These election law bills are now on the House Calendar for Feb. 1, 2006. The DFNH Fair Elections Committee joins the League of Women Voters, the NH Secretary of State, and the NH Association of Town and City Clerks in opposing all of these bills. Please take the time to review the information below on each of these bills, and contact your legislator to express your opposition to the passage of these bills, which threaten fair elections in the Granite State.

The Fair Elections Committee (FEC) is a nonpartisan group consisting of Republicans, Democrats, Independents, Libertarians, and other citizens of the State of New Hampshire. The Fair Elections Committee of Democracy for New Hampshire (DFNH) is dedicated to protecting, preserving, and enhancing those aspects of the New Hampshire election system that are unique, transparent, secure, unique, and exemplar. The FEC aims for open and accessible election processes, while implementing processes to prevent, pursue, and prosecute proven instances of election fraud.

We have been studying the retained bills listed below, and share the concerns and opposition voiced by the NH Association of Town and City Clerks about each of these bills. The DFNH FEC offers the following opinion and recommendations for nonpassage.

HB345 (Voter ID):

The FEC raises the following concerns about requiring voters to present a photo ID in order to vote and recommends that this bill be voted inexpedient to legislate.

1. The cost of obtaining a photo ID amounts to a poll tax. If photo IDs are paid for by the State and provided to voters free of charge the cost amounts to another tax on New Hampshire taxpayers.

2. The bill as written does not define whether the ID will be provided to everyone free of charge, or whether there will be an “ability to pay” test for this service.

3. There is no information in the bill as to the specifics of how a photo ID system would actually work. Where will the system be set up? Will it be available at every polling place? How convenient will it be for non drivers? Who will pay for the system?

4. As amended, the bill is overtaking local jurisdiction in favor of federal jurisdiction by requiring voters to follow the guidelines of the federal Real ID. This has significant negative implications for local control, which is a strong value in New Hampshire communities. This also amounts to acquiescing to an unfunded federal mandate.

5. Some voters stand to be disenfranchised by showing up at the polls with no photo ID. Voters may not have photo ID's for a number of reasons. For instance, they may have lost it and not yet replaced it, they may have forgotten it, or they may never have acquired one. They may not have time to retrieve their photo ID, if they possess one, in time to return to the polls to vote.

6. Voters would be required to appear at the town clerk's office in person with a photo ID in order to obtain an absentee ballot. This may disenfranchise voters who find themselves overseas or otherwise out of town, and who have not been able to obtain an absentee ballot ahead of time.

7. Voters who are not adept at working within the bureaucracy will be disenfranchised. This may include seniors, new voters who have not yet obtained their photo ID, voters who may have had their license revoked but are otherwise not barred from voting, and other at risk populations who stand to gain by participating in the democratic process of voting.

8. Some voters do not already have photo identification, for a number of reasons. The constitutionality of requiring this in order to exercise the right to vote will inevitably result in litigation that will be costly to NH taxpayers (as was recently evidenced in Georgia).

9. This law places a greater burden upon the voter than is the risk it attempts to resolve (preserving the integrity of the vote). There is not enough evidence of voter fraud in the State of NH to justify this legislation.

10. There is no photo ID required to register to vote, and this requirement will put at risk election day registration, which is a cost-saving cornerstone of the NH voting system.

11. There are currently laws in effect (Elections Chapter 654) that address voter fraud. These laws should be followed and strengthened if necessary.

12. There is no correlation between citizenship and having a driver's license or other government issued ID.

HB347 (Voter ID):

As amended, this bill requires voters to present proof of citizenship on a photo ID in order to register to vote. The FEC raises the following concerns about this bill and recommends that this bill be voted inexpedient to legislate.

Current Election Law is sufficient for ascertaining citizenship while registering to vote, as shown below:
RSA 654:12 Determining Qualifications of Applicant. I. When determining the qualifications of an applicant, the supervisors of the checklist, or the town or city clerk, shall require the applicant to present proof of citizenship, age, and domicile, as provided in the following categories:
(a) CITIZENSHIP. The supervisors of the checklist, or the town or city clerk, shall accept from the applicant any one of the following as proof of citizenship: the applicant's birth certificate, a passport, naturalization papers if the applicant is a naturalized citizen, a citizenship affidavit, or any other reasonable documentation which indicates the applicant is a United States citizen.

HB639 (Voter Registration):

As amended, this bill allows election workers to mark ballots for the purpose of identifying those ballots with the voters who cast them. The FEC raises the following concerns about this bill and recommends that this bill be voted inexpedient to legislate.

1. Allowing ballots to be marked to identify voters violates the right to private and independent voting.

2. Marking ballots in this manner will undermine public confidence in the election system.

3. Matching ballots with voters in order to challenge and either validate or invalidate a vote can cause a significant tax burden to NH residents and an additional burden on the election system and may result in our inability to conclude election counts in a timely manner.

4. The burden upon the election system is greater than is the risk it attempts to resolve (preserving the integrity of the vote). There is not enough evidence of voter fraud in the State of NH to justify this legislation.

5. Any element of the amended legislation that might remove election day registration would impose a costly and bureaucratic system upon the NH election system and to the NH taxpayer. Without election day registration NH would have to comply with the Motor Voter Law, which imposes costly inefficiencies into the election system.

Voter Registration (HB501):

Inasmuch as this bill supports HB639, which we oppose, we also recommend this bill be voted inexpedient to legislate.