1 Findings. The general court finds that the December 2022 report of the special committee on voter confidence made repeated recommendations to require proper training for the administration of elections at the local level. The general court finds further that the secretary of state currently offers training on election procedures and has repeatedly reported to the house election law committee that the election procedures training currently offered is poorly attended, with far less than 50 percent of communities participating by sending their moderator or his or her designee.

2 Required Training. Amend RSA 652:22 to read as follows:

652:22 Authority; Format; Distribution.

The secretary of state, with the advice and approval of the attorney general, shall prepare or cause to be prepared preceding each state general election an up-to-date manual on the New Hampshire election laws and procedures for conducting elections. The manual shall be written in nontechnical language. The manual shall be distributed free of charge to each moderator, board of selectmen, city council, and board of supervisors of the checklist and to each town, city, and ward clerk. The secretary of state may distribute the manual in either electronic or printed format. The secretary of state may distribute said manual to any other person who requests it.

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

1 Findings. The general court finds that the December 2022 report of the special committee on voter confidence made repeated recommendations to require proper training for the administration of elections at the local level. The general court finds further that the secretary of state currently offers training on election procedures and has repeatedly reported to the house election law committee that the election procedures training currently offered is poorly attended, with far less than 50 percent of communities participating by sending their moderator or his or her designee.

2 Required Training. Amend RSA 652:22 to read as follows:

652:22 Authority; Format; Distribution.

I. The secretary of state, with the advice and approval of the attorney general, shall prepare or cause to be prepared preceding each state general election an up-to-date manual on the New Hampshire election laws and procedures for conducting elections. The manual shall be written in nontechnical language. The manual shall be distributed free of charge to each moderator, board of selectmen, city council, and board of supervisors of the checklist and to each town, city, and ward clerk. The secretary of state may distribute the manual in either electronic or printed format. The secretary of state may distribute said manual to any other person who requests it.

II. The secretary of state shall prepare supplemental instructional materials and job aids for training in election procedures. The secretary of state shall, prior to a state general election, provide for at least one training session to review the election procedures manual and the supplemental instructional materials. The training session shall be recorded and made available to election officials and other persons requesting to attend the training session, including members of the public.

III. The secretary of state shall document the attendance of those attending the training by recording the names and towns of the attendees at the training session and by making provision to record the names and towns of the persons viewing the recorded training session to document their training.

IV. Town or ward moderators and clerks, or their appointed designees, shall attend the training session provided by the secretary of state. Failure to attend may be considered a "lack of training" as described under RSA 659:77.

V. Town or ward moderators and clerks, or their appointed designees, shall communicate training information to the other election officials and workers in the town or ward.

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