SB422: relative to changes of registration of voters at primary elections.

SB 422 - AS AMENDED BY THE SENATE

02/13/2020 0496s

2020 SESSION

20-2789

11/04

SENATE BILL 422

AN ACT relative to changes of registration of voters at primary elections.

SPONSORS: Sen. Chandley, Dist 11; Sen. Levesque, Dist 12; Sen. Fuller Clark, Dist 21; Rep. Dargie, Hills. 23; Rep. M. Murray, Hills. 22; Rep. Radhakrishnan, Hills. 22; Rep. Martin, Hills. 23

COMMITTEE: Election Law and Municipal Affairs

ANALYSIS

This bill permits all voters to change registration at primary elections and makes certain changes to the party change card.

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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

02/13/2020 0496s 20-2789

11/04

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty

AN ACT relative to changes of registration of voters at primary elections.

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

1 Voters and Checklists; Change of Registration. Amend RSA 654:34, III to read as follows:

III. [Notwithstanding any provision of paragraphs I and II to the contrary, no] Any person who has voted in a primary may thereafter on the day of said primary change the person's party registration[, unless, prior to voting in the primary, the person was registered as an undeclared voter, in which case the person may once again register as an undeclared voter, as provided in subparagraph II(b)] by completing a party change card pursuant to paragraph V, provided that no change will be made to the database by the supervisors until authorized by subparagraph V(b).

2 Voters and Checklists; Change of Registration. Amend RSA 654:34, V(a) to read as follows:

V.(a) At any primary, the supervisors of the checklist shall make available within the polling place a card or list of [undeclared] voters from the statewide centralized voter registration database to enable a voter [who was registered as an undeclared voter but who changed registration on the day of the primary in order to vote as a registered member of a party] to change registration [so that the voter is registered once again as an undeclared voter]. The card or list shall be in substantially the following form:

Name: _

(Print)

Address:_

Date of Birth:

I hereby request that my political party be changed as follows:

From: Democrat [ ], or Republican [ ], or (name of any party determined by the secretary of state to have achieved official status under RSA 652:11) [ ]

To: Democrat [ ], or Republican [ ], or (name of any party determined by the secretary of state to have achieved official status under RSA 652:11) [ ], or Undeclared [ ]

Signed under the pains and penalties of perjury.

Date

3 New Paragraph; Voters and Checklists; Change of Registration. Amend RSA 654:34 by inserting after paragraph V the following new paragraph:

VI. Party change cards completed pursuant to paragraph V shall be confidential and shall be exempt from public disclosure under RSA 91-A.

4 Voters and Checklists; Application to Town or City Clerk; Changes to be Forwarded. Amend RSA 654:34-a, III to read as follows:

III. No application for a change of party affiliation shall be accepted on the day of a primary election, except as provided in RSA 654:34, I [and II]-III.

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