HB 453-FN-A - AS INTRODUCED

 

 

2023 SESSION

23-0426

06/04

 

HOUSE BILL 453-FN-A

 

AN ACT relative to prohibiting the folding of election ballots and providing adequate envelops for absentee ballots to prevent folding.

 

SPONSORS: Rep. K. Perez, Rock. 16; Rep. Kuttab, Rock. 17; Rep. Layon, Rock. 13; Rep. Prudhomme-O'Brien, Rock. 13

 

COMMITTEE: Election Law

 

-----------------------------------------------------------------

 

ANALYSIS

 

This bill prohibits paper ballots from being folded and requires ballot-sized envelops be provided with absentee ballots to prevent absentee ballots from also being folded.

 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

 

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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

23-0426

06/04

 

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

 

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty Three

 

AN ACT relative to prohibiting the folding of election ballots and providing adequate envelops for absentee ballots to prevent folding.

 

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

 

1  Purpose.  The purpose of this bill is to ensure ballots are not folded prior to counting or recounting in order to avoid any mechanical errors, such as jamming, that might arise when ballots are inserted manually into counting machines.

2  Official Absence, Religious Observance, and Disability Absentee Ballots; Envelops.  Amend RSA 656:33 to read as follows:

656:33  Official Absence, Religious Observance, and Disability Absentee Ballots.  Prior to any state election, the secretary of state shall prepare, in such quantity as the secretary of state may deem necessary, absence, religious observance, and disability absentee ballots in the same form as nearly as practicable as the official ballot to be used at said election.  Said absentee ballots shall have the words "absentee ballot" printed on them and shall be similarly endorsed and printed on paper of the same color as that used for official ballots.  Any absentee paper ballots provided under this section shall also be provided with an envelope large enough to encase the ballot in order to prevent the ballot from being folded.

3  Preparation of Voting Materials; Folding Ballots Prohibited.  Amend RSA 656:2 to read as follows:

656:2  Prohibitions.  No person engaged in preparing or printing a state election ballot shall purloin, give away, [or] allow to be removed [any such ballot], or fold or crease in any way any such ballot.  Whoever knowingly violates this provision shall be guilty of a misdemeanor if a natural person or shall be guilty of a felony if any other person.

4  Effective Date.  This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.

 

LBA

23-0426

1/5/23

 

HB 453-FN-A- FISCAL NOTE

AS INTRODUCED

 

AN ACT relative to prohibiting the folding of election ballots and providing adequate envelopes for absentee ballots to prevent folding.

 

FISCAL IMPACT:      [ X ] State              [    ] County               [ X ] Local              [    ] None

	Estimated Increase / (Decrease)
STATE:	FY 2023	FY 2024	FY 2025	FY 2026
Appropriation	$0	$0	$0	$0
Revenue	$0	$0	$0	$0
Expenditures	$0	$110,000+	$220,000+	Indeterminable
Funding Source:	[ X ] General            [    ] Education            [    ] Highway           [    ] Other
LOCAL:
Revenue	$0	$0	$0	$0
Expenditures	$0	Indeterminable Increase	Indeterminable Increase	Indeterminable Increase

 

METHODOLOGY:

This bill prohibits paper ballots from being folded and requires ballot-sized envelopes be provided with absentee ballots to prevent absentee ballots from also being folded. Prior to any state election, the Department of State provides all city and town Clerks with 3 sets of envelopes for absentee ballots:

1. a mailing envelope for the Clerk to use to mail all absentee materials to the voter,
2. the affidavit envelope which the voters signs and places their ballot inside, and
3. the outside envelope into which the signed and sealed affidavit with ballot goes into for mailing back to the Clerk.

 

The Department of State indicates this bill will require the purchase of envelopes large enough to hold all of the election ballot materials without folding.  In the November 2022 general elections, clerks sent out 62,709 absentee ballots.  The estimated cost of larger envelopes, increased printing costs and increase mailing costs are between $1.25 and $1.75 per ballot.  Multiplying the 62,709 absentee ballots by the mailing and envelope costs equates to an approximate increased cost of $110,000 per an election.  In presidential election years this cost is estimated to be doubled.  The Department states the United States Postal Service notes that larger envelopes require additional shipping time and may require additional indeterminable expedited postage costs.   Lastly, the Department notes local expenditures will increase by an indeterminable amount depending upon the increased size and weight of the absentee materials.  

 

AGENCIES CONTACTED:

Department of State

 

• HB453 at GenCourtMobile

Date	Body	Type
Jan. 24, 2023	House	Hearing
Jan. 31, 2023	House	Exec Session
Feb. 14, 2023	House	Exec Session
Feb. 14, 2023	House	Floor Vote

Bill Text Revisions

HB453 Revision: 37357 Date: Jan. 11, 2023, 10:23 a.m.

Docket

---

Feb. 22, 2023: Inexpedient to Legislate: MA VV 02/22/2023 HJ 6 P. 5

---

Feb. 15, 2023: Committee Report: Inexpedient to Legislate HB453-FN-A 02/14/2023 (Vote 18-2; CC) HC 12 P. 4

---

Feb. 14, 2023: ==CONTINUED== Executive Session: 02/14/2023 12:30 pm LOB 306-308

---

Jan. 25, 2023: Executive Session: 01/31/2023 11:00 am LOB 306-308

---

Jan. 18, 2023: Public Hearing: 01/24/2023 10:30 am LOB 306-308

---

Jan. 11, 2023: Introduced (in recess of) 01/05/2023 and referred to Election Law HJ 3 P. 16

---