HB 1266 - AS INTRODUCED
2026 SESSION
26-2496
07/08
HOUSE BILL 1266
SPONSORS: Rep. Harb, Rock. 20
COMMITTEE: Election Law
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ANALYSIS
This bill allows election moderators to access the area designated for counting votes during the performance of their duties.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
26-2496
07/08
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty-Six
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Elections; Counting of Votes; Disqualification of Officials. Amend RSA 659:58 to read as follows:
659:58 Disqualification of Officials. Any election official who is also a candidate for office, other than a position of an election official, shall not be allowed to remain in the area designated for the counting of votes within the guardrail during the counting of [votes for an office for which he is a candidate] ballots for which he or she is a candidate for an office other than an election official. Such official shall disqualify himself or herself from election duties relating to the tabulation of votes; and the moderator shall appoint an assistant who shall take the same oath as, serve in the same capacity as, and have all the powers of the election official who is disqualified until such official may properly return. The election official, which includes the moderator, may reside within the guard rails and perform other duties of their office, or other duties the moderator may assign [any] to the election official disqualified pursuant to this section [to other duties], not related to the tabulation of votes.
2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
| Date | Body | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Feb. 3, 2026 | House | Hearing |
Jan. 29, 2026: Public Hearing: 02/03/2026 02:00 pm GP 158
Dec. 1, 2025: Introduced 01/07/2026 and referred to Election Law