HB35: eliminating the office of vice-president from the presidential primary ballot.

CHAPTER 33

HB 35 – FINAL VERSION

2009 SESSION

09-0018

03/09

HOUSE BILL 35

AN ACT eliminating the office of vice-president from the presidential primary ballot.

SPONSORS: Rep. Vaillancourt, Hills 15; Rep. Drisko, Hills 5; Rep. Jasper, Hills 27; Sen. Barnes, Jr., Dist 17; Sen. Gatsas, Dist 16

COMMITTEE: Election Law

ANALYSIS

This bill eliminates the office of vice-president from the presidential primary ballot.

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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

09-0018

03/09

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Nine

AN ACT eliminating the office of vice-president from the presidential primary ballot.

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

33:1 Declaration of Candidacy. Amend RSA 655:47, I to read as follows:

I. The names of any persons to be voted upon as candidates for president [and vice-president] at the presidential primary shall be printed on the ballots upon the filing of declarations of candidacy with the secretary of state in the following form and signed by the candidate:

I, _, declare that I am domiciled in , in the city (or town or unincorporated place) of , county of , state of , and meet the qualifications for the office [for which I am a candidate] of president; that I am a registered member of the party; that I am a candidate for nomination for the office of [] president to be made at the primary election to be held on the day of ; and I hereby request that my name be printed on the official primary ballot of said party as a candidate for such nomination.

33:2 Fees. Amend RSA 655:48 to read as follows:

655:48 Fees.

I. No candidate for the office of president [or vice-president] shall have his or her name placed on the ballot for the presidential primary unless the candidate shall pay to the secretary of state at the time of filing the declaration of candidacy a fee of $1,000.

II. Any person otherwise qualified to run for president [or vice-president], who is unable to pay the filing fee as prescribed in paragraph I by reason of indigence may, after proving such indigence, have his or her name printed on the presidential primary ballot of any party by filing with the secretary of state 10 primary petitions from each county of the state signed by registered voters of the party, who are domiciled in New Hampshire, together with one written assent to candidacy pursuant to RSA 655:25. The primary petition shall be in substantially the following form:

State of New Hampshire

I do hereby join in a petition for the printing on the presidential primary ballot of the name of whose domicile is in the city (town) of (street and number and ward if in a city) , in the county of , state of , for the office of [] president to be voted for on Tuesday, the day of , 20_, and certify that I am qualified to vote for a candidate for said office, that I am a registered member of the party, and am not at this time a signer of any other similar petition for any other candidate for the above office.

Voter’s Signature

Print Voter’s Name

Voter’s Domicile

street address

Town or City (Ward)

Voter’s Mailing Address

street address

Town or City Zip Code

I certify that the signer above is a registered member of the party and a registered voter in the town/city of .

Date of Filing

Signature of Town (City) Clerk

33:3 Voting Materials; Form. Amend RSA 656:31 to read as follows:

656:31 Form. On the presidential primary election ballot of each political party, there shall be one column for the office of president [and one for the office of vice-president]. The [columns] column shall be headed "Candidate of the (insert name of party) Party for President [(or Vice-President)] of the United States.’’ Underneath this heading there shall appear the words: “I hereby declare my preference for candidate for the office of President [(or Vice-President)] of the United States to be as follows.” Below these words, there shall be printed “(VOTE FOR NOT MORE THAN ONE)” followed by the name, town or city, and state of each candidate with boxes directly to the right. There shall always be one blank space on the ballot below the candidates' names to allow for writing in the name of a candidate. [If no one files for the office of vice-president, that office shall not be listed on the ballot.]

33:4 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.

Approved: May 15, 2009

Effective Date: July 14, 2009