Revision: Jan. 6, 2025, 9:47 p.m.
HB 217 - AS INTRODUCED
2025 SESSION
25-0259
08/11
HOUSE BILL 217
AN ACT relative to absentee ballots.
SPONSORS: Rep. Lynn, Rock. 17; Sen. Gray, Dist 6
COMMITTEE: Election Law
-----------------------------------------------------------------
ANALYSIS
This bill requires absentee ballot voters to submit information demonstrating citizenship, age, domicile, and identity in order to qualify to vote.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
25-0259
08/11
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty Five
AN ACT relative to absentee ballots.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Absentee Registration Affidavit. Amend RSA 654:17 to read as follows:
654:17 Absentee Registration Affidavit.
I. The absentee registration affidavit shall be prepared by the secretary of state and shall be in substantially the following form:
Affidavit (Absence from town)
I, __________________ do hereby swear or affirm, under the penalties for voting fraud set forth below, the following:
1) That I am a citizen of the United States, my legal domicile is in the town of _______________, New Hampshire, I will be of the age of 18 years or over on election day and am entitled to vote in the election to be held in said town on _______________, _________ (date), except for the fact that my name does not appear on the checklist to be used in said town at such election;
2) That I do not intend to be present within said town at such time prior to said election as shall enable me personally to appear before the supervisors of the checklist of said town in their regular sessions for the correction of the checklist for said election;
3) That I am temporarily residing in __________ (city and state or city, province, and country);
4) That I hereby enclose [one of the following as proof of identity and domicile:
(a) A copy of a current and valid New Hampshire driver's license or an armed services identification or other photo identification issued by the United States government that shows my name and address; or
(b) A copy of a current and valid photo identification and a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, other government document that shows my name and address, or a letter from the administrator of a nursing home or similar facility affirming that I am a resident of that facility that was provided to me at my request pursuant to the administrator's duty to provide such a letter upon my request; ] copies of the documentation required by RSA 654:12 to establish my citizenship, age, domicile, and identity as qualifications to vote;
5) That I acknowledge that if I do not provide a copy of [proof of identity and domicile] the documentation as required by section 4) above, this application [may] shall not be approved; and
6) That I hereby make application for the addition of my name to the checklist of said town to be used at said election.
_
Signature of Applicant
Date
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.
Affidavit (Physical Disability)
I, _____________________ do hereby swear or affirm, under the penalties for voting fraud set forth below, the following:
1) That I am a citizen of the United States, my legal domicile is in the town of ________________, New Hampshire, I will be of the age of 18 years or over on election day, and am entitled to vote in the election to be held in said town on ________________, ___ (date), except for the fact that my name does not appear on the checklist to be used in said town at such election;
2) That I am unable by reason of physical disability personally to appear before the supervisors of the checklist of said town in their regular sessions for the correction of the checklist for said election;
3) That I hereby enclose [one of the following as proof of identity and domicile:
(a) A copy of a current and valid New Hampshire driver's license or an armed services identification or other photo identification issued by the United States government that shows my name and address; or
(b) A copy of a current and valid photo identification and a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, other government document that shows my name and address, or a letter from the administrator of a nursing home or similar facility affirming that I am a resident of that facility that was provided to me at my request pursuant to the administrator's duty to provide such a letter upon my request;] copies of the documentation required by RSA 654:12 to establish my citizenship, age, domicile, and identity as qualifications of vote.
4) That I acknowledge that if I do not provide a copy of [proof of identity and domicile] the documentation as required by section 3) above, this application [may] shall not be approved; and
5) That I hereby make application for the addition of my name to the checklist of said town to be used at said election.
_
Signature of Applicant
_
Date
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.
II. There shall be printed below each of the foregoing affidavits the following affirmation:
Affirmation
I, __________, the undersigned witness, do hereby swear or affirm, under the penalties for voting fraud set forth below, that on the __________ day of __________, ___ (date), the above named, __________, having satisfied me as to his or her identity, signed the foregoing affidavit in my presence, and did before me swear to (or affirm) the truth of the statements therein contained and the authenticity and accuracy of the documentation submitted therewith.
_
Signature of Witness
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.
2 Submission; Effect. Amend RSA 654:19 to read as follows:
654:19 Submission; Effect. The applicant shall forward the absentee registration affidavit with supporting documentation and the applicant's voter registration form to the clerk of the town or city named for submission to the supervisors of the checklist. If the supervisors find that the affidavit with supporting documentation and the voter registration form are properly executed, they shall follow the procedure for applications made in person as provided in RSA 654:11, 654:13, and 654:15, except that in the case of an absentee voter they shall accept an absentee registration affidavit with supporting documentation and a registration form.
3 Verification of In-Person Absentee Voter. Amend RSA 657:17-a to read as follows:
657:17-a Verification of In-Person Absentee Voter.
I. An absentee voter who returns his or her completed absentee ballot to the clerk's office in person shall be treated as a verified voter provided[:]
[(a) The] that the voter voluntarily shows the clerk a photo identification that meets the requirements of RSA 659:13[; or
(b) The voter voluntarily completes a challenged voter affidavit in the same manner as is required for an election day voter who does not present a qualified voter identification].
II. The clerk shall mark the absentee ballot affidavit enveloped "voter verified" and note on the clerk's list of absentee voters that the voter has been verified. The verified voter's signatures on the application for an absentee ballot shall not be compared to the voter's signature on the absentee ballot affidavit on election day.
III. A voter who does not present a qualified photo identification [and who does not complete a challenged voter affidavit] shall not be treated as a verified voter, and his or her signatures on the application for an absentee ballot shall be compared to his or her signature on the absentee ballot affidavit on election day in the same manner as other absentee voters.
4 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.