CHAPTER 137

HB 285 - FINAL VERSION

 

05/13/2021   1286s

05/20/2021   1526s

 

2021 SESSION

21-0529

11/08

 

HOUSE BILL 285

 

AN ACT relative to verification of voter checklists.

 

SPONSORS: Rep. Layon, Rock. 6; Rep. Prudhomme-O'Brien, Rock. 6; Rep. Thomas, Rock. 5; Rep. Love, Rock. 6; Rep. Potucek, Rock. 6; Sen. Birdsell, Dist 19

 

COMMITTEE: Election Law

 

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ANALYSIS

 

This bill modifies the procedures for ongoing verification of the information contained in voter checklists.

 

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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

05/13/2021   1286s

05/20/2021   1526s 21-0529

11/08

 

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

 

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty One

 

AN ACT relative to verification of voter checklists.

 

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

 

137:1  Vital Records Administration; Secretary of State; Duties.  Amend RSA 5-C:4, IV to read as follows:

IV.  The secretary of state shall compare information contained on each death record received by the division of vital records with information contained in the statewide centralized voter registration database and submit to the state registrar a list of every city or town that has a registered voter matching the decedent's information.  Where there is not a full match of name, date of birth, and residence, the secretary of state shall provide information of partial matches for further review and confirmation by the town or city pursuant to paragraph V.

137:2  Division of Motor Vehicles; Change of Address; Notification.  Amend RSA 261:55, I to read as follows:

I.  Whenever any person after making application for or obtaining the registration of a vehicle shall move from the address or change the postal address named in the application or shown on a registration certificate or certificate of title, such person shall within 30 days thereafter notify the division in writing of his or her old and new address.  The division shall then inform both the supervisor of the checklist in the town or city in which the new address is located and the supervisor of the checklist in the town or city in which the previous address was located of the change to facilitate periodic maintenance and verification of checklists pursuant to RSA 654:36-b.

137:3  Periodic Maintenance and Verification of Checklists; Reports of Death.  Amend RSA 654:37 to read as follows:

654:37  Reports of Death.  Whenever there is filed in the office of the clerk an official notice of the death of any person or persons of the age of 18 years or over or the clerk receives notice of a death record of such person or persons under RSA 5-C:4, V with a full match, the town or city clerk shall notify the supervisors of the checklist of said deaths by submitting a notice of same to the supervisors at their next regular meeting.  For reports under RSA 5-C:4, V with a possible match, the city or town clerk shall look for an official notice of death and if available shall proceed as described in this section.  If there is no official verification, the city or town clerk shall follow the procedures in RSA 654:37-a.  Upon receipt of such notice, the supervisors shall examine the checklist; and, if the name of said deceased person appears thereon, it shall be removed.  The notice shall be retained in accordance with RSA 33-A:3-a.  Any supervisor who shall neglect or refuse to erase the name of such deceased voter from the checklist after receiving such notice from the town or city clerk shall be guilty of a violation.

137:4  Centralized Voter Registration Database; Address Maintenance.  Amend RSA 654:45, I to read as follows:

I.(a)  The secretary of state is authorized to plan, develop, equip, establish, site, and maintain a statewide centralized voter registration database and communications system, hereinafter referred to as the voter database, connecting users throughout the state.  The voter database shall include the current information on the voter registration forms, the accepted absentee ballot applications, the voter checklists, and voter actions as recorded on the marked checklist maintained by each city, ward, and town in the state.  The database shall maintain addresses in accordance with United States Postal Service standardized addresses as described in the current USPS Publication 28.

(b)  The secretary of state shall provide for a verification process that voters sharing a place and date of birth, along with a substantially similar name to include nicknames or likely maiden/married name changes, are unique voters.  Should any voter appear to be a duplicate, that information shall be forwarded to the supervisors of the checklist of the cities or towns involved for review and confirmation.  The supervisor of the checklist shall notify the secretary of state of the result of such review, and should the records show that a single individual may have voted more than once in any election such information shall be forwarded to the attorney general for further investigation or prosecution.

137:5  New Subparagraph; Centralized Voter Registration Database; Address Verification.  Amend RSA 654:45, IV by inserting after subparagraph (c) the following new subparagraph:

(d)  Beginning July 1, 2022, the secretary of state shall, no less than annually, cause voter records to be checked with the United States Postal Service for changes of address.  All records identified as moving shall be provided to the city or town supervisors of the checklist for verification pursuant to RSA 654:39, III.

137:6  New Paragraph; Inventory of Property Transfers.  Amend RSA 74:18 by inserting after paragraph V the following new paragraph:

VI.  Municipalities receiving inventories pursuant to this section shall forward the buyer's and seller's names and post transaction addresses to the supervisor of the checklist in such municipalities to facilitate periodic maintenance of the voter checklist.

137:7  Effective Date.  This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.

 

Approved: July 23, 2021

Effective Date: September 21, 2021