. Notwithstanding any provisions of law to the contrary, the secretary of state and attorney general are authorized to conduct an audit of the Rockingham county district 7 state representative race using the ballots cast on November 3, 2020, in Windham, New Hampshire. The audit shall include hand counting 4 separate sets of ballots from the Rockingham county district 7 state representative race. To allow for a direct comparison of the results from the 2 systems for counting, the audit hand count shall include all counts done by the ballot counting device, including votes cast for candidates on the ballot, write-in votes, and blanks or undervotes. The same sets of ballots shall be counted using a different ballot counting device for each set. The audit shall use the 4 ballot counting devices used by the town of Windham on November 3, 2020. The audit shall compare the results from each device to the results from hand counting the same set of ballots. The secretary of state and attorney general shall determine, in their discretion, the manner and process for conducting the audit.
II. The audit shall be a test of the ballot counting devices, not a recount of the results of the election. The results of this audit shall not alter the official results of the Rockingham County district 7 state representative race as determined by the ballot law commission ruling on November 25, 2020, upholding the recount of that race.
III. The audit shall be conducted in public and shall be live streamed. The methodology and results of the audit shall be made public.
IV. The secretary of state and the attorney general shall issue a report to the ballot law commission with a conclusion regarding whether the ballot counting devices accurately counted the sets of ballots audited. After receiving the report and pursuant to its authority under RSA 656:41, the ballot law commission shall make a determination as to whether the ballot counting device in use requires upgrading.
V. The secretary of state and attorney general are granted authority to unseal the ballot boxes from the town of Windham's November 3, 2020 general election in order to conduct the audit.
4 Effective Date. This act shall take effect upon its passage.