Election law changes--substitute version of #SB129 will hinder voter confidentiality #nhpolitics

FOR RELEASE: April 29, 2011 

CONTACT: Joan Flood Ashwell, League of Women Voters of NH

Melissa Bernardin, America Votes

HOUSE COMMITTEE VOTES TO ELIMINATE SECRET BALLOT

Concord, NH--Under a bill the House Election Law Committee approved Wednesday and sent to the floor for a vote, tens of thousands of New Hampshire citizens will be forced to use a provisional ballot if they can't produce a government-issued photo ID on Election Day. Despite concerns expressed to the committee, there is no provision to keep the ballots secret.

"It's just appalling that Legislators seemed so uninterested in protecting ballot confidentiality," said Joan Flood Ashwell, election law specialist for the League of Women Voters. "This wasn't an oversight. The problem was pointed out to them by a committee member, and they just dismissed it. This is what happens when the public has no opportunity to comment. The Senate produced their substitute version of SB129 without a public hearing and, now, the House has produced yet another substitute version, also without a public hearing."

Secretary of State Bill Gardner told the committee that 50,000 to 75,000 voters could show up at the Presidential Primary without a photo ID. Under SB129, they will have to fill out an affidavit to be put in an envelope with their filled-out ballot. If they bring a photo ID to the town Clerk within three days during regular business hours, the Moderator can open the envelope, take out the affidavit and the ballot, and record the votes on the ballot. This is unlike absentee ballot procedures which guarantee ballot confidentiality.

Melissa Bernardin of America Votes also observed the committee’s deliberations along with Gardner, Deputy Secretary of State Dave Scanlan and Speaker of the House William O’Brien (R-Mont Vernon), who held a private meeting with some committee members before the vote. After the committee's 13-5 vote to pass the amendment, Bernardin said, “From the perspective of voter rights and voter education, Senate Bill 129, the ‘photo ID to get your ballot bill,’ is an abomination. This bill represents a radical departure from the tried and true way we run elections in New Hampshire. It would do little to nothing to inform voters of the change in election procedures. Thousands of already registered voters could be disenfranchised, simply because they weren’t informed about the requirement.”

Other problems with the bill include the difficulty of meeting Constitutional and federal timelines for certifying elections and for mailing absentee ballots to the military between the primary and general election. Elections can only be certified and ballots prepared after all recounts are completed. Provisional ballots often face legal challenges that can last months. In 2004, it took eight months to settle the Governor's race in Washington and, in 2008, it took nine months to certify US Senator Al Franken's election. New Hampshire recounts are currently finished within a couple of weeks after the election.