Revision: June 18, 2025, 10:23 a.m.
June 18, 2025
2025-2827-CofC
08/09
Committee of Conference Report on SB 213-FN, relative to absentee voting.
Recommendation:
That the Senate recede from its position of nonconcurrence with the House amendment, and concur with the House amendment, and
That the Senate and House adopt the following new amendment to the bill as amended by the House, and pass the bill as so amended:
Amend RSA 659:44-a, III(b) as inserted by section 1 of the bill by replacing it with the following:
(b) Making public statements in favor of or against any candidate, political party or warrant article.
Amend RSA 659:44-a, IV as inserted by section 1 of the bill by inserting after subparagraph (e) the following new paragraph:
(f) Public employees who are appointed to office by the chief executive or governing body of the public employer from providing factual information in response to requests from the public concerning their official function.
Amend the bill by replacing all after section 1 with the following:
2 Absentee Voting; Application Forms. Amend RSA 657:4 to read as follows:
657:4 Application Form [Forms].
I. Prior to any state election, the secretary of state shall prepare the appropriate application forms for absentee ballots worded in substantially the following form. The secretary of state shall insert the names of all parties qualified as set forth in RSA 652:11 in the list of parties on the application form. The secretary of state shall prepare the application forms in such quantity as he or she deems necessary:
[Absence (Excluding Absence Due to Residence Outside the United States), Religious Observance, and Disability:
I hereby declare that] My Current Registration Status (check one):
_____ I am a duly qualified voter who is currently registered to vote in this town/city ward (Requires proof of identity).
_____ I am registered in another New Hampshire town/city ward but am not currently registered to vote in this town/city ward where I am currently domiciled (Requires proof of identity and domicile). The town/city ward where I am registered is _________________________________.
_____ I am not currently registered to vote in any New Hampshire town/city ward and am and will be absent from the town/city where I am domiciled [and will be] until after the next election, or I am unable to register in person due to a disability, and request that the forms necessary for absentee voter registration be sent to me with the absentee ballot (Requires proof of identity, citizenship, age, and domicile).
How I qualify to vote by absentee ballot (check one):
I [will be entitled] qualify to vote by absentee ballot because (check one):
_____ I plan to be absent on the day of the election from the city, town, or unincorporated place where I am domiciled.
_____ I am confined in a penal institution for a misdemeanor or while awaiting trial.
_____ I am requesting a ballot for the presidential primary election and I may be absent on the day of the election from the city, town, or unincorporated place where I am domiciled, but the date of the election has not been announced. I understand that I may only make such a request 14 days after the filing period for candidates has closed, and that if I will not be absent on the date of the election I am not eligible to vote by absentee ballot.
_____ I cannot appear in public on election day because of observance of a religious commitment.
_____ I am unable to vote in person due to a disability.
_____ I cannot appear at my polling place any time during polling hours [at my polling place] because of an employment obligation. For the purposes of this application, the term "employment" shall include the care of children and infirm adults, with or without compensation.
For use only on the Monday immediately prior to the election: I cannot appear at my polling place on election day due to hazardous travel conditions because the National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning, blizzard warning, or ice storm warning for election day applicable to my city, town, or unincorporated place and either (check one):
_____ [I am elderly or infirm or I have a physical disability, and] I would otherwise vote in person but I have concerns for my safety traveling in the storm.
_____ I anticipate that school, child care, or adult care will be canceled, and would otherwise vote in person but will need to care for children or infirm adults.
Any person who votes or attempts to vote using an absentee ballot who is not entitled to vote by absentee ballot shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. RSA 657:24.
I am requesting an official absentee ballot for the following election (check one):
_____ Presidential Primary to be held on ____________________
(MM/DD/YYYY)
(The date may appear as blank when the date is not known.)
_____ State Primary to be held on ____________________
(MM/DD/YYYY)
_____ General Election
For primary elections, I am a member of or I am now declaring my affiliation with the (check one):
_____ Republican Party
_____ Democratic Party
_____ (name of any party determined by the secretary of state to have achieved official status under RSA 652:11)
and am requesting a ballot for that party's primary.
Please print:
Applicant's Name:
____________________
(Last) (First) (Middle) (Sr., Jr., II., III)
Applicant's Voting Domicile (home address):
____________________
(Street Number) (Street Name) (Apt/Unit) (City/Town) (Ward) (Zip Code)
Mail the ballot to me at this address (if different than the home address):
____________________
(Street Number) (Street Name) (Apt/Unit) (City/Town) (Ward) (Zip Code)
Applicant's Phone Number : ____________________
Applicant's Email Address : ____________________
The identification number on the applicant's government issued identification and the state from which the identification was issued: ______________________
Applicant's Signature: ____________________
Date Signed: ____________________
(MM/DD/YYYY)
I attest that I assisted the applicant in executing this form because [he or she] the applicant has a disability.
Signature ____________________ Print Name ____________________
If your absentee ballot application or affidavit envelope has the printed name and signature of a person who assisted you with voting, your signature will not be compared to your signature on the absentee ballot affidavit to verify your identity. Otherwise, if your signatures do not appear to be made by the same person, your absentee ballot may not be counted.
The applicant must sign this form to receive an absentee ballot. Any person who witnesses and assists a voter with a disability in executing this form shall print and sign his or her name in the space provided on the application form. The moderator will not compare the voter's signature on the application with the signature on the absentee ballot affidavit when a person assisting the voter has signed the statement on the absentee ballot application or affidavit envelope that assistance was provided.
II.(a) Any person, other than the city or town clerk or the secretary of state, that publishes, mails, or distributes in any manner any written communication that contains a form or post card which a reasonable person would consider as intended to be used by the recipient of the communication to submit a request for an absentee ballot shall identify who is publishing, mailing, or distributing the communication, and attach a copy of the form prepared by the secretary of state pursuant to paragraph I of this section to the communication or include in the communication a complete facsimile of the form prepared by the secretary of state pursuant to paragraph I of this section.
(b) Any person that publishes, mails, or distributes forms as described in subparagraph (a) as part of any communication that is made for the purpose of promoting the success or defeat of a candidate or candidates or measure or measures, as defined in RSA 664:2, shall be identified in the same manner as political advertising under RSA 664:14.
(c) Any person that violates this paragraph shall be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $1,000, to be imposed in the manner set forth in RSA 659:34, III-V.
III. The federal official post card form shall constitute the form made available by the secretary of state pursuant to RSA 654:20 for absentee ballot applications by UOCAVA voters.
3 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 for individuals registering to vote for the first time in New Hampshire 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/city ward 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/city ward 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] the town/city ward at such time prior to said election as shall enable me personally to appear before the supervisors of the checklist of said town/city ward 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] required proof of identity, citizenship, age and domicile:
(a) A copy of my birth certificate, United States passport or naturalization papers; and
(b) 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)] (c) 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;
5) That I acknowledge that if I do not provide a copy of proof of identity, citizenship, age and domicile 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/city ward 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. The absentee registration affidavit shall be prepared by the secretary of state for individuals who have a physical disability:
[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/city ward 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/city ward 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] required proof of identity, citizenship, age and domicile:
(a) A copy of my birth certificate, United States passport or naturalization papers; and
(b) 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)](c) 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;
4) That I acknowledge that if I do not provide a copy of proof of identity, citizenship, age, and domicile 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/city ward 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.] III. 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.
__________
Signature of Witness
Notary Public/Justice of the Peace
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.
I. Section 1 of this act shall take place upon its passage.
II. The remainder of this act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
The signatures below attest to the authenticity of this Report on SB 213-FN, relative to absentee voting.
Conferees on the Part of the Senate Conferees on the Part of the House
_________________________________________ _______________________________________
Sen. Gray, Dist. 6 Rep. Berry, Hills. 44
_________________________________________ _______________________________________
Sen. Lang, Dist. 2 Rep. Qualey, Ches. 18
_________________________________________ _______________________________________
Sen. Rochefort, Dist. 1 Rep. Burnham, Straf. 2
_______________________________________
Rep. Toner, Belk. 4
2025-2827-CofC
This bill:
I. Defines electioneering in relation to public employees.
II. Requires the presentation of proof of identity, citizenship, age, and domicile when applying for an absentee ballot.