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Yahoo
2 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Advocates for disabled criticize proposed voting changes
Advocates for the disabled charged that two pending election law bills would create unfair barriers for those seeking to vote by absentee ballot or to use accessible voting equipment to cast a ballot in person. But supporters insisted the voter identification requirements for those voting by absentee ballot should be as rigorous as those who vote in person at the polls. They maintain that small towns should not have to lease expensive accessible voting equipment if there aren't going to be any voters who need those services on Election Day. Dr. Randy Pierce is chief executive officer with Future in Sight, an advocacy group that assists the 29,000 residents in New Hampshire who are blind or visually impaired. 'What these result in are creating a barrier and in New Hampshire voting should be a private, independent and undue barrier-free system,' Pierce said. 'The good news is this is not too late.' Both the absentee voting (SB 287) and accessible voting (HB 613) bills are expected to go to a House-Senate conference committee to try and settle differences between the two measures. Currently, anyone can request by mail an absentee ballot application and then mail in their vote to the city or town clerk. The absentee voter has to sign an affidavit under penalty of perjury that he or she qualifies as a resident and eligible voter in that precinct. Late last month, the House Election Laws Committee attached to a related absentee ballot bill the proposed requirement that a copy of the voter's photo identification card and a notarized signature on the application form would be required to receive an absentee ballot. Chairman and state Rep. Ross Berry, R-Weare, said concerns about the mandate were overblown. 'Importantly, New Hampshire law currently allows for electronic and remote notarization services, providing an additional, accessible option for voters to verify their identity remotely,' Berry said. 'Voters who request an absentee ballot in person may simply present their ID at the clerk's office. During committee discussions, it was noted that electronic transmission methods — such as emailing a scanned copy of an ID — would be acceptable, as New Hampshire law currently imposes no requirements for ID submission.' Critics liken bills to voter suppression Rep. Connie Lane, D-Concord, said there's no valid reason for imposing the requirement. 'This bill, like many others passed over the past few years, is based purely on speculation and adds yet another barrier to exercising the right to vote — also known as voter suppression,' Lane said. The House passed the bill along party lines, 184-146 with GOP members in support and Democrats against it. Sen. James Gray, R-Rochester, convinced the Senate last week to have his accessible voting language replace an unrelated measure about default town budgets. As crafted, it would permit any city or town clerk to notify Secretary of State David Scanlan that it will not need to acquire accessible voting equipment unless a local voter asks for it within 60 days of an election. James Ziegra, senior staff attorney with the Disabilities Rights Center, said the change is unconstitutional and would be in violation of federal law as well. Pierce said his members reside in 'every town and city ward' in New Hampshire so all communities should the accessible machines available. 'No one in this state should have to fight to have their vote counted and heard,' added Krysten Evans, director of policy and advocacy for ABLE NH, an interest group that supports the disabled. What's Next: Both bills will be discussed before House-Senate conference committees next week and face a June 19 deadline to reach an agreement. Prospects: Given the support among House and Senate Republican leaders for these changes, odds are high that they are going win approval in the Legislature during these final weeks. klandrigan@
Yahoo
26-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Secretary of state backs moving state primary to August
Feb. 25—Secretary of State David Scanlan told a key House committee that he would prefer to move the state's primary election up two weeks rather than three months in the middle of the summer tourism season. The state primary currently is the second Tuesday in September. In 2026, the election is to be held on Sept. 8, the day after Labor Day. Moving the primary up to the fourth Tuesday of August would provide the least disruption to both state and local election workers, Scanlan told the House Election Laws Committee as he endorsed that legislation (HB 408) Tuesday. "There is no question that we need to move the primary further back from the general election," Scanlan said. "We are on a really tight time frame." But a bipartisan duo of House members said a competing bill (HB 481) setting the primary on the second Tuesday in June would be a big help for challenging candidates to try and overcome the other advantages that incumbents already have. "This gives such a bonus to the incumbent that does not favor democracy," said Rep. Kris Schultz, D-Concord and a party activist who's worked on elections in New Hampshire and nearly a dozen other states. In 2024, New Hampshire's Sept. 10 primary tied with Delaware and Rhode Island for the latest date on the calendar. House Election Laws Chairman Ross Berry, R-Weare, joined in on Schultz's bill for a June primary. "I don't care. I just want to move it." Berry said. Yet it appears state senators from both parties prefer the June date, Berry said. "August appears to be not an option," Berry said. "It's June or bust again." Last year, the Senate passed a bill with the June primary, and it had the backing of then-Gov. Chris Sununu. The House preferred the August date it had passed and killed the Senate's bill in response. In 2022, Sununu vetoed an August primary bill and argued that schedule would conflict with the plans of New Hampshire families for vacations at the end of the summer. The push for making the change at all is the state's growing difficulty with meeting a federal law deadline that all absentee ballots for overseas or voters serving abroad in the military must be sent out at least 45 days before the general election. Scanlan said that window gets extremely tight in years when there are many recounts that delay the final printing of the general election ballot. "I was holding my breath in the last primary because there were a number of hotly contested races which right before the election looked close enough that there might have been a recount," Scanlan recalled. June primary would conflict with local elections Holding the primary in June would create a candidate filing period in March, which is a busy time for state and local election officials dealing with town and school district races for local offices, Scanlan said. Scanlan said the state could carry out a June election, but the August date would create less conflict. Schultz agreed that the opinion of new Gov. Kelly Ayotte will go a long way to determining if the election reform becomes a reality this year. Ayotte has yet to publicly weigh in on it. Residents online were evenly split over these bills. "Should the primary get moved, moving it to June vs. August is better for everyone," wrote Michael Horne of Hooksett. "Having a primary in August is a horrible time for both election officials and the voters. That's prime N.H. vacation time." Russell Hodgkins of Amherst said the June election would make the race too costly. "This would extend the political season and make it too expensive for challengers to compete against incumbents," Hodgkins said Berry said House Democrats should get behind the June primary and learn the lesson from 2024 when their party had a close and bitter primary for governor between former Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig and Executive Councilor Cinde Warmington of Concord. Craig beat Warmington, but then lost to Ayotte in a race that wasn't as close as many thought it would be. "Ayotte kind of ran away with her election," Berry summed up. "You saw how that worked out." klandrigan@
