Recently, HB 1569 was passed in the New Hampshire House. The goal of this legislation is to make voting harder. If a voter affidavit was needed as proof of identification at a polling place, that process has now been taken away. This bill now heads to the state Senate on Thursday, May 16 for a vote there. What could happen if the Senate passes it?
Imagine if you were taken off your town’s checklist (unbeknownst to you) and you go to vote. But you don’t have the now required documents with you that confirm you are a citizen, such as naturalization papers, a passport or birth certificate and have no easy access to them. Because who carries those documents around with them? Perhaps you think your NH driver’s license (including the REAL ID) is enough, but no, that does not prove citizenship. Or you are a young, new voter who has never had a passport and doesn’t know where the birth certificate is. There are now no affidavits that you can sign attesting to your citizenship, so you can’t vote.
This is another version of voter suppression, which could prohibit any citizen the right to register and vote in any election simply because they do not have the required documents or if said documents can’t be located in state databases. Proof of citizenship has never been required before and could therefore create a huge burden, possibly depriving thousands of citizens from exercising their right to vote. This bill would also revise the state’s voter challenge system by requiring challenged voters to appear in superior court, just so their ballots can be counted.
That would mean time or a day out of work.
This proposed legislation would set up a new, unproven and untested verification hotline system to be used by election workers. The election workers would need to call a “hotline” in order to verify the qualifications of citizens who do not have the required documentation with them. Good grief! And where does the money come from to pay for this new “hotline system?”
Yup. Taxpayers.
Studies have shown NH’s elections are run safely and securely. Even David Scanlan, the Secretary of State has stated there is “no evidence” of voter fraud. According to a recent UNH poll, 93% of voters were confident that the ballot counts were accurate as of this past Feb.
HB 1569 is simply a bill in search of a problem and not needed.
Contact your state Senator by sending this (linked) email urging them to oppose this proposed legislation. Takes only