SB490: (New Title) relative to voting procedures and relative to ward boundaries in Manchester.

CHAPTER 229

SB 490-FN – FINAL VERSION

02/19/04 0448s

22Apr2004… 1198h

05/25/04 1620cofc

2004 SESSION

04-3209

03/09

SENATE BILL 490-FN

AN ACT relative to voting procedures and relative to ward boundaries in Manchester.

SPONSORS: Sen. Martel, Dist 18; Sen. D’Allesandro, Dist 20; Rep. Fields, Hills 58

COMMITTEE: Internal Affairs

AMENDED ANALYSIS

This bill:

I. Requires that civil penalties for voter fraud be deposited in the election fund.

II. Permits a person registering as an absentee voter to use a letter from the administrator of a nursing home or similar facility as proof of identity and domicile.

III. Clarifies certain requirements for maintaining checklists, preparing voting materials, and assisting disabled voters.

IV. Requires that state senate and representative elections in Manchester be conducted in accordance with the ward lines established in its city charter.

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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

02/19/04 0448s

22Apr2004… 1198h

05/25/04 1620cofc

04-3209

03/09

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Four

AN ACT relative to voting procedures and relative to ward boundaries in Manchester.

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

229:1 Penalties for Voter Fraud; Deposit of Penalties. Amend RSA 659:34, III(b) to read as follows:

(b) The written notice shall be served in hand or sent by registered or certified mail to the last known address of such person. The person shall have 30 days to pay any civil penalty assessed under this section to the secretary of state for deposit into the [general] election fund established pursuant to RSA 5:6-d.

229:2 Election Procedure; Prohibited Acts; General Provisions; Disposition of Fines. Amend RSA 659:45 to read as follows:

659:45 General Provisions. It shall be the responsibility of the moderator to report any violation occurring under RSA 659:34 through RSA 659:44 to the attorney general. All fines imposed under [these sections] RSA 659:35 through RSA 659:44 shall be paid to the county in which the offense was committed. All penalties assessed under RSA 659:34 shall be paid to the secretary of state for deposit into the election fund established pursuant to RSA 5:6-d.

229:3 Absentee Registration Affidavit. Amend RSA 654:17, I to read as follows:

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 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 [the] my name and address [of the voter]; or

(b) A copy of a current and valid photo identification and a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, [or] other government document that shows [the] my name and address, [of the voter] 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 and domicile as required by section 4) above, this application may 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 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 [the] my name and address [of the voter]; or

(b) A copy of a current and valid photo identification and a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, [or] other government document that shows [the] my name and address, [of the voter] 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 and domicile as required by section 3) above, this application may 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.

229:4 Preparing Checklist. Amend RSA 654:25 to read as follows:

654:25 Preparing Checklist.

[I.] The secretary of state shall issue and distribute guidelines for the composition and style of checklists and for the maintenance of data related to checklists by which the supervisors of the checklist shall compile and correct the checklist. Such guidelines shall specify the information which will be maintained and updated by the supervisors. The secretary shall establish standard forms and procedures for the use of the supervisors for the maintenance of such information. The information to be maintained and updated shall include the full name, address, and party affiliation, if any, of each voter on the checklist and such other information as the secretary requires. [The supervisors shall use the information so maintained and updated to prepare the checklist for all state elections. Except as provided in paragraph II,] Every checklist used at any [state] election shall contain [as a minimum] the full name, address, [and mailing address if different,] and party affiliation, if any, of each voter on the checklist. The name and address [and mailing address, if different,] of a voter shall not appear on the checklist at the request of the voter if the voter presents to the supervisors of the checklist a valid protective order pursuant to RSA 173-B. [A voter who presents a valid protective order may, however, request that a mailing address, if different, be maintained on the checklist. If a voter who presents a valid protective order requests that no address be maintained on the checklist, the supervisors of the checklist may nonetheless maintain a designation on the checklist which indicates that no address is required for that voter.] The name, address, and mailing address, if different, of such a voter shall be maintained on a separate list of voters, which shall be nonpublic and not subject to RSA 91-A. If it is necessary to establish such a nonpublic list, the public checklist shall be marked at the end with a notation of the number of voters whose names are maintained on the nonpublic list.

[II. If a municipality prepares a separate checklist solely for use at a state election, such checklist may omit a voter's mailing address, if different.]

229:5 Checklists; Correcting Data Files. Amend RSA 654:30 to read as follows:

654:30 Correcting Data Files. After each state election, the supervisors shall use the checklist from such election to correct the standard data files to conform to any changes which are evident from the checklist. [The standard data file so maintained and corrected shall be a public record open to inspection at reasonable times and as otherwise required by law.] Information from the voter registration data file shall be available as provided in RSA 654:31-a.

229:6 Preparation of Voting Materials; Squares. Amend RSA 656:8 to read as follows:

656:8 Squares. Directly at the right of the name of each candidate there shall be a square, box, oval, or other appropriate symbol for directing voters where to make the appropriate mark; except that, in the case of president and vice-president of the United States, one square, box, oval, or other appropriate symbol shall suffice which shall be placed opposite the designation “President and Vice-President of the United States”

229:7 Assistance in Voting. Amend RSA 659:20 to read as follows:

659:20 Assistance in Voting. Any voter who declares to the moderator under oath that [he] said voter cannot read or that, because of [legal blindness or other physical] disability, [he] is unable to mark his or her ballot shall, upon [his] the voter’s choice and request, receive the assistance of one or both of the inspectors of election detailed for that purpose by the moderator or of a person of the voter’s choice provided that the person is not the voter’s employer or union official. [Such inspectors of election shall thereafter give no information regarding the same. Provided that any voter unable to mark his ballot because of his legal blindness may be assisted in such marking by any person who is a qualified voter in the same town or ward whom he may designate.] Such person so assisting shall be sworn, shall mark the ballot as directed by said voter, and shall thereafter give no information regarding the same. [He] Such person so assisting shall leave the space within the guardrail with the [disabled] voter.

229:8 Manchester; Ward Boundaries. For purposes of elections for state senator and state representative conducted after the effective date of this act, ward boundaries for senate and representative districts in Manchester shall be the ward boundaries established by the city of Manchester in its charter.

229:9 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.

(Approved: June 11, 2004)

(Effective Date: August 10, 2004)