HB574: relative to preservation of electronic voting machine data.

HB 574-FN-LOCAL – AS INTRODUCED

2007 SESSION

07-0338

03/05

HOUSE BILL 574-FN-LOCAL

AN ACT relative to preservation of electronic voting machine data.

SPONSORS: Rep. Harvey, Hills 21; Rep. Hall, Hills 5; Rep. Pierce, Graf 9

COMMITTEE: Election Law

ANALYSIS

This bill requires that electronic voting machine data be preserved for at least 22 months.

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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

07-0338

03/05

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Seven

AN ACT relative to preservation of electronic voting machine data.

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

1 New Section; Preservation of Electronic Voting Machine Data. Amend RSA 656 by inserting after section 44 the following new section:

656:45 Preservation of Electronic Voting Machine Data. The town or city clerk shall preserve all electronic voting machine data for at least 22 months following the date of the election. In this section, electronic voting machine data includes, but is not limited to, discs, memory cards, external drives, and any other data storage device.

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

LBAO

07-0338

Revised 03/07/07

HB 574 FISCAL NOTE

AN ACT relative to preservation of electronic voting machine data.

FISCAL IMPACT:

The Department of State and the New Hampshire Municipal Association indicate this bill will increase local expenditures by an indeterminable amount in FY 2008 and each year thereafter. There will be no fiscal impact on state and county expenditures or state, county, and local revenue.

METHODOLOGY:

The Department of State and the New Hampshire Municipal Association state this bill will require municipalities to preserve electronic voting machine data for 22 months. The Department assumes this bill will apply to optical scan counting voting machines and only to state and federal elections and the presidential primary. The Department states there are currently 223 optical scan voting machines in use in New Hampshire. Memory cards cost $250 each and are reprogrammable for the next election. The Department determined the following expenditures for this bill:

Elections

FY 2008

FY 2009

Presidential Primary (223 memory cards @ $250)

$55,750

State Primary (223 memory cards @ $250)

$55,750

General Election (223 memory cards @ $250)

$55,750

Total

$55,750

$111,500

The New Hampshire Municipal Association states electronic voting machine data includes discs, memory cards, external drives, and any other data storage device. Municipalities often erase their data storage devices after elections so they may be reused at the next election. Municipalities would need to purchase additional data storage devices because there would be at least one, if not more, elections during the 22-month period municipalities would be required to preserve electronic voting machine data. Due to the varying prices of data storage equipment and the varying needs of municipalities, the Association is not able to determine the fiscal impact on local expenditures.