Revision: Dec. 1, 2021, 3:17 p.m.
HB 1457-FN - AS INTRODUCED
2022 SESSION
22-2319
11/08
HOUSE BILL 1457-FN
AN ACT relative to chain of custody of ballot boxes after an election.
SPONSORS: Rep. Yakubovich, Merr. 24; Rep. Layon, Rock. 6; Rep. Gorski, Hills. 7
COMMITTEE: Election Law
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ANALYSIS
This bill requires that ballot boxes be sent to the secretary of state's office for storage within 48 hours of an election. This bill also modifies the retention policy for such boxes.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
22-2319
11/08
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty Two
AN ACT relative to chain of custody of ballot boxes after an election.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Absentee Voting; Election Day; Preservation of Ballot. Amend RSA 657:22 to read as follows:
657:22 Cutoff. In any state election, a town or city clerk shall not accept any completed absentee ballots delivered to the clerk after 5:00 p.m. on election day except as provided in RSA 657:21-a, V and RSA 659:20-a. The clerk shall record absentee ballots received after such time in the statewide centralized voter registration database with the return date and shall mark the ballot as rejected due to absentee ballot receipt after election day. The clerk shall [retain the unopened ballot until the time set for the destruction of other state election ballots as provided in RSA 659:100 at which time the envelopes shall likewise be destroyed] destroy the envelopes, unopened and unexamined.
2 Preservation of Ballots; Secretary of State. Amend RSA 659:98 through 659:99 to read as follows:
659:98 Delivery of Ballots to Town Clerk. The moderator, or the moderator's designee, and the selectmen, or their designee, after they have sealed and certified the state election ballots as provided in RSA 659:95 and RSA 659:96, shall deliver the sealed containers to the town or city clerk, or to the clerk's designee, who shall in their presence enter in the appropriate place on each sealer the time of day and shall sign his or her name in the appropriate blank on the sealer. The clerk or the clerk's designee shall, within 48 hours of the election and without breaking the seals or otherwise changing the condition of the containers, [deposit the containers in the town or city hall, where the ballots shall be kept for a period set forth in RSA 33-A:3-a] arrange for the local police, county sheriff, or state troopers to transport such containers to the secretary of state's office in Concord for storage in accordance with RSA 659:99.
659:99 [Forwarding] Storage of Ballots to the Secretary of State. [If any person shall make a request for a recount as provided in RSA 660, or if the secretary of state shall request the ballots of the recent election, the clerk having the custody of such ballots shall, at the request of the secretary of state, forward the ballots forthwith to the secretary of state.] The secretary of state shall arrange for storage of all containers received pursuant to RSA 659:98 at the secretary of state's office in Concord or at such other location as deemed appropriate by the secretary of state. Such storage arrangements shall provide for a secure room, equipped with motion activated cameras, barred windows, and tightly controlled, restricted access.
3 General Recount Provisions; Disposal of Ballots. Amend RSA 660:16, I to read as follows:
I. Upon the conclusion of every recount, the secretary of state shall replace the unprotested ballots and absentee voter envelopes in a suitable container for storage. The secretary of state shall retain the ballots and the absentee envelopes [for at least 60 days] in accordance with RSA 659:99 following the recount. Upon an order of the ballot law commission, the secretary of state shall produce the ballots for the inspection of the commission. Following the commission's inspection, the secretary of state shall replace the ballots and envelopes, seal them, and certify the contents and the date when they were examined by the commission. The envelopes and ballots shall be subject to the order of the body to which such person claims to be elected or of the officers required by law to examine the records and to issue certificates of election to such office or of any court having jurisdiction over them.
4 Repeal. RSA 659:100, relative to destruction of ballots, is repealed.
5 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
22-2319
Redraft 11/18/21
HB 1457-FN- FISCAL NOTE
AS INTRODUCED
AN ACT relative to chain of custody of ballot boxes after an election.
FISCAL IMPACT: [ X ] State [ ] County [ X ] Local [ ] None
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| Estimated Increase / (Decrease) | |||
STATE: | FY 2022 | FY 2023 | FY 2024 | FY 2025 |
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 | |||
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LOCAL: |
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Revenue | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Expenditures | $0 | Indeterminable | Indeterminable | Indeterminable |
METHODOLOGY:
This bill requires that ballot boxes be sent to the secretary of state's office by local police, county sheriff, or state troopers for storage within 48 hours of an election and the election materials to be stored in a secured location. This bill also modifies the retention policy for such boxes.
The Department of States indicates part time staff will be required to catalog the boxes and move them to the secure location in a timely manner. In the short term, ballots and associated material could be stored in the state archives which already has secure and restricted access. The Department states the security cameras called for in the bill would have to be added. They also note that at least 2,500 boxes would be generated in each election year, and another 1,000 plus would be generated for a presidential primary. Storing all of the ballots permanently will greatly accelerate the time in which the storage at the Archives will reach capacity. At that point additional, secure storage space will be required.
It is assumed the fiscal impact would not occur until FY 2023.
AGENCIES CONTACTED:
Department of State