#SB318 VETO OVERRIDDEN-voter registration/domicile-used to alienate college students #nhhouse #nhpolitics

Governor’s Veto Message Regarding SB 318
By the authority vested in me, pursuant to part II, Article 44 of the New Hampshire
Constitution, on June 20, 2012, I vetoed SB 318, an act relative to voter registration.
“We need to encourage all New Hampshire citizens to vote and to participate fully in our
democracy. We also need to ensure that our election laws do not unfairly burden those voters that
have recently established a domicile in New Hampshire and are qualified to vote in this state.” With
those words, I vetoed HB 1566 in 2006 because that legislation tied the constitutional right to vote to
the registration of a voter’s motor vehicle in New Hampshire and thereby disenfranchised New
Hampshire voters.
SB 318, as passed by the legislature and presented to me, is a different bill, but the end results
are the same. It will also disenfranchise eligible voters in New Hampshire and will only lead to
confusion concerning the meaning of “domicile” and “residency.” These are the primary reasons for
why I have vetoed this legislation.
SB 318 amends the voter registration form by requiring a person registering to vote to state: “In
declaring New Hampshire as my domicile, I am subject to the laws of the state of New Hampshire,
including the laws requiring a driver to register a motor vehicle and apply for a New Hampshire
driver’s license within 60 days of becoming a resident.” Thus, in one short sentence, the legislature
has used the terms “domicile” and “resident” in a manner that suggests that they are
interchangeable, even though these terms have different, distinct meanings and legal implications.
The requirements to register a car and apply for a license, moreover, could be read to apply to a
person regardless of whether the person had a car in New Hampshire or even drove in New
Hampshire. For example, seniors who are residents of New Hampshire but maintain cars and
second homes in other states could be confused as to whether they must now register their out of
state cars here in order to continue to vote in New Hampshire. Persons who are 18 and older who
attend college in New Hampshire should be able to vote regardless of where they drive or have a
license. This provision is overly broad and will effectively require resident seniors, as well as
retirees and young persons coming from out of state, to register a car and apply for a New
Hampshire license in order to vote. There is no compelling state interest for this requirement.
The New Hampshire City and Town Clerks Association is strongly opposed to SB 318 and has
urged me to veto it. The legislation provides that a “supervisor of the checklist” is available to
address questions or concerns of a person registering to vote regarding motor vehicle registration
and licensing requirements. While the supervisors of the checklist are dedicated and hard working
persons who work a few days each year to ensure the smooth operation of our election process, they
neither are full-time employees nor are they trained in our motor vehicle laws.
Our election laws already establish that voters must be domiciled in New Hampshire in order to
vote in this state, and that all New Hampshire residents must comply with motor vehicle
registration and licensing requirements. This bill is unnecessary.
Any changes to our voting procedures must ensure a person’s constitutional right to vote is
protected. This bill does not meet that test.
For all of these reasons, I am vetoing SB 318.
5
John H. Lynch
Governor
Dated: June 20, 2012